Young Gun Gnabry up for Cup test
COMBATIVE midfielder Serge Gnabry feels the FA Cup is the perfect opportunity for Arsenal’s youngsters to show they have what it takes to hold their own in the first team.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is expected to rotate his side for this afternoon’s showdown against Liverpool, with one eye on next week’s crunch Champions League clash against Bayern Munich.
That could mean the likes of Olivier Giroud and Mikel Arteta are given a breather, which would open the door again for 18-year-old Gnabry, who started both previous ties against Tottenham and Coventry.
“I am eager to get back in the team and I’m trying my best in training,” German youth star Gnabry said in Arsenal’s matchday programme.
“The FA Cup is a great opportunity for young players. I really enjoy playing in the competition and I hope we make it to the Final.’’
Wenger maintains he will not make too many changes and compromise the integrity of his side.“I play a team with a good opportunity, a good chance to qualify,” he said.
“Will I rest one player, or two or three? I don’t know yet. Certainly we will just have one focus, which is to win the game.”
Wenger — branded a“failure specialist” by Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho following his own comments about the state of the Premier League title race on Friday — accepts his side must step up to the challenges ahead over a crunch period of the campaign.
The Gunners boss, though, insists there can be no thoughts of what happened against Liverpool last weekend, when his team were thrashed 5-1 at Anfield and trailed 4-0 inside the opening 20 minutes.
“You can say what you want, when you have just conceded five goals you do not go into the next game and act like nothing happened,” saidWenger, whose side drew 0-0 with Manchester United onWednesday.
“I feel that we got the mental response I expected from the team — hugely committed, but with a bit more confidence.”
Santi Cazorla is struggling with a virus, but Mathieu Flamini is available again following a three-match ban.