Arsenala s Arsene Wenger said that the gunners will give everything they have in their FA Cup game against Manchester United.
a We go to Manchester United to qualify and to give absolutely everything,a Arsene said. a Thata s the target of the day – hard work, team effort and to give absolutely everything. Both teams will do that and I believe it could be a very interesting game.
a At the moment we are doing very well away from home. The size of the pitch is exactly the same everywhere, ita s just down to how much we turn up and how much effort we put in to win the game.
a It is a [game with] special intensity because it is between two teams who have a chance to win this competition. Both teams will think, a If we get over this hurdle, we have a good opportunity to win the competition’. It is more focused on the FA Cup purely than the Premier League.”
Arsene said the first goal in the game would decide how Arsenal would approach the rest of the tie.
a I still think possession is an important part of the game – you cannot go into a game and say you do not want the ball,a the manager said. a Sometimes you do not have the ball because your opponent is better, sometimes you are leading 1-0 or 2-0 and your team is focused on defending the advantage.
a You have to analyse it. You also have to look at ways of possession – is it in your own half or is it in the opponents half? If it is in your half, it can be a bit illusionary possession.
a But overall I still think it is very important that the sport rewards people and teams who take initiative.a
Arsene also talked up the physical prowess of Mesut Ozil, who ran the most in the game against QPR.
a I knew he had a good physical potential, but I did not know how good he was physically. He has a huge physical potential,a the manager said.
a We are all in a job where in every single game we have to prove a point. I believe he has the quality, he puts a lot of effort in to help the team and he works much harder than his style shows.
a You can be cheated a little bit by his style of play, because he is fluent, easy, subtle and he does not look like he puts the effort in, but he does.a
