Hello there! No EPL action this weekend but we welcome back the ‘Romance’ of the oldest cup competition in club football. F.A Cup. Although we are well and truly in the race for the PL title , some would argue that the F.A cup presents a more achievable feat considering that you only have to win only 4 matches to get your hands on the prestigious trophy. The Premier League is just about past it’s halfway mark, half the marathon yet to be run.
It is a tournament that Arsene Wenger initially revered in. Won more F.A cups than any other manager has and he will undoubtedly be keen to add a 5th F.A cup triumph to his personal list of achievements. After a dismal display that saw us crash out of the Cup last season at home to Blackburn Wenger will be vary of taking Coventry lightly. Sure our current set of players seem to be more up for every single game and they play with a genuine belief that we can beat any team in front of us but complacency is ill affordable. We maybe the overwhelming favourites to progress but it isn’t over till it’s actually over. After all , strangest of strange things have happening over the course of 90 minutes on a football field, we’ve unfortunately had first hand experiences of such cases in the last few years.
Now all logic and diplomacy aside we should be able to coast to the next round even if (as being predicted by many) Wenger rests a few of his stars. The boss in the pre match presser said:
Wenger: “We had a good warning against Blackburn last season”
Boss: “I know much more than you think about Coventry. I’ve had many difficult games against them”
Wenger: “We have to prepare for this game seriously. We are on a good run andwe want to gain respect”
Boss: “I have total respect for people who will come to this game and it is a sell out.It’s fantastic
Boss: “Playing on Friday could be a little advantage for us. I feel we have the needed squad at the moment”
Wenger: “I haven’t decided whether to start Oxlade-Chamberlain [against Coventry]. I will assess him today, but he is close” #AFCvCCFC
Wenger: “I will always remember Wembley’s pitch. I used to watch the FA Cup final in black and white”
That should just about say it all, Wenger clearly hasn’t forgotten what happened last season and rightly so. We can’t afford such exits this season , we have to put an end to the trophy drought this campaign and IF we are well and truly on the way to securing EPL triumph , winning the F.A cup wouldn’t be all too bad now would it?
Expect a squad that is a mixture of youth and experience. With TGSTEL leading us out , yes he’s back and although I’m not his biggest fan and probably will never be , let’s hope he gets us over the line tomorrow. HFB could use the breather, the run that it starts post F.A cup 4th round seems quite ridiculous. Anyway that’s for another day to worry over.
Win this one and hope we get a relatively easy draw in the 6th round.
Till next time! Keep it Arsenal