With Sunday's gut-wrenching Carling Cup final defeat still fresh in their minds Arsene Wenger's side will be determined to avoid a further embarrassing slip up as they head into another cup clash as heavy favourites, this time against Leyton Orient.
The League One side sprung one of the surprises of the fifth round when they battled to a 1-1 draw at Brisbane Road to force a replay. Despite Arsenal's dominance, they failed to add to Tomas Rosicky's second-half strike and French forward Jonathan Tehoue came off the bench to score an 89th minute equaliser.
Orient's colourful chairman Barry Hearn will take his entire squad to Las Vegas as a reward, but on Wednesday night the O's will be hoping to hit the jackpot at the Emirates Stadium, with the winner heading to Old Trafford to face Manchester United in the quarter-finals.
Luckily for the underdogs they won't face a full-strength opponent as Arsenal have three games in seven days, the last of which is a decisive Champions League tie in Barcelona, and Wenger will almost certainly rotate his squad and turn to his fringe players.
Denmark striker Nicklas Bendtner is likely to start up front alongside out-of-sorts Maroune Chamakh with Rosicky, Denilson and Abou Diaby drafted into midfield. In normal circumstances Wenger would have a selection of stars on the bench as an insurance policy if things go wrong, but with Robin van Persie, Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott all out injured the reinforcements could be a little threadbare.
Orient go into the match on the back of a 13 game unbeaten run after fighting back from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw at Huddersfield at the weekend. However, captain Stephen Dawson picked up a knee injury at the Galpharm Stadium, young forward Harry Kane is suspended after being sent off in a league game and first-leg hero Tehoue is a doubt after being sent home from training due to illness.
For too long Wenger's team have buckled in pressure situations and at Wembley on Sunday, when they were on the cusp of ending a six year trophy drought, they did so again. Following such a setback this match will certainly provide a test of their mental resolve. The Gunners are odds on favourites to pass with flying colours and, if they fail, it could be the moment their entire season crumbles.
Arsenal player to watch - Tomas Rosicky
With Samir Nasri almost certain to be rested and Walcott out injured, Rosicky has a great chance to make his mark. The Czech midfielder excels with the ball at his feet and his passing game will be key to unlocking the Orient defence. He was brought to Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund to replace Robert Pires but has never really hit the same heights as his forbear, yet on his day he can still be hugely effective. He takes on added responsibility in the cup competitions and responded with a goal in at Brisbane Road.
Leyton Orient player to watch - Alex Revell
This hard-working 6' 3" striker could well be licking his lips after seeing how Arsenal's first-choice defence struggled to cope with Birmingham's aerial attack on Sunday. The former Cambridge United youngster was something of a journeyman in his early career but the 27-year-old struck real form at the end of last season during a loan spell at Wycombe, scoring six goals in 15 games. Orient boss Russell Slade snapped him up in the summer and he is now the club's leading scorer, with 14 goals in all competitions.
Key battle - Nicklas Bendtner v Ben Chorley
Arsenal striker Bendtner is a supremely confident character and is never slow when it comes to self promotion, but the Denmark international has hardly starred this season and has only been used from the start in the domestic cup competitions of late. However, with Van Persie set to miss next week's glamour tie against Barcelona and a place in the Arsenal attack up for grabs, now would be a good time to add to his tally of five goals this season. Facing up to Bendtner is a man who will also be supremely motivated, but for different reasons. Orient centre-back Chorley returns to Arsenal for the first time since being released by the club in 2003. The 28-year-old won the FA Youth Cup with the Gunners in 2001 and will be hoping to get one over on his former employers.
Trivia
Leyton Orient and Arsenal have met in the FA Cup in four previous seasons, with the north London club beating their east London rivals on every occasion.
Source: Dominic Raynor, ESPN Soccernet on 2 Mar 11
No comments:
Post a Comment