Port Vale vs Arsenal: Nick Manfredi looks forward to a trip to the land of Oatcakes 

Nick Manfredi looks forward to his first visit to Port Vale to cheer on Arsenal in the Carabao Cup 

Arsenal will travel to the Potteries for a rare meeting with League One outfit Port Vale in the third round of the Carabao Cup. 

Port Vale are of course from Stoke on Trent.

The famous land of oatcakes and well, not much else. I have never been to Stoke but I suppose there are some things you can’t avoid forever in life. 

In fairness, I’m quite looking forward to it.

It will be my first away trip of the season, and another ground ticked off my list.

It’s just a shame about having to go to Stoke. 

This is a unique football match (sort of) because it will be contested between the only teams in the English Football League not named after a place.

Port Vale get their name from the Valley of Ports on the Trent and the Mersey.

I suppose it's not technically a place.

Their biggest rivals are of course the Orcs, otherwise known as Stoke City. Maybe I’m being harsh on Port Vale as many of my perceptions of Stoke as a place come from Vale’s odious neighbours.

That’s not their fault. I’m sure their fans are a great deal less orcish and hopefully their manager doesn’t instruct his players to go out and kick the other team off the pitch. 

Port Vale have had a tough start to the season. They currently sit 19th in League One winning only two of their opening nine games.

You would expect them to prioritise avoiding relegation to league two over any sort of cup run but at the same time, it is rare for them to play teams of Arsenal’s calibre so I’m sure they will look to up their game in what will be their biggest home game in several years you would think.

And perhaps some of the Vale players will see the game as an opportunity to put themselves in the shop window for a move higher up the pyramid given the quality of the opposition and the fact the game will be shown live on Sky. 

Arteta will likely use this game as a chance to rest some key players and give the likes of Max Dowman a chance to shine but we will need to be wary of a cupset if we are to progress to the next round. COYG!