No rest for the wicked…or out of form football teams.
Tomorrow evening Arsene Wenger will be prowling the touchline at the KC Stadium (7pm kick-off remember) as his side try and do what they couldn’t at the Emirates – beat Hull City.
The winners of the replay will face Watford at home on Sunday in the quarter-final. Speaking before the trip north, the boss gave an update on his team’s fitness following the gruelling 2-2 draw against Sp*rs.
“We lost Coquelin from his bad tackle [red card] on Saturday.
“Everybody else looks medically available. Overall, we should have the same squad that went to Tottenham. Iwobi will certainly be added to the squad.”
On Iwobi, the teenage Nigerian international who has featured in all Arsenal’s FA Cup games this season, the boss added: “He’s a creative player with a high level of work-rate and a good level of spirit.
“He’s a player who develops very well, he has a big passion for the game, can play on the flanks, can play in the middle.”
Despite the matches coming thick and fast, the boss made clear that he’ll continue to take the FA Cup seriously.
“I made ten changes in the first game [against Hull City]. We’ll play a team that has a good chance to qualify.
“David Ospina is an example of that. I have the same respect and the same idea that every player in my squad can play and win the game tomorrow.”
Update
New quotes have dropped about the fitness of Petr Cech and Laurent Koscielny.
“Petr’s scans were better than expected, but it will still be four weeks for him. So after the international break.
“Laurent will be short for Hull. he has a chance to be available for the weekend, but I think even for then he will be short.”
Medically available, the true measure of an Arsenal player
Indeed
This!
For all the shit that people have been (fairly) throwing at the players and the manager recently for “blowing” the league (hey it’s only March), I’d still love to win The FA cup again. Those last two sunny weekends in May 2015/2014 were fucking great occasions and some of my best moments of joy as an Arsenal fan. Poo-poo the FA cup all you want, but as a fan, those are the kind of days that we live for! Hope we pick a strong team and get the job done.
Completely agree! Nothing beats lifting a cup regardless of peoples view of it. No shortage of people belittling our achievements in life. Compete to win and all that! 🙂
You are ideal for silent Stan and his bunch. Aim low, easily pleased and keep stuffing stans pockets with no questions asked..
You’re ideal for Spurs – full of conspiracies.
Man gets criticised for saying he’d like to win the FA Cup… Only Arsenal fans…
agreed, I can’t believe how fast people turn on their team here…
Genuinely feel sorry for you that couldn’t enjoying winning the FA cup. I had a great day on the beers with my brother and seeing our boys lift the trophy. Sun shining, crowd singing, open top bus parade…it’s what it’s all about
Same here. BBQ with the boys in 2014 and a top day with the woman in 2015. Beers, summer, holiday, food, football. Good times!
There are only 4 trophy’s on offer. There are plenty of teams competing for all of them. winning 1 of them is a triumph, regardless of which of the others you didn’t win. I’m not sure how thats “aiming low”
Winning the FA Cup will allow Wenger to honorably resign after. Hope that happens.
If Wenger had any intention of resigning on a high, he’d have done it already. After the first FA Cup win would have been perfect. That way, we could all have pretended he was a selfless genius who’d nobly sacrificed personal glory so as to stand by us through the difficult years of the stadium debt. Now, I’m afraid, the time when he could have left with his reputation in tact has gone for ever. He’s had several seasons with big money to spend and made a pretty poor job of them. This time next year with the changes coming… Read more »
A hat-trick of fa cups would be amazing. A massive achievement, who were the last side to do it? It would also make arsene wenger unquestionably the greatest manager in the history of the fa cup.
A quick google says:
Wanderers (1876, 1877, 1878)
Blackburn Rovers, (1884, 1885, 1886)
So 130 years to equal the last time it was done!
I wish someone would ask when Cazorla is ready to play – given that he might well be our most valuable player during the run-in.
Fucking numbnut journalists.
Cazorla himself said April a few days ago
April 1st. http://news.arseblog.com/2016/03/more-fool-you-santi-eyes-early-april-return/
Great to see no new injuries. We’ll need a fresh Coq for the West Brom game. Be good to see Iwobi playing again. I think he has a lot to offer. I hope he puts out a strong side as I think we’ve got a great chance of winning this for the third time in a row. COYG!
