Arsenal's FA Cup Replay With Hull Previewed

It's been a tough time for Arsenal fans recently, but the team at least managed to stop the rot by taking a point from their trip to Spurs on Saturday. Unfortunately they really needed a win in that game and they now have to try to make up eight points on Leicester with only nine league games to go. It's a huge task for them and it looks like the FA Cup is probably their best route to a trophy yet again this season.

Of course Arsenal have won the cup for the last two seasons and would be the first team to win three times in a row for 130 years if they were to retain it. In a strange quirk of fate they have beaten Hull in the cup in each of the last two seasons also and they're looking to make it a hat trick. It would have been a lot easier to get that win when they played at home a couple of weeks ago, but this Arsenal team are not fond of doing things the easy way.

Arsene Wenger put out a lot of fringe players in the drawn game as he has done in every round of the cup so far this season. They dominated the game and had by far the best chances on the day, but they couldn't put any of them away and drew 0-0. It was a result neither team wanted with Arsenal trying to win the Premier League and Hull chasing promotion from the Championship, but they have a replay to face regardless.

With the league almost out of touch and a huge hill to climb in the Champions League it will be interesting to see how the boss treats this game. He might be tempted to put out his strongest team, but I think we'll see a similar amount of changes to the previous rounds. I wouldn't be surprised if Hull went down the same route too as they did in the drawn game.

With Petr Cech injured I would be surprised if Matt Macey got the nod and I think David Ospina will play in goal. He did nothing wrong against Spurs and made some very good saves, but he still doesn't fill the rest of the team or the fans with confidence in his ability. He's first choice for the next month though and we have to hope he can continue to play as well as he did on Saturday.

In defence I think Kieran Gibbs will play again as he did on Saturday. He replaced Nacho Monreal as Monreal was fatigued and I would imagine he'll play again. Monreal has made the left back slot his own and rumours abound of Gibbs impending departure this summer.

If Hector Bellerin is to get the rest he probably needs it would mean Calum Chambers will fill in at right back and the central defensive partnership of Per Mertesacker and Gabriel Paulista will have to play too. Neither of them has played too many games recently as they have quite often taken turns to play alongside Laurent Koscielny who is injured for this game.

In midfield I think Mathieu Flamini is the obvious replacement for the suspended Francis Coquelin and he probably would have replaced him anyway. I would be surprised to see Mikel Arteta get a game from the start and Mohamed El Neny will probably play from the start again. Alex Iwobi has done well in the midfield so far in the cup this season and I expect him to continue in that role.

The forward trio picks itself really as Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott and Joel Campbell were all on the bench on Saturday and all should start this game. Walcott and Giroud are going through rough patches at the moment, but I thought Campbell was very unlucky to lose his place against Spurs after being the best of a bad bunch and scoring in the 2-1 defeat at home to Swansea. Walcott and Giroud might be going through a bad run at the moment, but surely a game against a team from a league below them offers them a chance to get a confidence boosting goal. 

If Arsenal win they will play at home to Watford in the last eight on Sunday and they will play at home to West Brom in the league on Saturday if they lose. Either way things will come to a close tonight even if it has to go to extra time or even penalties. Desite home advantage Hull will still be the underdogs tonight and it will probably be up to Arsenal to make all the running again.

Whatever team ends up getting picked they should be good enough to get the win needed to progress to the last eight and within one game of a trip to Wembley. It's rarely that easy with Arsenal though and it's hard to have confidence in them against any opponent. Maybe that comeback against Spurs is just what the players needed to regain some of their fragile confidence and kick on for the rest of the season.

I have no doubt Hull will be just as resilient as they were in the first game and will play in a very similar way. The team have to find a way to open them up and when they do they have to be more ruthless in front of goal. Arsenal's goal return this season just isn't good enough and I'm hoping this is the game where their finishing finally reaches the level of a team with real aspirations to win trophies.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal To Face Watford Next If They Can Overcome Hull

Despite failing to beat Hull on Saturday Arsenal are still in the FA Cup with their path to a Wembley semi final laid out before them. They will travel to Hull for the replay in a couple of weeks and will then play at home to Watford in the last eight if they overcome Hull. The draw has been very kind to them so far this season with four home games out of four and all of the other top dogs avoided.

