Preston North End v Arsenal: Wenger welcomes Welbeck for Deepdale visit
By: Timothy Dehinbo
Championship side, Preston North end welcomes the gunners this evening in an Fa Cup third round clash at Deepdale.
Danny Welbeck could return for Arsenal as they travel to Preston on Saturday, while David Ospina will take his place in goal.
Striker Welbeck has been sidelined since the end of last season with a knee injury, although Arsene Wenger was coy on the potential for a starting place.
“I haven’t decided yet, but he could be – it depends on Lucas (Perez) a little bit, it also depends on how he feels,” Wenger said.
“Physically his fitness is at quite a good level, but of course the ideal way is to give him two or three games with the under-23s. But the situation is not always
ideal, sometimes you have to hurry up.”
Preston boss Simon Grayson has a full squad to pick from apart from Calum Woods with knee injury and John Welsh with a calf problem.
The Lilywhites sit 11th in the Championship, 12 points clear of the relegation zone, but Grayson could still shuffle his pack with the likes of Paul Gallagher and Aiden McGeady potentially coming back into contention.
Aside from Welbeck’s potential return, Arsenal will be without Francis Coquelin for the trip after the midfielder was forced off in the 3-3 draw at Bournemouth with a hamstring issue and could be out for up to a month.
Ospina will deputise for Petr Cech in goal, but Mesut Ozil still out with illness, Theo Walcott also with a calf issue, and Lucas with ankle problem are all doubts, with Santi Cazorla also. Mohamed Elneny is out on international duty with Egypt at the African Cup of Nations, Per Mertesacker and Kieran Gibbs with both knee issues are definitely not going to feature.
Match stats via Opta
This will be the first FA Cup meeting between the sides since January 1999, when Arsenal triumphed 4-2 at Deepdale in the third round.
In three previous FA Cup meetings at Deepdale, there have been 15 goals between these sides (seven for Preston, eight for Arsenal) at an average of five per game.
The Lilywhites have won one of their last 15 FA Cup games against top-flight opposition, their solitary win a 4-1 away hammering of Derby in January 2008.
Preston manager Grayson has met Arsenal three times previously in the FA Cup, all while Leeds boss (D1 L2).
The Gunners have a near imperious recent record against lower-league opposition in the FA Cup, losing just one of their last 36 ties, a 1-0 home defeat to Blackburn in February 2013.
Alexis Sanchez has scored five goals and assisted four in nine FA Cup outings for Arsenal, with each goal he has been involved in coming at the Emirates or Wembley Stadium.
The gunners should nick this in fine fashion, no upset expected, although it could go otherwise.
PREDICTION: PRESTON NORTH 1-3 ARSENAL
