Arsene Wenger laments Arsenal draw against Leyton Orient in the FA Cup
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was disappointed after watching his team failing to kill the FA Cup game against Leyton Orient at Brisbane Road.
As a result, Arsenal will have to play an additional match at the Emirates Stadium.
Wenger said, “The most negative side of our result today is one more fixture and in fairness that is not what we needed. We have had problems in the cups against teams from the lower divisions to finish them off, but also we have given a lot.”
A late equaliser from Leyton Orient have earned them another chance to prove their worth against their London rivals. However, for Arsenal, a match was added to their jam-packed fixture list.
Arsene Wenger used his rotation policy against Leyton Orient and made 10 changes to the team which managed a famous victory over Barcelona during midweek’s Champions League fixture. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alex-Song-c4804 was the only player retained from that game to face the League
One side.
The Gunners were not at their fluent best and were definitely lacking a cutting edge which was highlighted against Barcelona. After a goalless first half, Arsenal managed to find the net through Tomas Rosicky, who exceptionally headed the ball in the bottom
corner.
However, the Gunners failed to hold on to their lead and once again, the ‘Manuel Almunia factor’ came into action. The veteran goalkeeper of Arsenal failed to save a straightforward effort from http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jonathan-c18993 Tehoue and conceded an easy goal. But Tehoue should
be credit for his extraordinary skills when he outclassed two Arsenal defenders single-handedly before placing the ball between Almunia’s legs.
Wenger added, “We have played the game with the right attitude and could not fault our fighting spirit, but you also have to give credit to Leyton Orient because they never gave up and fought very hard.”
For the first time in English football history, Leyton Orient managed to get a draw against Arsenal. The Gunners have defeated Orient in the past three meetings, and would now be aiming to continue their unbeaten record against the League One team when they
meet them at Emirates on 2 March, 2011. The victors of this tie would go on to face Manchester United at Old Trafford for the FA Cup quarterfinal.
However, for Arsene Wenger, the main concern is their jam-packed fixture list. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Arsenal-c38429 have to play Stoke City in the Premier League on Wednesday before making a trip to Wembley to play the Carling Cup final against Birmingham City.
Moreover, the Gunners will now have to play two more matches against Leyton Orient and Sunderland, before going to Nou Camp to keep their Champions League hopes alive against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38604.
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