A comprehensive 2-0 loss to Barcelona has left the Gunners more or less out of the Champions League and with the Gunners now eight point behind Leicester City it is tough to see them overcoming that deficit right now.
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David Ospina will continue in goal for Arsenal with Peter Cech ruled out for up to four weeks with a calf injury, while the absence Laurent Koscielny ensures Per Mertesacker and Gabriel are likely to be the central defensive pairing.
And the prospect of becoming the first team to win the FA Cup for a third successive season since the 19th century will provide an additional incentive to overcome Championship promotion hopefuls Hull in the fifth-round replay.
Having lost three games in succession heading into the game, Arsenal showed enough desire to get back in the game through Sanchez, who had questioned the squad’s hunger to win the Barclays Premier League title.
He said: “We will not give up on the championship and will fight until the end”.
Coquelin’s sending-off was a turning point, coming when Arsenal looked composed and in charge after taking the lead.
The Gunners come into this game on the back of a 2-2 draw in the North London Derby against Tottenham, and although Arsenal have not won any of their last three Premier League matches, we are backing them to advance here.
“From inside the game you’re not going to hear people criticising him because when you’re in management as long as he’s been and what he’s achieved, who is anyone to criticise him?”
“We certainly do have some history with Arsenal”, he said.
“I have to rotate a bit and keep the balance in the team”, Wenger said.
A battling point at Tottenham on Saturday staved off a full-blown crisis but the FA Cup carries increasing significance in an erratic campaign. Conceding twice in two minutes only compounded that, and it felt as if this was a game that could get away from a team who must have been fearing the worst, especially playing with 10 men.
“It is vitally important that every West Ham United supporter attending the fixture remembers that they are acting as ambassadors for our club and their behaviour should reflect the values and standards that we set” , the statement continued. I do my job and one day someone will replace me and will replace you.
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Yet while the Tigers may have more to fret over offensively, they have the comfort of being the more assured of the sides defensively. A couple of inches have made the difference to them winning or losing.
