Arsenal don’t scare Alioski
Pope facing probe over Twitter post
Arteta joined the club as a player on August deadline day in 2011, three days after Arsenal had suffered one of their worst defeats.
The supporters were in uproarXXaXftXerXXtXheXXGVunXnXeXrsXXloXsXt 8-2 atX.XMXPaMnBchyesDtegrdgUdgnditgedd – calling for Arsene Wenger to be sacked – and there was a toxic atmosphere at the Emirates.
Sound familiar? Arteta is now trying to rebuild the team from a similar low point and has already given the fans encouragement with some better performances.
But he acknowledges that picking up silverware is vital to the healing process ahead of tonight’s tie with Leeds.
The Gunners have won the competition a record 13 times, two of them in 2014 and 2015 when Arteta was part of Wenger’s side. “Winning brings togetherness,” said the Spaniard. “And when you have beautiful experiences together and win trophies, those experiences stay in the group.
“You like the people that you work with more, you believe in them more, share fantastic moments and that habit of winning, winning, winning. After you win, you don’t want to stop winning. You become
EZGJAN ALIOSKI mocked Manchester United by saying fearless Leeds will go to Arsenal to show they are a big club again.
The Championship leaders take on the 13-time FA Cup winners in tonight’s final match of the third round.
Winger Alioski said Leeds will not read too much into past results, including Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Red Devils on New Year’s Day.
“I saw the result against Manchester United but this current Manchester United, even we can beat them,” said Alioski.
“This is a cup, it’s different. It’s a nice stadium, of course, it’s a big club, but we’re also a big club. We need to go there with a lot of confidence, not scared because it’s Arsenal.”
Arteta, with the FA Cup in 2014, wants to give fans ‘a special day’ at Wembley
with the fans. He believes it is “impossible” to do anything without them on board.
Arteta added: “With the fanbase we have, with our history, how much these people have been with the club and the great players, great teams, they’ve seen, if we get that connected, it’s powerful.
“Without that, I think it’s impossible. When we know we have the fans behind us, we have to pinch our players to react.
“We must make sure we get the fans behind us and use them to have a better performance and create more fear as well in the opponent.”
ARSENAL (probable): Martinez; Mustafi, Holding, Luiz, Saka; Willock, Guendouzi, Ceballos; Pepe, Nelson, Lacazette.
LEEDS (probable): Meslier; Gotts, Ayling, White, Douglas; Phillips; Harrison, Klich, Bamford.
Berardi, Alioski;
HE is nicknamed ‘Peter Pan’ in the Rochdale dressing room – and it is not just because Aaron Wilbraham is the footballer who never grows old.
Among his teammates, the 40-year-old is “a cool guy” because of his music tastes and ability to get on with lads young enough to be his sons.
But that is not all.A lot of the parents chat with him because he is a similar age, and quite a few of his fellow pros regard him as a father figure.
Rochdale fans and manager Brian BarryMurphy just call him ‘Supersub’, ‘Hero’ and ‘Goalscorer Extraordinaire’ after his late equaliser heaped FA Cup embarrassment on Newcastle.
Teenager Luke Matheson, 17, and Wilbraham may be at opposite ends of their careers but
Iran then Cuba then North Korea then the Rothschilds are crowned champions of every bank on the planet.”
The Rothschilds are a wealthy Jewish family who have been involved in banking since the 18th century.
Pope later deleted the tweet but the FA could launch an investigation depending on the outcome of talks with Pope and his club.
He could face an “aggravated breach” charge if the tweet is deemed to have “included a reference, whether expressed or implied, to race and/ combined for the equaliser after Miguel Almiron had put Newcastle ahead.
“I like being the father of the team,” said Wilbraham. “The old pros did it for me when I started from school back in 1996.
“Luke was a bit low last week when he had a bad game and I told him, ‘A week is a long time in football’.” or colour and/or ethnic origin”.
Pope had earlier created a storm on social media after his goal backed up his pre-match bravado in a personal battle with City’s John Stones.
He claimed on Twitter last year he could score 40 goals a season if he faced Stones and was not warmly welcomed in City’s dressing room.
“It was like the Grim Reaper going in!” said Pope. “He [Stones] would not speak to me.”
City’s goals were by Oleksandr Zinchenko, Sergio Aguero, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Phil Foden.