Rafael Benitez has confirmed £20million midfielder Alberto Aquilani will be in Liverpool's travelling party for Wednesday night's Carling Cup clash at Arsenal.

It will be the Italian's first appearance in a first-team squad since his summer move from Roma.

Since then, the midfielder has been recovering from an ankle operation, and made his belated first appearance in a Liverpool shirt last week in the reserves' 2-0 win against Sunderland.

Benitez has now made it clear the man he bought to replace Xabi Alonso - a summer departure to Real Madrid -will begin his senior career with the Anfield club in the fourth-round tie at the Emirates Stadium.

Benitez said: "He will be with us. He is improving his fitness, so he's in the squad.

"He cannot start at this moment but he will be there and maybe we can give him some minutes. If it's possible, we will try to use him."

Benitez believes the Italy international will add a new dimension to his midfield.

He said: "We can see in every training session that he has quality, game intelligence and good movements. He is a different kind of player for us.

"We talk about using Steven Gerrard deeper sometimes, but maybe in Aquilani we have a player who can play there and pass the ball really well in the final third."

Aquilani is clearly relishing the prospect of playing a part in Liverpool's season, having witnessed the atmosphere at Anfield for Sunday's 2-0 Premier League win over Manchester United.

Acknowledging he is still short of match fitness, the 25-year-old said: "It was good to play for the reserves because I haven't played for a long time, but to play for the first team is something different again and I am looking forward to that.

"I really want to play, but I need to be patient, I know the time will come for me.

"I will be very happy when I make my debut. This is my job, it's what I am here to do, and I am looking forward to it."

With his first-team debut finally on the horizon, Aquilani was keen to thank his fellow players and the staff at the club's Melwood training ground for helping him settle into life on Merseyside.

He added: "I want to thank all the players and the people at the club because they have been very helpful to me since I arrived here.

"Obviously as Andrea Dossena is here and speaks Italian, he has helped me, but I want to take the opportunity to thank every player.

"It has been difficult, but now I want to build up my confidence and I hope to bring out the best of my game here."

Neither Gerrard or Fernando Torres are likely to be involved on Wednesday night.

Gerrard is still recovering from a groin problem, while Torres was only 80 per cent fit when he played - and scored - in the win over United.

Both players are expected to return for Saturday's trip to Fulham.