WENGER EYES RECORD WIN
ARSENE WENGER has set his sights on becoming an FA Cup record-breaker.
The Arsenal boss will contest his 11th FA Cup semi-final tomorrow as he bids to lift the trophy for a seventh time.
Wenger shares the managerial record of winning the competition six times with George Ramsay – who enjoyed his success with Aston Villa between 1887 and 1920.
The Frenchman must plot Manchester City’s downfall at Wembley to stand any chance of etching his name into the history books by topping the list on his own.
Wenger said: “I’m very proud of the record because you have many strong managers in England for many periods.
Mastermind
“The guy who won it six times was not today, it was in the early century. It’s not easy. I will try to be (out on my own) but for that we will have to go through on Sunday.
“Let’s first deal with City and see what happens there. It’s really a 50-50 game.
“If you ask the neutrals, maybe they will say City are favourites even. It’s always a special experience and for us, I think we are focused, highly motivated.”
Wenger is a serial winner of the world’s oldest cup competition, with his love affair with the competition stretching back to 1998 when Newcastle were beaten.
And Wenger has gone on to mastermind triumphs in two of the last three seasons.
The 3-2 comeback win over Hull in 2014 ended a long drought for silverware and Wenger added: “That was a special pressure. It was difficult for us. We had not won a trophy for a long time. And people wanted us to win a trophy or questioned us about winning a trophy.
“So 2014 was special pressure. This time it’s a special opportunity for us.
“I thought always the cup is something special. In fact, I won the cup in every country I have worked. It’s one of the major trophies and that is why I have prepared properly for it every time.”
Arsenal halted a woeful run of form by squeezing past struggling Middlesbrough 2-1 in the league on Monday.
Big-spending City will pose a different problem but Wenger says his squad have shown they are up for the fight. He said: “When you have negative results like we had it can divide or unite. At some stage, you have to show you can fight together.
“Even if people will say it’s normal that you win at Middlesbrough, when you go through a bad period, it’s difficult in your head to win everywhere.
“The best way to win is to first show that you can fight again. People questioned our fighting spirit, and rightly so, when we came out of the Crystal Palace game.
“We had to show again that we can fight together. The fact they did fight and did win had a positive impact.”