Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger revealed that he fielded a strong side against Lincoln City to give his players an opportunity to regain their confidence following their Champions League humiliation.
Although the Gunners were up against non-league opposition in the FA Cup quarter-finals, Wenger made just two alterations to his side for the game with Lincoln, with Petr Cech and Kieran Gibbs coming in for David Ospina and Nacho Monreal.
Wenger’s decision had the desired effect as Arsenal ran out 5-0 winners to reach the semi-finals, with Theo Walcott, Olivier Giroud, Alexis Sanchez and Aaron Ramsey all on the score-sheet, while Luke Waterfall scored an own-goal.
As reported by the club’s official website, Wenger said: “I didn’t want to gamble today because I knew that it was very important to win the game and I felt as well that the team had performed well against Bayern and I wanted to give them a chance to find their confidence back by winning the next game.
“That’s why I maintained 90 per cent of the players in the starting line-up. They have been hit very hard after the game [against Bayern] and that is always dangerous because your confidence can go very quickly.”
Regardless of the emphatic nature of the result, it will taking something much more substantial to ease the feelings of discontent surrounding the club, with Wenger’s future still uncertain as he’s yet to sign a new contract.
Meanwhile Arsenal return to Premier League action this weekend with an away game at West Bromwich Albion.
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