Those draws have enabled Arsene Wenger to field reserve and fringe players so far in each game and it has worked to a degree. The wins over Sunderland and Burnley were a struggle at times, but Arsenal got the job done and deservedly so on each occasion. Saturday's draw with Hull was a different matter though and the result was exactky what both teams didn't want as they have had to add another game to an already busy schedule.

Arsenal made nine changes from their previous game on Saturday and Hull made 10. Arsenal dominated from start to finish, but they failed to find the net despite having 11 attempts on target. For their part Hull offered very little at the other end and never really looked like scoring except for their only real chance which came late in the game.

We can complain about the two penalties Arsenal should have had, but with Mike Dean in charge no more can be or should have been expected. At least he dished out a yellow card at the other end when a Hull player took a dive in the Arsenal box instead of the penalties he likes to give against us. To be fair to Hull they dug deep and defended very well and they probably deserved the draw for their defensive display.

The 11 shots on target would suggest Arsenal should have won though and rightly so, but a mixture of good goalkeeping and poor finishing conspired against them. It may have been almost a completely different team to the one which beat Leicester, but the same deficiencies in front of goal surfaced. Arsenal overcame those shortcomings last week, but on Saturday they failed to just like they have done far too often in recent weeks.

The replay in Hull will be put to the back of our minds for the moment though as there are more pressing matters to deal with. The first of them is the huge game at home to Barcelona on Tuesday night and it's followed by a trip to Old Trafford next Saturday. Only a week later there's the trip to Spurs with a home game against Swansea in between and wins are needed in all of those games.

For a team who are misfiring at the moment that's going to be no easy task, but it's certainly not beyond them. As good as Barcelona are they have their shortcomings too while United, Spurs and Swansea are all more than beatable at home or away. It's come to the stage of the season where it's almost make or break in every game and there's very little wriggle room left,

As important as winning the cup three years in a row might be the league has to be the number one priority and putting up a real fight against Barcelona is very important too. Despite having to travel to Hull for the replay Arsenal will still be favourites to go through no matter what team Hull play and move on to the game with Watford. The path to the semi final is very clear and it's one I think Arsenal will rise to even if they are taking the long way around.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal Looking To Hand Hull An Unwanted Hat Trick

It's the FA Cup again for Arsenal this weekend when they play Hull Ciry in the fifth round of the competition they have won for the last two seasons. Hull must be sick of the sight of Arsenal in the cup after going out to them in the third round last season and losing to them in the final the previous season. Hull's first priority has to be promotion and they're top of the Championship at the moment, but surely they can't want to lose to Arsenal in the cup for the third season running.

The draw has been pretty good to Arsenal so far with home games against Sunderland, Burnley and Hull. Sunderland and Burnley were both despatched after a bit of a struggle and more of the same is expected from Hull this afternoon. With the Premier League and Champions League still to play for the FA Cup gives Arsene Wenger the chance to rest some first team regulars and play some fringe players.

Mesut Ozil hasn't played in the cup yet this season and the chances are he won't play any part in this game either. With Barcelona coming to town on Tuesday night the boss could be tempted to rest Alexis Sanchez too, but his current lack of form might well mean he gets a chance to play his way back to full match fitness. Those two players will surely have a huge part to play against Barcelona if Arsenal are going to have any chance and we need to have them at their best. If that means resting Ozil and playing Alexis then so be it.

The boss could pick a completely different 11 from the one which came from behind to beat Leicester last Sunday and still put a very good team out there. I would imagine David Ospina, Kieran Gibbs, Calum Chambers, Mohamed Elneny and Theo Walcott are certain starters and I think Mathieu Flamini, Alex Iwobi, Joel Campbell and maybe even Danny Welbeck might be in the team too. Welbeck made his comeback after 10 months out last Sunday and scored the crucial last minute winner only 10 minutes after coming off the bench. I'm not sure if he's fully match fit yet, but his return to the attack could be very important for the rest of the season.

The only positions where there might be a problem making a change is at the back with Gilberto Paulista injured for the next week and Mathieu Debuchey having departed to Bordeaux on loan for the rest of the season. Laurent Koscielny has recovered from the dead leg he picked up against Leicester, but I suspect Chambers will play in the centre of defence with Per Mertesacker and Hector Bellerin will probably have to play at right back.

