It’s an FA Cup clash on Saturday afternoon, but Arsène Wenger is under no illusions about the strength of Arsenal’s opponents.
Hull City visit the Emirates Stadium, sitting pretty at the top of the Championship. It’s not even two years since the sides met in the final of this competition, and they played each other three times last season – twice in the Premier League and once in the FA Cup again.
This time around Steve Bruce’s men are in the Championship, but looking to bounce back and Wenger is wary of the threat they pose.
“We play them every year at the moment in the FA Cup, we played them in the final so we know them well,” Wenger told the media. “They are in a strong position in the Championship. We know the level in the Championship has gone up tremendously and you need a top level performance to beat these teams.”
Despite home advantage, the Gunners snuck into the fifth round pretty quietly with a 2-1 win against Burnley, who were also relegated last season and hoping to return to England’s top flight.
Saturday’s game will certainly be another testing one.
“They’ve played together for a long time,” the boss added. “If you go through the team they’ve all played in the Premier League, they’re all Premier League players, even on the bench. I consider them a Premier League team.”
It’s essentially another Premier League match, so it’s good to know Arsenal are approaching it as one.