COYG… DO US PROUD COME TOMORROW NIGHT
“The winners of the replay will face Watford at home on Sunday in the quarter-final.”
What about the West-Brom Game on Saturday? I’m going to this game but haven’t heard anything about it being postponed in case we win against Hull. Nothing on Arsenal Website either.
If we win tomorrow night, the West Brom game is postponed, and we play in the FA Cup on Sunday against Watford
Well, just try not to take FA Cup seriously then fans would let you know. I said some time ago that for me it’s pointless To play in Champs League when you just get through to knock out round and then we’re out in the first game. Why not just win first Europa League which Wenger never won an maybe those players will learn how to win. Let’s face it for me we’re not good enough to win Champs League, YET. We should not purposely try to ge into EL but it could be a blessing in disguise for us… Read more »
You can’t seriously think Wenger could win the Europa? There are some decent teams in that comp, better teams than in the Premiership at the moment, better teams than Dinamo Zagreb, Anderlecht, Monaco, Olympiakos, etc., better teams than Hull who even in the first final we struggled to beat, or Hull’s reserves against whom last month we struggled to score. As you suggest, we might as well be out of the CL on a permanent basis as we’ll never go anywhere with Wenger in charge, not even if we did win the league and got ourselves a potentially winnable group;… Read more »
Of course there’re some very good sides. No disrespect to them. It’s just more possible to win then CL. Not suggesting “going” into EL on purpose BUT not being afraid of it and IF it’s going to happen anytime, in longer term it could be more beneficial to our team and Club. With current CL draw, we’re going to get tough teams straight-away (most probably) in group stage. Wouldn’t be better to play in EL in spring then get all lost in the first game of knock-out stage? It’s not a coincidence we’re out season after season now. NOT GOOD… Read more »
Wenger’s record in Europe is pathetic – even before Arsenal. Miranda is right: we would flop in the Europa Cup too under Le Prof.
Ospi
Cham, Mert, Gabr, Gibb
Flam,Elne
Camp,Iwob, Welb
Giro
We could get tonked with that team do we really need to rest so many?
I guess we can expect something like this:
Ospina-Chambers-Mertesacker-Gabriel-Gibbs-Flamini-Elneny-Walcott-Iwoby-Campbell-Giroud
There aren’t many potential young players around this season anyway, so there won’t be any surprises. It’s certainly time the likes if Wacott or Giroud show why they should be part of the starting XI.
No to Walcott!
‘We lost Cocquelin from his bad tackle Saturday’
Why say that Arsene? You will make numerous changes anyway tomorrow from the team that drew with Spores on Saturday.
I can’t ever remember you saying anything similar about any previous player….Patrick Vieira was sent off for for spitting in Ruddocks face many years ago but you supported him through thick and thin and rightly so.
The pressure is getting to you sir.
I think you’re overanalysing this one a bit
Iwobi.. So smooth on that ball.. Keen for a good hammering to get this train rolling!* (a hammering in our favour that is*)
There was a young man named Iwobi, whose lesser known uncle Kinobi, taught him the force, not the Dark side of course, he’ll be better than Benik Afobe
I hope he starts with a heavily changed XI as I’m sure Hull will too, they have a tight schedule too. Why haven’t we seen the Jeff yet? Gnabry too.
And risking the only thropy that we can realistically have? I say we go with the first team….
Winning the fa cup again would be magnificent. But even so this season is a massive failure if we don’t somehow win the league. It was ours for the taking, and we’ve only managed a handful of wins in the league since new year. The disappointment I felt after the Swansea game just won’t go away. Oh to be a gooner
and looking at the remaining fixtures ahead of us, difficult to work up any kind of enthusiasm either, given that we choked on swansea?….mind you, if these lot can get their act together, they can give anybody a run for their money, and we might still be in with a chance,but, given the see-saw ride of the past few weeks, who knows which arsenal is going to turn up in the next match?
regardless of whatever, if we don’t, i don’t care who does, but….spuds must NOT win it!…
For me the Swansea game really felt like the last nail in the coffin. If we win all the remaining games it still might not be enough,and that’s just sad when I had so much belief not that long ago.
