Arsenal have not long ago found out which club will be the latest obstacle on the road to defending our FA cup trophy and it is the Championship side Middlesborough. The Teeside team are likely to provide a tough test for the Gunners, and they will be full of self-belief after knocking out the Premier League champions at the weekend.
It is quite intriguing really because both Arsenal and ‘Boro have won away at the Etihad stium in the last two games there and we both won by the same score. In a way that takes a bit of the edge off our own joy at finally beating one of the big EPL clubs away from home, but it should also give Arsene Wenger and the players the same sort of incentive that Saturday’s cup upsets did.
There is no way that we will be taking this game lightly. The Gunners do have a valuable advantage in the tie being held at the Emirates stadium but that did not help Man City so we will have to perform at our best. The Middlesborough manager Aitor Karanka has really got his players working as a unit and they are based on an extremely solid defence.
Only one defeat since the end of October tells the story, as does one goal conceded in their last seven games. Man City failed to score against them, but will Arsenal do better against ‘Boro?