Steve Bruce vows to ‘respect’ competition despite changes

Steve Bruce has vowed to respect the FA Cup despite admitting he will be ringing the changes his Newcastle side against Arsenal.

The Toon will be making the long trip south for their clash at the Emirates this evening as underdogs, but despite admitting that he is set to ring the changes for the clash, claims he is taking the match ‘as seriously as I could’.

Bruce told his pre-match press conference (via The Mag): “Jamal Lewis has a knock to his knee so he’ll not make it. Ryan Fraser is edging closer but he’ll not make the weekend.

“Jamaal Lascelles has been given the go ahead. Saint-Maximin is back in the country and we’re waiting for the go ahead for him to train.”

“Martin [Dubravka] will play, it’s the ideal one for him. How fortunate we are in that area.

“We all understand what he has done in his Newcastle career and now Karl has grasped that opportunity too. The competition is good so we welcome back Martin.”

“There are some players who need to play.

“I’m disappointed that we’ve got to two quarter-finals and not got past them.

“I’ve treated the cup as seriously as I could. Yes, there will be a few changes tomorrow but we’ll treat it with the respect it deserves.”

Dubravka’s inclusion could arguably boost the visitors selection for today’s clash, and it sounds as though the Magpies will be playing more first-team regulars that our team at present.

Mikel Arteta is expected to give a large number of fringe players minutes this evening, but his side will still be favourites for the clash, and no integrity is expected to be questioned as both sides rotate.

Could the Arsenal manager’s selection come into question should the team lose this evening? Is it all-too common for the early stages of the FA Cup to be undermined by clubs?

Patrick