How FA cup replays could HELP Arsenal

Arsenal hoping for help from FA cup replays by Sam P

Arsenal will have our own FA cup game to worry about soon, with a trip to face an in-form Brighton for a place in the fifth round as the Gunners attempt to defend the FA cup trophy we won at Wembley in May. But for new we can relax after breezing past last season’s beaten finalists Hull in the third round, also avoiding the dreaded replay that no team wants unless you are losing in the final minutes.

Hopefully that unwanted extra game could help Arsenal this week, as three of the clubs just above and below us in the Premier League table do have to play cup replays this week before their EPL games at the weekend. West Ham host Everton tonight and while the Hammers are unlikely to keep up their top four challenge, we cannot write them off as they are just three points below Arsenal right now.

Our north London rivals Tottenham are a point closer to us in the table and after beating Chelsea, they are feeling confident about a top four challenge, so hopefully their cup replay at home to Burnley tomorrow is a bruising encounter that goes all the way to a penalty shoot out, one that the spuds lose of course. And if the hangover from their cup game helps Sunderland to take points off them at the weekend, all the better for Arsenal.

The same can be said of third placed Southampton as the Saints are currently three points ahead of Arsenal and could extend that if they win away at Newcastle on Saturday, so any help that Ipswich Town can give us against them in their cup clash tomorrow would be greatly appreciated by us Gooners. I’m not wishing injuries on anyone (well actually I am) but a little knock or two for the spuds and the Saints would not go amiss.

Then all Arsenal need to do is come away from Man City with all three points on Sunday and it will have been a perfect week. Simples.