Friday, March 29, 2024

There´s a long way to go – Wenger cools FA Cup treble talk

SoccerNews in English Premier League 30 Jan 2016

76 Views

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was quick to cool talk of a third successive FA Cup triumph after his side overcame Burnley in the fourth round on Saturday.

The Gunners defeated Hull City and Aston Villa in the 2014 and 2015 finals, and the 2-1 victory at Emirates Stadium took their winning sequence in the FA Cup to 14 matches.

No team since Blackburn Rovers in the 1880s has won three straight finals, but Wenger is not getting ahead of himself with three more rounds to go before a potential appearance in the showpiece at Wembley come May.

“First of all we have only passed two rounds,” Wenger said. “It’s a long way to go, when you look at everybody still in there.

“We would love to do it but there’s a long way to go. We are still in three competitions and we will try every time to get a team out to pass the round.”

Alexis Sanchez scored one and assisted the other against Burnley as he made an instant impact on his return to the starting line-up, and Wenger claimed he was never too concerned about the Chilean’s fitness following two months out with a hamstring problem.

“[It was his first start] for eight or nine weeks,” Wenger said. “When I saw Derby against Burnley, I had a little hesitation to pick the three [Sanchez, Francis Coquelin and Mohamed Elneny]. But the fact that we played at home, I thought we could manage to get away with it.

“With Alexis, I was not too much worried about [him] on the fitness front because I kept him out two weeks ago and he was already there physically. We had some worries about his muscle but today he came through well.

“He had a long rest now. When he got injured, you could see signs of fatigue. I think two months’ rest is a good winter break!”

Wenger gave Elneny a debut following the Egypt international’s move from Basel, and the manager believes the midfielder needs to be given time to adapt to his new surroundings.

“He needs to adjust to the power of the game in the Premier League. This was a good welcome today and certainly he has learnt a lot today,” Wenger said.

“It will take him some time to adjust to the power side of our game here, but the intelligence, the mobility and the technical level are good.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SoccerNews

Soccernews.com is news blog for soccer with comprehensive coverage of all the major leagues in Europe, as well as MLS in the United States. In addition we offer breaking news for transfers and transfer rumors, ticket sales, betting tips and offers, match previews, and in-depth editorials.

You can follow us on Facebook: Facebook.com/soccernews.com or Twitter: @soccernewsfeed.

SHARE OR COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE

WE RECOMMEND

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This field is required *

Join the conversation!

or Register

More More
Top