I feel it’s important not only that spu*s don’t win the league, but also that we finish above them.
I expect a stronger team than last time with Giroud, Nacho, Campbell and Walcott starting. Play Chambers at right back and Nacho or Gibbs on the left. A midfield of Flam and Elneny. Iwobi/Benacer as play maker with Ozil on bench just in case. A mixture of youth and first team on bench with Ospina in goal. We need to clean up this match and rest players from 60th minute
Great to see no new injuries. We’ll need Francis Coqullen fresh for the West Brom game. Be good to see Iwobi playing again. I think he has a lot to offer. I hope he puts out a strong side as I think we’ve got a great chance of winning this for the third time in a row. COYG!
So there’s height requirements to play in the FA Cup?
Didn’t think Koscielny would be the one that’s too short for it..
He’s always been a bit on the short side for a central defender, not sure how a few days rest will change this.
Play a mix of B and A team. We need our young players to gain some experience if they are ever to make it to the first team.
Great to have another home match in the quarterfinals if we can advance (which is always tough on the road in the FA Cup) and not against one of the top teams yet.
Would like to see Elneny get another run, my guess is Wenger will pair him with Flamini and rest Ramsey. Big question is will Ozil and Sanchez start or be available on the bench? Last match vs Hull Ozil wasn’t even in the squad. Hectic week ahead with this match, a weekend PL or FA Cup match and the return leg at Barcelona next week.
I just hope that Wenger plays a full-strength team at Hull tomorrow. I know that we’re still mathematically in the title race, but we’re not. The only side which can stop Leicester is Spuds – and let’s pray that that doesn’t happen. The FA Cup is, yet again, our only chance for glory now, that’s why Le Prof should go all out to win it. It was a very interesting weekend, wasn’t it? After our near self-destruction at WHL, Leicester did the business in a boring game at Vicarage Road. The Foxes looked very average but, unlike us, knew how… Read more »
Wow, I’m (mostly) in agreement with Fatgooner. We really can’t shit this one away.
Fatgooner you have found serenity and logic in your posts recently, I am not sure I am comfortable with this.
Please don’t forget to give us loads of negative “told you so” stuff if and when we cock everything up towards the end of the season, thank you in advance 😉
I hope you will be eating a lot of words come May … Leicester/Spurs can easily go on a losing/drawing run … it’s not over Fatgooner …
But we don’t have the cojones to take advantages of those slips. Wenger’s recent teams have been experts at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. We should now be eight points AHEAD in the table but aren’t because we keep screwing up.
The big worry for me is that this poor form continues and we end up being caught by the in-form sides like West Ham and Liverpool.
The FA Cup is still a great achievement but I’d like the prize to be the fourth spot for the Champions League. That would really add some spice to the proceedings.
Iwobi this, Iwobi that. When he actually got a chance against a real team and not a championship team (Man Utd), he absolutely sucked and gave the ball away every single time.
A bit overrated at the moment I think.
He got 9 minutes at the end of a game. Bit harsh.
Plenty of fans have unrealistic memories. 1) Arsenal have never been a force in Europe not even under Graham. We’ve never had success in the top tier of European competition let alone sustained a presence for close to 2 decades till Wenger. 2) Wenger has won 3 titles and one unbreaten. Granted in recent decade he has found it much harder to replicate earlier success but it is extremely mypoic not to aknowledge such a fine accomplishment. 3) Wenger has built the club’s branding and financial strength plus added a stadium whilst remianing competitive in Europe never falling outside of… Read more »
I tend to agree with you. But there is a big issue: mental strength. I think it is difficult to argue with the fact that the Swansea defeat was one of the worst in the whole AW’s era. I never over-criticized AW, and never called for his resignation. But the mental weakness of a team is the sole responsibility of the manager. And if you scan the results of the latest years, the team just don’t improve on this topic. For the first time ever, I think that it may be time for AW to leave. And, frankly, it is… Read more »