I was impressed with Iwobi's contribution in the previous two rounds and hopefully we will see more of the same from him today. Hull won't be easy to break down as they have been very solid at the back this season, but the two substitute heroes from last Sunday will hopefully have gained some confidence from those crucial goals. The boss is often criticised for his predictable subs, but they proved to be inspired against Leicester.

The attacking options have improved greatly as players have returned from injury recently, but the goals have yet to follow. Arsenal's goal difference is a lot worse than it should be in the league at this stage of the season and it's something they need to remedy. The amount of goals scored today won't be important as long as victory is achieved, but the more game time our attacking players can get the better for the team.

As holders of the cup Arsenal will of course want to progress and they will also want to become the first team to win it three seasons in a row in 130 years. The league still has to be the first priority for me and getting anything from Barcelona in the Champions League will be a monumental task while the FA Cup still offers s very real path to glory. It's far too early to talk of the league and cup double, but a win today would put Arsenal one game from another Wenbley semi final and two games from the final.

They can't afford to pass up such a good chance to get within touching distance of a final and I expect them not to pass it up. I have no doubt Hull will make it far from easy just as Sunderland and Burnley did and Arsenal might have to bring some of the more established players off the bench to get the win. I think they will get that win and then we can look forward to a very interesting quarter final draw with so many of the top clubs still in the competition as of today.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal Season Preview

It may seem a little strange to be writing a season preview three games into the season, but it was impossible to do so before the transfer window closed. Arsenal got their transfer dealings done early on with the arrivals of Lukas Podolski, Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla, but I had hoped they would do some more business in the closing days. There was money there to spend, but it would appear Arsene Wenger couldn't find the right players to spend it on.

Arsenal bought all three of those players before any others left, and I would have been very happy with the squad as it was after Cazorla arrived. Of course Robin van Persie was never going to stay, but the departure of Alex Song was unexpected to say the least. Theo Walcott didn't follow him out the door, but few Arsenal fans can believe he won't now see his contract out and leave for free next summer.

As it stands it's very hard to see the current Arsenal squad genuinely challenging for the league this season. That's not to say there isn't genuine quality in the squad, but the arrivals only really replaced the players who left over the last two years. The squad just doesn't seem to have the depth required to go the full distance in the Premier League.

Don't get me wrong I would love to see Arsenal challenge the two Manchester clubs and probably Chelsea too right up until next May. To do so they are going to have to call on all of their resources, and that's where the problem lies. Both Chelsea and Manchester City have owners with bottomless pockets, and United are the biggest sports team in the world.

It would seem Chelsea in particular have spent a fortune this summer despite the impending arrival of "financial fair play". How they can justify the money they have spent on fees and will spend on wages is anybody's guess. The losses both Chelsea and City make are outrageous but there is little that can be done to stop it.

It means Arsenal must look to sign players both of those clubs are not interested in, or players who are willing to play for lower wages. Arsene Wenger has signed three very good players and all three of them are capable of making the team a much better one. It would be hard to see any of them get into the other teams that are favourites to win the league though with the possible exception of Santi Cazorla.

Since Cesc Fabregas left the club last summer Arsenal have needed a playmaker, and Cazorla certainly seems to fit the bill. He has great vision, control, passing and an eye for a goal too. It is imperative that he stats fit for the whole season if Arsenal are going to progress.

Of course Jack Wilshere has to return from injury before too long hopefully. He is seen as a possible contender for the role played by Cazorla, but he has little experience in that role. Besides trying to recover from his injury he will surely have to get a couple of years experience behind him before he can play that role.

The team has looked very secure in defence in those first three games with Steve Bould's influence on the defence there for all to see. Despite the absence of Bacary Sagna the defence have played as a unit, and they have been helped by the players in front of them. With the sale of Song Arsenal looked like they might be weaker in midfield, but Mikael Arteta has stepped in the defensive midfield role and excelled so far.

The goalscoring duties will have to be shared among the team now that van Persie is gone and there is a lot of pressure on Giroud to get his share. He has missed a couple of very good chances so far but I think the goals just might flow once the first one goes in. It has been a while since Arsenal have had a wide player contribute a lot of goals but Podolski is sure to get quite a few this season.

