Wenger: Winning the FA Cup matters to me
Dear Arsenal Supporter,
First of all I would like to wish you a Happy New Year. Here's to a successful 2010.
It was a difficult first-half against a committed West Ham side on Sunday. They were well organised, they won many 50-50s, they were quick on the ball and we got caught on the break. In the second-half we played at a higher tempo and our combinations were better. West Ham dropped a little bit and then we were able to make the difference in the final 20 minutes.
Aaron Ramsey scored our equaliser and he improves from game to game. I set him a target at the start of the season to play between 15 and 20 games and it looks like he will get that very quickly. He has a chance to play at the moment. He can play on the flanks and at full-back also. He is physically very strong, quick and has good stamina. He is a good dribbler but of course his best position is centre midfield because he is a goalscorer as well.
Eduardo is slowly coming back to his best. He has been out for basically a year. Football is not like an engine where you start and drive off at 100mph. Everybody comes back slowly and that is what is happening with him. He is getting better with every game.
For me the FA Cup matters, the team I picked on Sunday was because I wanted to win. But the problem we have is we played Sunday against Aston Villa, Wednesday against Portsmouth, Sunday in the FA Cup, on Wednesday against Bolton and on Saturday against Everton. We cannot play with the same 11 players. But to win the FA Cup matters to me and I know it matters to the fans.
The big Cup shock was Leeds' win at Manchester United. I saw the first-half and felt that it was very good to see Leeds play the way they did. They played very good football and I don't know what happened in the second-half but at the end of the day you are happy for the team who deserves to win.
Manchester United won't gain a great advantage in the Premier League, it is more with the Champions League that the FA Cup is conflicting. The Fifth Round is just before a Champions League game and before that we play a lot in midweek. I don't think at the moment United have gained an advantage in the title race because they lost in the Cup.
I am not sure what kind of team I will play in the Fourth Round at Stoke or beyond that. It depends how many players return from injury.
On Sunday Andrey Arshavin, Denilson, Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott were out and then there are players at the back who are out. Arshavin should be available for Wednesday but he has had a foot problem. I don't know how long Walcott will be out for because he has a rib injury and they are always difficult to predict. Last time he had it on the right and this time it is on the left. Last time he was out for nearly a month. We hope that this time it will be much shorter.
Alex Song is another player we have to do without because he goes to the Africa Cup of Nations. We will miss him because he's an important player. In the system we play he plays in front of the defence and we will have to find a new balance without him.
Thanks for your support.
Arsène Wenger
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