It’s up to us to make sure we are fully switched on and ready to go. We’re looking forward to it. We have been really annoyed with how we’ve gone out of the FA Cup early in the past few years, because it’s always a big target for us at the start of every season.
This is the second of five home games in a row for us, in four different competitions. I’m not sure if it’s happened before, but after Tuesday’s result we really want to make the most of these next two weeks. We have spoken about it, we know what we want to achieve in this run, we are still in all four competitions so let’s go and do it. At this time of year we play so many games, lots of midweek games too, so it’s a big help to have them at home.
We have played Manchester United recently of course and we got the right result, but I have watched them since and they got a good result away to Liverpool last weekend. As I’ve said before, they have a lot of quality in their squad, and you can’t only look at the table when you talk about Manchester United. Especially as this is a cup game, so the league positions don’t matter – it’s about the level we can both be at on the day.
I know Arsenal holds the record for most wins in this tournament, so it’s about time we had another good run. We have a proud tradition of success in this competition at Arsenal, a lot of history, and we want to add to it. We really want to do that this season. We are desperate for trophies as a group, and we are going to fight for everything we can.
We will once again be supporting our No More Red campaign this afternoon, and it’s something I have learned a lot about since being at the club. This is the fourth season we’ve worn the No More Red kit to highlight our work that helps keep young people safe from knife crime and youth violence.
As captain I’m really proud of what the club is doing in the community to create safe spaces to play football, provide more opportunities for connection and champion role models. The players have again been connecting with local projects we are supporting, and by wearing the kit again today, hopefully that will result in even more focus on the issues.