The Arsenal team has gone through an awful lot of changes in just over a year, but their style of play has not been affected too much. If they can continue to improve throughout the season the Premier League title is not beyond them, but I think a top three finish is probably a more realistic target. Their best chance of a trophy might well be in one of the cup competitions.

Arsenal have a pretty good Champions League group and there is no reason why they cannot progress to the last 16. After that it's really a matter of how much the team has progressed and what teams they draw in the knockout stages. It's not beyond the realms of possibility for Arsenal to reach the last eight or even the semi finals if the draw is good to them.

The Capital One Cup will probably be a chance for Wenger to play his fringe players and a few reserves too. A run to the later stages of the competition is not unusual for that mix of players, but it is on the bottom of the club's list of priorities. I don't think it's worth risking first team players for a competition which has lost a lot of it's sparkle over the years.

The last trophy Arsenal won was the FA Cup in 2005 and that competition is probably their best chance of a trophy again this season. A trip to Wembley is always a great occasion and it's about time Arsenal equalled Manchester United's record of 11 wins. When the FA Cup starts in the new year there are usually an awful lot of games for Arsenal to play.

Wenger quite often has to make decisions on which players to play in which games for the good of the team. The FA Cup side has quite often lost out to these decisions and I would like to see it targeted this season. It only takes six games to win it and a victory would stop those who count the years since Arsenal last won a trophy.

My thoughts on Arsenal's inability to win the league may seem a little gloomy, but I am trying to be as pragmatic as possible. I would love nothing more than to see Arsenal mount a sustained title challenge and I will be happy to say I was wrong at the end of the season if they do. The signs are very encouraging at the moment but the team is still in transition and the season is very long.

It's back to Premier League action for Arsenal with a home game against Southampton on Saturday afternoon. After that their next two league games are against Manchester City and Chelsea, and the level the team has reached might be a bit more obvious when those games are played. Confidence is a major factor in any sport and the right results in those games could be exactly what the team needs to take things to the next level.

My dream is to again see Arsenal sweep all before them aside as they stride majestically towards the Premier League title. If it happens I'll be a very happy man but if it doesn't it won't change my love for Arsenal.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.    

Arsenal's FA Cup Fifth Round Replay With Orient Previewed.

It's back to FA Cup action for Arsenal tonight after the disappointment of Sunday's Carling Cup final defeat. There's been plenty of talk about how the Arsenal players will react to the defeat by Birmingham, but I'm hoping for a positive reaction. Funnily enough I think the manner of the defeat might not be too bad for Arsenal. If they had played really badly and been well beaten I think it may have had a much worse effect on the team, but they didn't. Of course they could have played a whole lot better, but at least they didn't bottle it on the big occasion.As I said in my match review, I think Arsenal would have gone on to win in extra time if that last minute blunder hadn't cost them so dearly.

As it stands I think the FA Cup is at the bottom of Arsenal's priorities, and that makes a lot of sense. However, despite that fact Arsenal have to beat Leyton Orient tonight to rebuild their confidence and self belief. The thought of losing at home to a club two leagues below them is just not one that Arsenal can even consider if they are to get back on track. Orient may have done well in the drawn game, but in my opinion they were never really in the game until their late equaliser. If Arsenal approach tonight's game in the right manner they should have too much for a their opponents even if it is very much a second choice Arsenal team on show.

The team tonight more or less picks itself as I'm sure Arsene Wenger will want to rest some players for the Premier League game against Sunderland on Saturday afternoon. Since Sunday the injury news hasn't been good as Robin Van Persie, Laurent Kiscielny and Alex Song all picked up injuries. It would seem Koscielny will miss tonight's game only, but Song could well miss Saturday's game as well. The news on RVP is far worse, as he will miss at least three weeks. It means he will not be available for the trip to Barcelona, and he's a player that will be sorely missed that night.

The next game after Barcelona will be a trip to Old Trafford to face "Manure" in the FA Cup if Arsenal win tonight. After that it's a Premier League game away to struggling West Brom, and then there's a dreaded international break. Normally I would fear an international break at this stage in the season, but if Arsenal can somehow make it through to that break without losing touch I think it could be a good thing. By the time the players come back from playing for their countries I hope that RVP will be ready to return, and possibly Thomas Vermaelen will too. Cesc should be ready well before that, and possibly even for that all important Barcelona game.

