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FA Cup: Arsenal can cope with quest for trophy, says Wenger

Gunners defeat Sunderland 3-1 in third-round tie

Afp January 11, 2016

Goals from Campbell, Ramsey and Giroud were enough to see the Gunners through, after Sunderland had taken a surprise lead through Lens. PHOTO: AFP

LONDON: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says he is not concerned that a hectic period of fixtures could derail his team’s bid for glory on multiple fronts this season.

The Frenchman rested a number of players, including midfield maestro Mesut Ozil, for Saturday’s FA Cup third-round tie with Sunderland, which Arsenal won 3-1 courtesy of goals from Joel Campbell, Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud.

Alexis Sanchez, Jack Wilshere, Danny Welbeck and Tomas Rosicky are all currently sidelined, but Wenger is confident that his squad has sufficient depth to cope.

“There is a little bit of concern,” said Wenger. “But I believe that the next step is to get back Rosicky, Welbeck, Sanchez [and] Wilshere, and maybe we will get one player in [during the January transfer window].”

‘Manchester City have winning mentality’

Manuel Pellegrini says Manchester City’s 3-0 stroll against Norwich proved they have a burning desire to achieve an unprecedented quadruple this season.

Pellegrini’s side remains on course for success in the FA Cup, League Cup, Champions League and Premier League after Saturday’s emphatic victory at Carrow Road.

A sublime strike from Sergio Aguero opened the scoring before Kelechi Iheanacho and Kevin de Bruyne completed the scoring.

“If you want to have a winning mentality, then you must be involved in all the competitions until the end,” said Pellegrini.

Van Gaal demands United improvement

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal admitted his side needs to improve and cope with the pressure of performing at Old Trafford after they scraped to a 1-0 victory over Sheffield United.

Van Gaal’s men looked as though they would be taken to a third-round replay by their League One opponents before Wayne Rooney scored the winning goal with an injury-time penalty.

“Players for Manchester United have to cope with the pressure of the fans and the media and it’s the same for the manager,” said Van Gaal. “It can have an influence but when you are a player for Manchester United you have to cope with that.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11^th, 2016.

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