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Wenger on FA Cup, Iwobi and Ospina

By Lloyd Webb

Arsene Wenger will rotate his side to “keep the right balance” for Arsenal’s FA Cup fifth-round replay at Hull City.

Tuesday night’s game at the KC Stadium kicks off a packed schedule of four games in 12 days for the Gunners.

"What I see in [Iwobi] is a creative player who has a high work-rate and a good team spirit"

Arsene Wenger

Wenger says he has full faith in his players and will be counting on his whole squad during a gruelling period.

"I have to rotate a little bit and keep the right balance in the team,” he said. "I will have to but I’m not so much concerned about replacing one player with another one.

“We will play a team that has a good chance of qualifying, no matter who plays. David Ospina was an example of that on Saturday. I have the same respect for everyone and the same idea that all the players I have in my squad can play and win the game.

“We are in a position where we always have to win the next game. It is always the most important game of our life because it is treated like that by everybody else. That’s the way we treat it. It’s the most important game of the season for us because it’s the next one.”

Alex Iwobi could feature at the KC Stadium while Ospina impressed in Saturday’s north London derby, and Wenger says both players can make the difference.

“What I see in [Iwobi] is a creative player who has a high work-rate and a good team spirit,” he said. "I think he’s a player who develops very well because he has a big passion for the game and he can score goals as well. He can play on the flanks, he can play through the middle, he’s a very interesting player.

“I have told you many times that I rate Ospina as a world-class goalkeeper and I think he has been unfairly treated [since] I played him against Olympiacos. It was a time where his stats did not come out to the press and that’s where I think he got unfair treatment. I never questioned his quality.”

 

 

Alex Iwobi

Alex Iwobi

 

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