CURTIS: I’M GUNNER DO IT LIKE MY HERO... HENRY THE INVINCIBLE
Life-long Arsenal fan Ronan seeks inspiration in his FA Cup ‘dream tie’
PORTSMOUTH winger Ronan Curtis will seek inspiration from boyhood hero Thierry Henry to try and send his beloved Arsenal crashing out of the FA Cup.
Londoner Curtis grew up worshipping Henry (the pair, above) and his fellow Arsenal ‘Invincibles’ and says it will be a dream come true to face the Gunners tonight.
Curtis, 23, said: “I got my wish! It will be like a dream to play against my all-time favourite team. My heroes were Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp – just the classics really.
“The Invincibles were unbelievable. Obviously, Arsenal do not really play that way now, but just to play against them will be unbelievable.
“I grew up in south
London, in Croydon, and I really liked the way they played football back in the day – the movement and players they had.
“I loved Thierry Henry, his finishing and all-round game were amazing. It has been a long time since Pompey beat Arsenal at Fratton Park, so it would be lovely if we could win.”
Since winning the Cup in 2008, and losing to Chelsea in the final two years later, Pompey have fallen on hard times, plummeting from the Premier League all the way down to League Two.
But Kenny Jackett’s men are now flying high in third place in League One, and have already booked a Wembley date – by reaching the final of the EFL Trophy for the second season running.
Curtis has warned Arsenal to expect a bruising, physical battle at a sold-out Fratton Park. The Republic of Ireland ace said: “Our pitch is a tight pitch. The fans are right on top of us, and Arsenal will not be used to playing in conditions like that. We will stick it up them.
“They will be favourites but, with the way we have been playing, there is no reason we cannot beat them. It is just 11 men versus 11 men.
“They are not used to playing against League One teams and that is what we are there to bring. They don’t like the physical side, so we will bring that into play.
“The lads are buzzing. We are all looking forward to it.” Curtis is Pompey’s top scorer this season with 13 goals, and says he owes much of his success to his mum!
Marie is Curtis’s biggest fan and even writes motivational pep talks for the former Derry City hotshot and his team-mates on Twitter before every game.
Curtis added: “Me and my mum get on like a house on fire. She is my idol. She is staying with me now until the end of the season and she does everything in the house.
“I can just sit back and relax, and think about the games coming up, and focus on my football.”