FA Cup 5th Round: Arsenal v Sunderland; Match Preview
I really wish I could call this Vu Ja De – the feeling that none of this has happened before but its has. In fact only last weekend when Arsenal made the trip north to Wearside to take on Sunderland for the league. Well, here it is a week later and highs of that dramatic win have been replaced by the epic lows of the disgraceful performance that was witnessed at the San Siro. Which Arsenal team shows up for the FA Cup 5th round is anyone’s guess.
This much is certain, a response is needed. What kind of response? Well, the preferred would be an absolute battering of Martin O’Neil’s side. The not so preferred, getting jettisoned from the FA Cup.
There is a sense of impending doom that I have. Last season on the tails of an epic collapse at the Carling Cup final, this team began the gradual decline into the abyss that was fourth place in the league. Fourth place in the league is going to be welcome, however, should Arsenal begin a slide reminiscent of last season, well then even fourth place might not be there for the taking.
As I wrote yesterday, there is lots of blame to go around. Right now, however, we have to move beyond that. I support Arsenal FC. And when the players take the pitch, I will always root for the team to win and I am hopeful that tomorrow they will go out with purpose. I know some of feel that you can longer watch. Whether that means you can no longer support right now, I don’t know. But if the current state of affairs makes you question your support, I suggest you go by a light blue Etihad shirt and go run with the money team.
Arsenal are better than Sunderland. I would go so far as to say they are better than AC Milan. I have no idea what happened to that team on Wednesday. But something got in their head and when they took the pitch they were absolute shit. Much like they did last weekend, they need to come to Sunderland and control the game from the get go. There should be no leaving it until the 1st minute of stoppage time this week. This match, this team and more importantly the fan base demand putting Sunderland to the sword early.
Wenger, it seems is set to start a strong side. Word is that since the debacle in Italy he has demanded a performance from the team and will not give the first teamers a rest. I have Van Persie in my starting line-up projection but I wouldn’t be surprised if he did give the dutchman a rest. Laureny Koscielny will miss this match recovering from what I think is noting more than a deep bruise. All indications are that he will be back in time for the North London Derby. Per Mertesacker is out for the season. The BFG you will remember suffered ankle damage going for a routine ball late in the league match against Sunderland last week. Johann Djourou is set to feature alongside Thomas Vermaelen in the middle with Kieran Gibbs getting his second match in at fullback. Other than that the rest of the team is healthy and should feature. And that means we may also expect that Gervinho will be back in the squad.
The problem at Sunderland will the same problem we had last week and at the San Siro, another God awful pitch. That’s the bad news. The good news is that I don’t think Sunderland are going to sit back looking for a point. The last thing they will want is a trip back down to London to wrap this up so I think they will actually try and play and open match. Which should be good news for Arsenal, so they can play.
How the Match Should Play:
I don’t have a sense of how this is going to go but as I just said, I don’t expect Sunderland to play with 10 men behind the ball. Look for it to be open but a slow plodding affair because of the nasty state of the pitch.
Players to Watch:
Arsenal. Gervinho. The Ivory Coast international makes his return to the squad after the Africa Cup of Nations.
Sunderland. Sebastien Larsson. Why because like I said last week, he is the one who got away.
Projected Line Ups:
Injuries:
Arsenal: Diaby (muscle) Frimpong (knee) Koscielny (knee) Mertesacker (ankle) Santos (ankle) Wilshere (ankle).
Sunderland: Angeleri (knee) Brown (knee) Gordon (knee) Vaughan (knee) Bramble (Achilles) Cattermole (hamstring) Kilgallon (ankle) Bendtner (ineligible)
Last Meeting (EPL):
Arsenal: 2
Sunderland: 1
Match Referee: Howard Webb (Matches 31, R5 Y107)
Broadcast Information:
US: Fox Soccer Channel – 12:00 EST
UK: ITV 1 – 1715 GMT
Match Facts (via BBC):
• Having eliminated Leeds and Aston Villa, Arsenal now try to qualify for the quarter-finals for the eighth time in 12 seasons. They were ousted by a top-flight club most recently in the last eight last term when Manchester United eclipsed them.
• The Gunners are the second most successful club in FA Cup history, having won the competition 10 times (one fewer than Manchester United), and been runners-up on seven occasions.
• The North London club have lost away from home to fellow Premier League clubs in each of the last six seasons, since lifting the silverware most recently in 2005.
• Arsenal won 2-1 when they visited the Stadium of Light last Saturday, to take their unbeaten sequence in the Premier League against Sunderland to five (W3, D2), but are all-square in the FA Cup at three wins a piece.
• Since prevailing 2-1 in the semi-finals on their way to the silverware in 1973, Sunderland have been knocked out twice by the Gunners, in the 1991 and 1997 third rounds.
YAMA Prediction:
Arsenal: 1
Sunderland: 1
Game Day Chat is Open!! https://youaremyarsenal.com/gamedaychat
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