Arsenal play Hull City in the FA Cup for the third year in a row, and we won the other two. In fact we have won all four FA Cup meetings and we haven’t lost to the Tigers in our last ten matches in all competitions, so Arsene Wenger will want to keep that record intact.
The Gunners have also won their last 14 FA cup games, which must be getting close to a record, but Wenger is more worried about keeping our current winning run going after beating Bournemouth and Leicester in the League, and he thinks the team is in a confident mood. “The team is up for it, the team has a united spirit and the team is ready for a fight,” Le Prof said on Arsenal.com. “We are ready to deal with uncomfortable situations and find a solution to them.
“I think that’s what you saw in the [Leicester] game. Until the last second of the match, we were united, relentless and had the desire to change things. In a big game, when you’re 1-0 down, to be capable to win 2-1 is of course very important.
“You want to take care of the momentum because you’re quickly in a loss of confidence if you are not careful. The best thing you can do as a manger is to prepare with the needed resolute attitude that keeps this momentum alive.”
One would think that this should be an easy task against a Championship side at home, but Hull are top and have only lost one of their last nine games, with 7 of them being wins. We all know that Steve Bruce is going to play his reserves in this game, but we also have to remember that his second string have also played 7 Cup games this season, and have only lost the once, away at Man City, so they will certainly be no pushovers.
Wenger has also told his defenders to be wary of Hull’s Uruguayan international Abel Hernandez, who scored against us last season. “He has a strong body,” Wenger continued. “His movement is very solid and quick – it’s good. He is a great finisher and has scored 16 [league] goals.
“He keeps Chuba Akpom out of the team, so he must be an exceptional player because Chuba is a great player. He is something we will have to deal well with.”
So all in all, we could have a very interesting game ahead of us, but as Wenger said, we have the confidence and we need to keep the momentum going ahead of Barcelona’s visit on Tuesday.
Onwards and Upwards!