With both Arsenal and Man United as good as out of the title race, tomorrows FA Cup Quarter-Final gains even more importance as the loser will forfeit any chance of winning a trophy this season (although both are still in with a chance of the Wenger trophy ! ). Also both these teams have won the FA Cup a record 12 times and the winner will be two games away from becoming the outright leader, so the nervousness from both sets of fans is quite understandable as the game approaches.
If the game was being played at the Emirates, Arsenal would be feeling confident having lost just one home FA Cup tie since Jack Wilshere was born, but because the draw favoured Old Trafford, Arsene Wenger believes that Van Gaal’s team have a “small advantage” going into the match, and Arsenal will have to produce an outstanding performance to come away with a result. Wenger said on the Arsenal Official website: “It’s not just another game because it’s the quarter-final of the FA Cup,”
“We fought until now to be in there – now we want to stay in it and go to the semi-final. It’s a fantastic opportunity.
“For years, it was always the game of the season that decided the Premier League. At the moment it’s not the case but it’s still a big game.
“You go there and I don’t expect any weakness from Man United. I know that if we want to qualify, we have to produce a strong performance. They have lost two games in 22 so if you want to beat them, you have to produce a performance.
“We just want to qualify. Let’s not consider Man United. Let’s focus on our performances of the day.
“In the Cup, you give it your all. We know that they have a little advantage because they play at Old Trafford where they feel confident. To compensate for that, we have to put more effort in and produce a top-level performance.”
United may just be one point behind us in the League, but there is no doubt that it is Arsenal who have been playing the better football for most of this season and should be less worried than the home team, but the FA Cup is all about how you play for the 90 minutes on the field. XI v XI (for the whole game hopefully) can produce some crazy results in the Cup, so Arsenal could break an awful run at Old Trafford, where they have lost 9 and drawn 1 of their last 10 visits…..
It’s time for the Gunners to reverse that trend tomorrow…..
COYG!