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| Tomas Rosicky with the FA Cup. Little Mozart is in great form & is likely to start today. |
Last round of the FA Cup had many shocking results. Big teams namely Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham and Southampton all bowed out against weaker opponents. Arsenal too faced an opponent of lesser quality in form of lower league's Brighton but edged out for a comfortable 3-2 win which was not at all tough as the scoreline may suggest. And today they face the slayers of the reigning BPL Champions, that is Middlesbrough at the Emirates Stadium. Coincidentally, Arsenal also faced Wigan last year who defeated Manchester City in their last round.
So the Gunners cannot take the visitors lightly as they are also a team in form sitting atop the Championship table. They outclassed city in the second half and scored on the break winning 2-0 at the Etihad stadium. They have enjoyed great success in their counter-attacking style of play under the management of Aitor Karanka who learned his trade during his time at assisting Jose Mourinho while making Real Madrid the best football team in this style of play. So Wenger's men should be geared up to come across this stuffs!
So the Gunners cannot take the visitors lightly as they are also a team in form sitting atop the Championship table. They outclassed city in the second half and scored on the break winning 2-0 at the Etihad stadium. They have enjoyed great success in their counter-attacking style of play under the management of Aitor Karanka who learned his trade during his time at assisting Jose Mourinho while making Real Madrid the best football team in this style of play. So Wenger's men should be geared up to come across this stuffs!
Talking of Arsenal, they were not convincing enough in their last outing against Leicester. So we can hope that they weren't complacent in their preparations. They are also a team in form but has had a few hiccups in last two performances. Today, they can take it as an opportunity to come back to their best when they take the field.
Playing XI: Arsene Wenger talked of rotation in the team when he faced media in the pre-game presser. He said the players who have not played recently will get a chance and confirmed of Szczesny's presence in the goal. Speaking of Gabriel, he said is very close to making a debut. He ruled out Ramsey and Sanchez from the game however latter was spotted along with Gnabry, Wilshere and Bielik in full training. So we can see a few of them among the subs. And with Giroud and Welbeck featured on bench in midweek clash, it is expected that they'll start. Finally, the lineup I can make up out of all of this is...
Szczesny, Chambers, Mertesacker, Gabriel, Gibbs, Flamini, Rosicky, Özil, Walcott, Welbeck, Giroud
I foresee a 2-1 win for the gunners.
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