Back to tonight's team selection, and the boss said yesterday that Manuel Almunia will start in goal as he needs to play some games. I would imagine the defence will consist of Kieran Gibbs, Emmanuel Eboue, Sebastien Squillaci and Ignasi Miquel, as the boss looks to rest Sunday's back four. Abu Diaby should play in midfield along with Denilson, and both Nicklas Bendtner and Marousne Chamakh will probably start up front.

That leaves two other positions to be filled, and I would imagine they will be filled by whatever players are physically up to the task after all the recent exertions. I can't imagine Andrei Arshavin will play, as he looked absolutely knackered by the time he was substituted on Sunday. Tomas Rosicky played the whole game on Sunday, and it could mean he's a little short for tonight as well. That would probably mean both Samir Nasri and Jack Wilshere seem to be the most likely starters in my opinion. I would have been delighted to have seen Aaron Ramsey in the team after he returned from his loan spell at Cardiff City, but he's ineligible as he wasn't available to play in the drawn game. Hopefully he will get to play a part in proceedings before the season ends.

With RVP injured there is always a possibility that the boss will decide to rest Bendtner, as he looks like he will be leading the line against Sunderland, Barcelona and "Manure" too if Arsenal win tonight. There are a few Arsenal players out on loan at the moment who could probably have played in tonight's game if they had stayed at the club. Not least of them is Carlos Vela who has scored late equalisers for West Brom in their last two games. He was only used as a late substitute in those games, and he certainly seems to know where the back of the net is at the moment.

Besides Vela Arsenal also have Henri Lansbury on loan at Norwich City, Jay Emmanuel Thomas at Cardiff, and Kyle Bartley at Rangers. I would imagine that all of them would have had a fair chance of playing tonight if they were not on loan. At this stage in the season the Arsenal squad is looking a little thin, as they have so many games to play. Surely those players could have had a clause in their loan agreements allowing them to return to Arsenal if the need arose. The way I see it that need has arisen for tonight's game.

Orient find themselves in 12th place in their league with a few games in hand due to their cup run. They have had a great run of late, and their confidence will be pretty high. That confidence will have been helped by the draw they managed to get against Arsenal a week or so ago, and they cannot be underestimated again. For me it's all about how Arsenal play, as Orient will really struggle if Arsenal are on their game. They need to find the pace that was evident at times during the second half on Sunday, and use every inch of a very big Emirates pitch. There will be no excuses about the state of the playing surface, as they simply don't come any better than Arsenal's.

My gut tells me that Orient blew their chance at home, and Arsenal will finish the job they started that day. I think Arsenal will win 2-0, and I really hope Chamakh can get his name on the scoresheet again. I also really hope Arsenal can get all of their players through the game without picking up any more injuries. The depth of the squad is really being tested at the moment with Arsenal missing their best defender, midfielder and striker. That's the backbone of the team, and other players need to stand up and be counted in their absence.

Arsenal's chances of winning the Premier League are now firmly back in their own hands after last night's defeat for league leaders "Manure". They blew a half time lead to lose 2-1 to Chelsea, and they now travel to Liverpool on Sunday with Nemanja Vidic suspended. Arsenal need to beat Sunderland on Saturday to put real pressure on them in that game, and then hope Liverpool can do them a favour. Even if Liverpool can't take any points from that game Arsenal will be champions if they win all of their remaining 11 league games. It's not an easy task, but it has been done before. I don't think Arsenal will manage it, but I do think there will be plenty of twists and turns before the season ends.

Yesterday the FA decided Wayne Rooney had no case to answer for his clearly deliberate elbow to the head of Wigan's James McCarthy on Saturday. I was not surprised by their decision, but I was highly amused to hear how unhappy their management were when Chelsea's David Luiz wasn't sent off for fouling Rooney last night. They are so used to having referees decisions going in their favour that they found it difficult to believe Luiz got away with it when the referee clearly saw the incident. It was only made worse for them at the very end when Vidic was sent off, and hopefully his absence will cost them on Sunday against Liverpool.

That's it for today.

Here's the highlights from a happier Cup final for Arsenal.

See You Tomorrow.