Mansfield Town manager Nigel Clough has admitted Arsenal could easily demolish his team this weekend, but he’s hoping for another FA Cup upset.
In a break from the Premier League action, Arsenal take on Mansfield Town away from home in the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday.
The Gunners are likely to field a rotated side, with the game falling between a Premier League trip away to Brighton and a Champions League visit to Bayer Leverkusen. But the players coming in should have a point to prove, just like in the previous 4-1 and 4-0 wins over Portsmouth and Wigan.
Mansfield boss Nigel Clough doesn’t deny that Arsenal could easily run away with Saturday’s cup tie, but he’s clearly hopeful this game will turn out differently to the Gunners’ last two rounds.
“Players know the gulf,” Clough admitted. “We’re a bottom half of the League One table side playing against top of the Premier League. Without breaking a sweat they could easily demolish us.
“[But] you just had a team from National League North go and knock out the holders. These sorts of shocks can happen.
“We don’t know who they are going to play, but we know roughly what their formation will be and we know that whichever Arsenal team is put out is going to be incredibly strong at set plays, especially corners.
“We can concentrate on those sorts of things. But in terms of the open play and what their individuals can do, it will be bit more difficult to prepare for that.”
Mansfield may well be a League One side, but that hasn’t stopped them getting this far. They’ve already knocked out Championship side Sheffield United and Premier League club Burnley, and Arsenal would be foolish to believe this weekend’s hosts will just roll over.
The Gunners already had a scare in the third round, with Portsmouth taking an early lead. Arteta’s side were fortunate to equalise through an own goal five minutes later, or else nerves might have started to set in.
Arsenal may not be so lucky if they go behind again this weekend, so a professional performance is required.