Wenger unwilling to sacrifice any potential trophy

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has no plans to sacrifice any competition after Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola questioned the value of the EFL Cup.

Manchester United boss Mourinho suggested scrapping the cup could help English clubs be more competitive in Europe.

The Portuguese tactician was backed by Manchester City counterpart Guardiola, who played down the significance of the competition.

But Wenger was unwilling to follow suit, saying there was too much pressure to simply just give up on any potential trophy.

"With the pressure that every club is under now, you cannot sacrifice any competition," the Frenchman said.

"You know that you could pay the price sometimes for it because if you go further in the League Cup, at some stage you play semi-finals where you are home and away in January, and you have the FA Cup, the Premiership.

"Sometimes you lose players in these competitions."

Arsenal will face Norwich City in the last 16 of the EFL Cup, while City host Wolves and United visit Swansea City.