My Arsenal Blog

While the FA Cup may not be viewed as a competition that has all too much of a spark left these days, we still think there’s something to be said for just how much the fans enjoy watching the drama unfold. This past weekend, we saw four fascinating quarter-final matches take place as Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United all booked their place in the final four.  .......Read more here.....

As reported on Arsenal.com, Arsenal Football Club has thrown their support behind the renaming of the 2020 FA Cup final to the 2020 Heads Up FA Cup final in order to raise awareness of mental health.

The project, largely done in association with Prince William, aims to open up the conversation behind mental health and just how many people struggle with it both around the world and in the United Kingdom on a day to day basis. Below you’ll find a series of quotes that further explain the process.  .......Read more here.....

On Sokratis at right back:
He moans a little bit because it is not his position! But for certain games, he is very helpful and he always has the right attitude and he has the qualities to play there in essential moments when we need him.

On giving Sokratis a lot of instructions from the side:
Yes, sometimes you need to interpret that when we have the ball it is a little bit different for him to use the spaces like he should do in relation to what the opponents are doing, but in general I think he is doing really well.  .......Read more here.....

Arsenal are the first team to progress into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup after a comfortable 2-0 win over Portsmouth last night. Goals from Sokratis and Nketiah ensured that the Gunners were able to bounce back from their disappointing Europa League exit, and after the game, manager Mikel Arteta spoke to the media about the importance of the win.

On the performance:
To come here, to this stadium, with seven under-23 players, and to dominate completely is a little bit unrealistic but we went through that moment [at the start] and after that we started to take the ball and play in the opposition half and dominate the situation much better. We scored the goals and should have scored more.  .......Read more here.....

On Bukayo Saka and if he thinks he might get an England call-up:
I don’t know. He deserves a lot of credit for the way he is playing, because he is playing with a lot of courage as well. You could see the other night that in difficult moments he wanted to make an impact and he wanted to make risky decisions to try to generate goals. And that’s been him. He’s been very consistent with his performance, which at that age normally is not a common thing, but yes, I’m really pleased with him.  .......Read more here.....

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta needed to get his side over the disappointment of the loss to Olympiakos this past weekend and re-focus their attention on the upcoming clash against Portsmouth in the FA Cup. In doing so, he spoke with the media about what fans should expect.

On the reaction of the players:
Well we trained today. We are all very down, frustrated, disappointed, but my message to them was that I am right behind them. I thanked them for the effort they put into the game, for the attitude and the personality they played with and the way they reacted after we conceded the goal. We tried, tried and tried again and completely deserved to win the game but there were aspects of the game that we have to dominate better if we want to keep competing at that level.  .......Read more here.....

Arsenal will take a look at the current field in the FA Cup and think that they’ve got a decent enough chance of making their way to the semi-finals, at the very least, and from that point on, all bets are off. Of course, they’ve got to take things one step at a time, and their next step will come at Fratton Park in the fifth round of the competition.

They’ll go head to head with Portsmouth with a place in the quarter-finals being at stake in what should be an intriguing test. Pompey have a history in the FA Cup and they’re on the rise in League One, making a serious push for promotion.  .......Read more here.....

Arsenal’s FA Cup run was given an injection of life as they beat Bournemouth to move into the fifth round of the competition. It only took five minutes for Bukayo Saka to open the scoring for a Gunners side that looked better than they have done in a long time. Within half an hour, Eddie Nketiah had made it two, which is as good of an indication as any that Arsenal are ready to bring through a new crop of talent.

Sam Surridge was able to bring the hosts back into a game that saw Shkodran Mustafi being stretchered off, adding another injury concern into the mix for Mikel Arteta.  .......Read more here.....

On the first goal having 22 passes in the build-up:
If we can score in two passes, it’s better! We don’t need that many but obviously we need to move the ball and find the right spaces to attack and they’ve done it really well. I think the two goals were really nice.

On the importance of a good cup run:
It gives you a lift. You go an extra round and look at the next opponent. You are closer to Wembley which is a magnificent day, let’s go step by step but they are really willing. I had that experience as a player, and I want to experience it as a manager now.  .......Read more here.....

Arsenal were able to confirm their place in the fifth round of the FA Cup last night with a 2-1 win over Bournemouth on the south coast. As fans continue to get excited about the prospect of a cup run and a place at Wembley, Gunners manager Mikel Arteta spoke with the media.

On making it to the fifth round:
I am very pleased. I knew it was going to be tough here. We played a really young squad today and I wanted to see the reaction. I’m very pleased because I saw a lot of things that I really liked.  .......Read more here.....