Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain says Wigan’s FA Cup performances underline the danger they will pose in Saturday’s semi-final at Wembley.
Uwe Rosler’s side are the current holders and sprang a major surprise by beating high-flying Manchester City at the Etihad in the previous round.
While Oxlade-Chamberlain accepts that the Gunners are favourites to progress, he says they will not be taking the Championship club lightly.
"They defended really well for large parts of the match, but were very dangerous going forward and full credit to them for a fantastic victory"
“As a player, the pressure is the same for every game, especially when you’re at a club like Arsenal,” he told Arsenal Player. “It’s inevitable that we go into quite a few matches during the season as favourites, so we just have to handle it and believe in our qualities.
“For this match, we have full respect for Wigan and they’ve got some very good players who are definitely Premier League quality. I watched their match in the quarter-final when they knocked out Manchester City. They defended really well for large parts of the match, but were very dangerous going forward and full credit to them for a fantastic victory.
“It just shows you what FA Cup football is all about. There are so many twists and turns along the way and it proves that lower league clubs can beat Premier League clubs, which is why we must be at our best to get a result.
"Let’s not forget, we were knocked out of last season’s FA Cup by Blackburn and also beaten by Bradford in the League Cup, so we know exactly what to expect from Wigan and we must be on our game to win.
“We mustn’t underestimate them at all, their result against Man City shows what they are capable of. But we must look at our own game on the day, go into the match with the right mindset and give the best possible performance.”
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