READING FC boss Jaap Stam has admitted tonight's EFL Cup clash against Arsenal has slipped under the radar until now (7.45pm ko).

More than 5,000 Royals fans will be making the trip to the Emirates for the mouthwatering fourth-round clash later today.

But Stam says his players have had little time to look forward to the fixture due to their hectic schedule.

Reading have played six Championship fixtures – three home, three away – since they sealed their place in the fourth round with a 2-1 victory at Brighton a month ago, despite seeing Tyler Blackett sent off.

Stam, whose side face Arsene Wenger's Premier League Gunners on the back of a 1-0 win at Rotherham on Saturday, explained: “For ourselves, we have been looking at things game to game, including in the league.

“We want to get a result in every league game before we thought about Arsenal.

“Now we have played this game against Rotherham, we have a result, everybody is very happy.

“Now we’re going to look at Arsenal, see their games and try to create a plan to get a result.”

He added: “As a technical staff, and the players as well, we haven’t spoken about it at all.

“A couple of weeks ago when the draw was made, everybody was happy to play against Arsenal. They are a big team and a great team to play against with a lot of quality, but that was it.

“The games kept on coming for us in the league. We needed to focus on that and try to get results in the league, and not think about Arsenal.

“You don’t need to think about that game when you’ve still got a lot of hard work in the league to get your points.”

Reading fans snapped up their initial allocation of 3,000 tickets in just three hours when they went on sale.

The club increased their allocation to 5,306 which have also sold out.

“It’s a game that everybody is looking forward to – especially fans and people around Reading,” stated Stam. “You never know what’s going to happen.”

Stam is likely to tinker with his squad, with Chris Gunter already suspended after picking up his fifth booking of the season on Saturday.

Dominic Samuel, Danzell Gravenberch and Blackett are all pushing for a start, while Liam Kelly could also be involved after making his league debut at Rotherham.

Wenger has made no secret of the fact the competition is not a major priority and the Frenchman could make 11 changes to the Gunners side that drew with Middlesbrough in the Premier League at the weekend.

Olivier Giroud looks set to return from a long injury lay-off, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Carl Jenkinson, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Kieran Gibbs are among those likely play.

Stam, who enjoyed several battled against Arsenal as a Manchester United player, says he has the utmost respect for the long-serving Wenger, who has clocked up 20 years at the helm.

“It is incredible for a manager to stay at a club that long, get results and build teams as well with a certain style of play,” declared the Dutchman. “He has done a great job.

“I’ve played against his teams as well and they made it very difficult for us at times – and the other way round as well.

“They were always nice games to play against Arsenal, and now as a manager I know that it is going to be a difficult game; they have got a lot of qualities.

“But for us, we’ve got nothing to lose – of course we want to have a result, and we’re going to make it as difficult as we can for them and see how we end up.”

He continued: “We’re going to look at the games they have played and how they play.

“They have a lot of movement and a lot of quality in the team and we need to find an answer for that.

“They need to think about us as well because it is dangerous to underestimate certain teams.

“But they that and they have a very experienced manager and great players – we’ll see how it goes on Tuesday.”

Reading fans are being warned to leave extra time for the journey to the Emirates after a fuel spillage closed a section of the M4 earlier today.