Arsene Wenger says last year’s FA Cup run shows that you cannot always tell who your toughest opponents will be.
Arsenal have been installed as one of the favourites for this season’s competition after a number of Premier League sides were beaten in the fourth round.
The Gunners face Middlesbrough on Sunday and while the manager accepts his side are expected to progress, he says it is not always so straightforward.
"Last year we played Everton, Liverpool and Tottenham but our most difficult game was Wigan and then Hull in the final"
Arsene Wenger
“You have Manchester United, Liverpool – many favourites. We are not the only ones,” he said. “Of course, you would not make a Championship team favourite, but last year we played Everton, Liverpool and Tottenham but our most difficult game was Wigan and then Hull in the final. It is difficult to predict.
“[The FA Cup] is important to us. We did not always manage to win it, but we have won it five times during my period here. Nobody has won it more in the last 18 years, so we have always taken it seriously.
“Sometimes so seriously that we suffered in the Champions League after. Many times a cup game was in front of a Champions League game. Many times we lost some players.
“I remember against Manchester United when we played against Chelsea in the Champions League three days later we lost some because we took the game seriously.”
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