FA Cup Preview: Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur

The last trophy Arsene Wenger and Arsenal won was the FA Cup back in 2005. Since then, the Gunners have failed to win any silverware. Arsene Wenger is proud of winning the FA Cup 4 times in his career, no other manager has won more, and he will be looking to add one more to his name by winning it this time. The FA Cup is the best chance for Arsenal to win silverware and mark an end to the trophy drought though Gunners are still in the Champions League and currently sit at the top of the English Premier League.

Arsenal face their arch rivals on Saturday night when they host Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium. This is the second North London Derby of the season. The Gunners won the first one, also at the Emirates. Spurs have won the FA Cup 8 times, their last feat in the competition came in 1991, when they beat Arsenal in the semi final at the Wembley. Spurs beat Arsenal 3-1 thanks to goal from Paul Gascoigne & a brace from Gary Lineker. Alan Smith scored for the Gunners. Spurs then defeated Nottingham Forrest in the final to lift the trophy.

The North London Derby is one of the five all Premier League ties in the FA Cup’s third round. It will be interesting to see which side Tim Sherwood fields against the League Leaders. Spurs will be high on the confidence, when they come into this game just after beating Manchester United at Old Trafford. Meanwhile, the Gunners had a hard fought win against resilient Cardiff City on the weekend. Arsenal kept fighting till the end like champions do, and got the result just before the full time. Both teams are confident of getting result out of this derby, it is just who shows up and delivers on the particular day.

This will be first derby experience for the recently appointed Spurs manager Tim Sherwood. Stats show that Spurs manager have failed to beat Arsenal at first try since 1994. Tottenham beat Arsenal 1-0 on 2 January 1994, under the guidance of newly appointed Gerry Francis. 20 years on and after 10 bosses, Spurs are yet to beat Arsenal in their manager’s first attempt. Their last three FA Cup meetings have all been at the Semi Final stage, most recently at Old Trafford in 2001. They met in the Third Round in January 1982 when Tottenham won 1-0 at White Hart Lane. The Gunners have won this competition 10 times. Only Manchester United have won it more times (11) than Arsenal.

Team News

Arsenal

Danish International Nicklas Bendtner is out of the game after he twisted his ankle just after scoring against Cardiff City last weekend. Kieran Gibbs (calf) & Aaron Ramsey (thigh) are also unavailable. Mesut Ozil faces a late fitness test on his shoulder problem, which kept him out of the side for the last two games while Oliver Giroud is a major doubt. Yaya Sanogo & Abou Diaby are the long term absentees while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is close to returning to the training.

Tottenham Hotspur

Andros Townsend, Lewis Holtby & Jermain Defoe returned to training of Friday morning and are set to take part in the north London derby. Striker Emmanuel Adebayor is passed fit to face his former team on Saturday night. Erik Lamela (thigh), Gylfi Sigurdsson (calf), Younes Kaboul (thigh), Jan Vertonghen (ankle), Sandro (calf), Paulinho (ankle) & Kyle Naughton (ankle) are unavailable.

OPTA Stats

Arsenal have won their last three home games against Tottenham.
Spurs last won at Arsenal with a 2-3 victory in 2010.
Arsenal won the last time these teams met in the FA Cup, triumphing 2-1 in the 2001 semi-final.
Spurs’ last FA Cup win over their rivals also came in the semi-finals, 3-1 in 1991.
Arsenal haven’t scored in the first half of their last 4 matches.
Spurs have won their last 5 away games in all competitions.
The last three games between these sides at the Emirates have produced 15 goals and 2 red cards.
In 1949, the last time Arsenal played Tottenham at home in the FA Cup Third Round, the Gunners won 3-0.

Match Officials

Referee: Mark Clattenburg
Assistant Referees: Peter Kirkup & Simon Bennett
Fourth Official: Martin Atkinson