Fleetwood Town manager Matt Lawlor has told his players to embrace the occasion rather than fear it as Arsenal arrive at Highbury Stadium in the Carabao Cup.
Fleetwood manager Matt Lawlor has told his players they cannot afford to be frightened of Arsenal when the Premier League champions arrive at Highbury Stadium in the Carabao Cup tonight.
The League Two side have already knocked out Sheffield United to reach the fourth round and now have the chance to book a place in the quarter-finals against Mikel Arteta’s side.
Lawlor knows exactly how difficult the task is, but wants Fleetwood to enjoy the occasion rather than allow Arsenal’s status to get to them.
“The champions are coming to town and they’re coming to our patch,” he said.
“The players need to be excited by it, not overawed by it. The respect is through the roof, but the fear can’t be through the roof.
“We’ve earned a game like this. We’ve had to go through round upon round of tough games, and none of them were easy. To get to where we are, we deserve that.
“To be able to represent the town on the national stage is amazing.”
Lawlor also did not hide his frustration with Fleetwood’s current run of form after their good start to the season. Unbeaten in the first six, they have lost five of their last seven.
“It has been a frustration of mine, and I’ve shared that with the group,” Lawlor added.
“With a young group you get peaks and troughs. We need to level out a little bit more than we have done in recent weeks. It’s not from a lack of trying or effort.”
Arteta, meanwhile, has warned his players not to embarrass themselves.
“Our reputation, our pride, everything is in play,” he said. “So every time you play a football match, and especially against a team in a different division, respect the game, respect every opponent because they deserve to do that, and then try to win and try to play a bit better than them.
“We all have one [upset] at some stage. We know the risk, and in football, things can get very equal the moment you are able to match certain things, and that’s why our basics and habits have to be through the roof to be able to win the game.”
This is the first time Arsenal have ever played at this Highbury Stadium.
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