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A repeat of last season’s final against Manchester City in the third round will not happen.

Arsenal cannot be drawn against Manchester United or Liverpool in the Carabao Cup third round.

Last season’s runners-up enter the domestic cup at the third-round stage and will find out their opponents when the Carabao Cup draw is held on Wednesday night.

Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Brighton, Crystal Palace, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Sunderland also come into the competition at this stage.

Because all eight of those clubs, along with the Gunners, have qualified for European competition this season, they will be kept apart in the Carabao Cup third round.

That means Arsenal will not get an opportunity to avenge last season’s final defeat to Manchester City until at least the fourth round, provided both sides make it through.

Arsenal are targeting successive Carabao Cup final appearances.

A statement on the club’s website said: “Due to our involvement in the UEFA Champions League, the draw will be carried out differently to the usual format.

“All sides that have qualified for the European league phases will be kept from facing each other in a pre-draw. This draw will decide whether each of the eight Champions League and Europa League Clubs will be at home or away.

“There will then be a main draw, where the first eight ties will involve those Champions League and Europa League clubs, with their home or away position already having been decided.

“Each side will be drawn against a club from a separate bowl containing the remaining teams.”

Arsenal could, however, be paired with Chelsea or Tottenham in the Carabao Cup third round because neither of their London rivals has qualified for Europe this season.

However, those clubs must first get past Luton Town, managed by Jack Wilshere, and Charlton respectively to have any chance of setting up a marquee third-round clash.

Arsenal have been assigned ball number two for the Carabao Cup third-round draw, and their possible opponents are as follows.

9. Barnsley

10. Brentford

12. Coventry

13. Fleetwood

14. Hull

15. Ipswich

16. Leeds

17. Leyton Orient

18. Lincoln

19. Middlesbrough

20. Millwall

21. Norwich

22. Peterborough

23. Reading

24. Sheffield United

25. West Ham

26. Wolves

27. Bradford or Burnley

28. Newcastle or West Brom

29. Tottenham or Charlton

30. Preston or Everton

31. Chelsea or Luton

32. Fulham or AFC Wimbledon

The third-round matches are scheduled to be played over back-to-back weeks, starting from September 7 and then September 14.

The ties will be single-leg fixtures, with the winners advancing to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.