Arsene Wenger insists his players need no warning about the threat posed by Hull City in Saturday’s FA Cup final.
Arsenal are favourites to lift the trophy at Wembley, having beaten Steve Bruce’s side twice already this season.
But Wenger says that tag means nothing when it comes to a final, and stressed that his side must deliver a strong performance if they are to prevail.
"We know that a final is a final, that Hull are a Premier League team, they can pass the ball, they can create chances"
“To be favourites doesn't guarantee you anything,” the manager said. “It just means if you turn up on the day of the game with a good performance you have more chance of winning. So let's focus on turning up with a great performance.
“I don't believe we need any warning [about Hull]. We know that a final is a final, that Hull are a Premier League team, they can pass the ball, they can create chances. It's just down to us to perform well on the day of the game.
“I honestly don’t feel there is any danger of complacency - we know the difficulty of the task. If you look at our run in the FA Cup, we’ve had a hard run.
“We played against Tottenham, against Liverpool, against Everton, Wigan in the semi-final. Coventry was maybe a little bit easier, but overall if you look at the run we had it was very tough. We have done all this and we want to finish it now.”
Wenger accepts that the length of time since Arsenal last won a trophy may make the game more difficult, but he has backed his side to handle it.
“There is always high expectancy and it brings pressure,” he said. “The advantage we have is that we’ve played many games this season under that kind of pressure and tension and our experience of dealing with it will help us prepare for the final.”
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