Wow ! Massive game for Sutton and a big reward for their victory against Leeds. We should win this one, but they will be really up for it. Going to be an interesting game !
It's at there ground so it'll be a **** pitch compared to what our players are accustomed to. Game for Giroud for sure as it'll likely be scrappy and difficult to pull off the sleek passing moves. .
Their 4G pitch will give them a lot of confidence as they very rarely lose on it. These pitches can also un-nerve top professionals as they are rumoured to cause muscular injuries. They and the crowd will really be up for it so Arsenal will have to be 100% on their game physically and mentally. We weren't v Wycombe and could not counter their man mountain of striker called Akinfenwa. Makes for an exciting and memorable match though! Horrific draw in someways...you win 6 or 7 nil and everyone says so what. They score first and it could be a massive test
It'll be a tough outing for sure. It's completely different from what were used to. We'll need to be 100% on it.
Can see Sutton requesting this game to be played at the Emirates and as a goodwill Arsenal should give them all the gate receipts. Because not being funny we already know whos won this, Sutton should think about the cash that could keep them running for years
This is the perfect game and day to get over the Munich nightmare. And look at what awaits in the next round. You'll get Chelsea in the semi. And Tottenham in the final. That would be a great day all round for North London? OK it's a dream at this stage but wouldn't it be great?
What's the point playing these fixtures? Who wins the final, let skip to that part and the players can keep themselves fresh for league games.
You have an enormous squad so no problem with fixture congestion. I have a funny feeling your lot will come close to matching Liverpool's sweep of five trophies in a calendar year. League Cup, FA Cup, Europa League, Charity Shield and European Super Cup. And finish 5th or 6th. Your best team though, is probably the 3rd best in the PL at the moment.
I just cant bring myself to give a **** at this point. Out of the Champions League and the League is going to Chelsea. Not sure I can get hyped about the FA cup.
I love the FA Cup. Granted it is a lesser priority than the league and CL but it's a great competition. All kinds of teams from all kinds of levels of football all going for a trophy. For the lesser teams it's a chance to earn club changing money and play in the games of their lives and for the big teams it's an opportunity for silverware that in the modern era is far harder to achieve. City, Chelsea and Arsenal all have expectations of going for the league (regardless of how the season has gone so far) and Utd, Liverpool and Spurs all feel they have a chance to compete right at the top. All six teams have varying levels of quality and squad depth but with a bit of momentum and luck all of those teams are in with a chance at the league. It's the most competitive the league has been in a long time in terms of the difference between the top teams and only one can take the prize. As it stands the English clubs don't have particularly high hopes of winning the CL with the strength of the Spanish teams, Bayern and even PSG. And the Europa and league cup are seen more as a hinderance than respected as competitions. Which leaves the FA Cup as the most prestigious (and realistic) piece of silverware to compete for outside of the team who wins the league. I know in this era of money it's important to go for the top four and to try and go far in Europe but the joy of winning the FA Cup is incredible. I've loved our two recent FA Cup successes and even though I recognise that actually it's often secondary to league position and not always given the respect it deserves it's a competition I really enjoy. I'm one of the fans who during the trophy less years accepted that league position was necessary (even only fourth) to prioritise over the domestic cups for the sake of the club and the long term vision, but I hate dropping out of the FA Cup and the excitement of a knockout cup game goes beyond any normal league game and draws out the excited feeling that made me fall in love with football. Europe is a highly unlikely trophy for any team, the league can only be won by one of a handful of very good teams, so the FA Cup is the opportunity of being winners in a climate where almost all teams end up non-winners.
This is really not a dig as I have no interest in getting drawn into another slanging match. Do you genuinely believe that had we had more resources during that period we'd actually have been able to do anything other than finish top 4 anyway when we can't now even with resources? Meh. The last 13 champions leagues have been won by 9 different teams. Barcelona, Real and Bayern have all not won it far more times than they have won it. Other Euro teams can often beat these powerhouses. We never do though. It's unlikely (actually impossible) as a trophy for us with Wenger at the helm... it's not unlikely for quite a few other clubs though. Of which we're supposed to be one... yet we never win it. City, Chelsea, United and Leicester do though. We're in the 'richest clubs in the world' bracket, among a group of clubs who actually often end up being winners in some competition or another. That top 10 of rich clubs includes Barca, Real, Man Utd, Bayern, PSG, City, Chelsea, Juve and Liverpool. Bar Liverpool (who I'd also state are massive underachievers even with a vaguely recent CL win) they've all won significantly more trophies than we have in the last decade. For one of the supposed biggest clubs in the world, a domestic cup should not be seen as a saving grace. It's competition that's the icing on the cake for a great season (see 97/98, 01/02), or a trophy to settle for sandwiched between other successful seasons. When the domestic cup is the only trophy you can win (and lets face it, for us it is and will be until Wenger leaves) and you're the 5th richest football club in the world then something is wrong.
The artificial pitch might actually suit us better than the mud wrestling arena a non league grass pitch would have been
That's what i'm thinking. Technically the ball should run consistently over the surface and at the same speed, that should suit our players. Much worse for players like Walcott and Sanchez to run on bumpy, pot holed pitch in Low Hall, Walthamstow...
Dover beat Sutton 6-0 at their place on this artificial pitch. I'll not be happy with anything less than 10.
