Mertesacker: Arsenal only concentrating on Blackburn now

The Germany international claims the English Premier League side are focusing on FA Cup advancement on Saturday before a clash with the German giants in midweek in the Champions League.

Arsenal FC centre back Per Mertesacker feels that he and his colleagues will concentrate on their FA Cup game with Blackburn Rovers, even though their UEFA Champions League match with Bayern Munich will take place only four days after that.

The veteran defender claimed that the fixture is a great challenge, but also said that the preparations to host Der FCB are not the priority right now as Blackburn tie is very close. Nevertheless, he wants his side to train harder after the math with Michael Appleton’s team.

The central defender stated that the Bundesliga league leaders are in great run of form, but the English side is still eagerly anticipating the both matches. He suggested that the Gunners have a crucial game over the weekend and really want to progress in the English Cup competition.

“Bayern are doing superb this year and that is a big challenge for us, but we are looking forward to both legs,” the former TSV Pattensen and Hannover 96 youth academy player was quoted as saying in an interview.

“We still have an important cup game on Saturday [first]. We absolutely want to advance in the FA Cup and that is why the preparations for Bayern are not that intense yet,” the former Hannover 96 and Werder Bremen central defender added.

“Beginning on Sunday the preparations for Tuesday’s match will be extreme,” the 2008 European Championships runner-up with Germany finally concluded.

Arsenal will be looking forward to continue their unbeaten run to six games when they welcome Blackburn on Saturday at the Emirates Stadium, after their 1-0 triumph over Sunderland in the Premier League fixture.

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Posted by Rizwan Kazmi on Feb 15 2013. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.