Well, what can I say, you wait for what seems forever and its over in 90 minutes. Yes I’m talking Champions League and I’m well aware we are only at half time but the euphoria that I have been experiencing lasted one day and an evening of ups and downs.
But that’s gone now for a while; today is all about focusing on another competition we are still in, the FA Cup and today’s opponents Leyton Orient.

Cesc in 2005

Orient may not be Barcelona but they could be just as dangerous if taken too lightly. In my eyes all the competitions are as important as any other and this one is no different. Orient would have prepared well for this game and they must be rubbing their hands together that we had a game midweek against a team that would make us work for the full 90 minutes. They however would have been sat watching with their feet up on a pouf with a beer or similar no doubt – ok, lemonade!!

This will be a tough test for us and we must field a team that can do the business, this is no time for eight or nine changes.
Arsene Wenger has stated that he considers all competitions in the same light, and I hope he means that. From that statement I expect to see a team of adequate proportions to overcome the opposition.

By that I mean no slip ups, a good hard fight and culminating in a comfortable victory, anything else would be catastrophic in my little mind. The season is long enough now so no replay please boss, we need to get in there, get the job done, and get out. Simples!

So who are we playing then?

LO are a Division one side that sits 52 places below us our current position but as we all know, that means very little when it comes to the FA Cup – every minnow wants to one over on a shark one day don’t they? They have a couple of injuries to Matthew Spring and Adam Chambers – both could miss this tie. We have met on ten previous occasions and won seven of those but we have never lost to LO in the FA Cup, despite playing them four times – the most recent being in the quarter-finals in 1972 and semi-finals in 1978.

As for the LO victories in the league, even I didn’t watch those as they were back in 1913 and 1915…

LO have got here by knocking out Championship high-fliers Norwich and Swansea and this is their first appearance in the last 16 in 29 years, in fact their best run in the FA Cup was back in 1978 – we knocked them out in the semi’s that year!.

Right now they are in good form, winning their last three games and scoring ten goals in the process. They haven’t suffered a loss since New Years Day, winning seven matches and drawing four, so anyone who thinks this will be a walk over, think again! Add to that it’s been fourteen matches since they lost a match at home and that was back in September.

On to us, Sagna is back available, Diaby is still banned and JD remains a doubt.

The rest, well that’s up to Arsene Wenger but we cannot afford a loss, we cannot afford a draw and a subsequent replay so best the big man picks the right side to go and get us a win.

It’s been six years since we last won this competition and I miss it – and as the film goes, yes I do remember what I wanted that day and like every Gooner, I got it too. We all sat, watched and cringed no doubt at the way we got battered in the FA Cup Final against the Manure but we held on…..

I loved penalties that day, I loved them yesterday too πŸ™‚

Thanks for yesterday Cashley.......

Have a good day all…..

Written by Steve & a few odd bits by rico….