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Arsenal Draw Middlesbrough At Home In FA Cup 5th Round
The FA Cup has thrown up some surprises in the past few rounds and Arsenal will find themselves up against championship side Middlesbrough as they attempt to recreate the giant killing attitude that saw them sink EPL Champions Manchester City at the Etihad in the previous round. Whilst Arsenal will enjoy the fact they have been drawn at home against lower league opposition they will be wary of the ‘magic’ that the FA Cup can bring, but when it gets to this point in the tournament you do have to start focusing your efforts as it is a genuine chance of a trophy by this point.
Well let’s look at our history against the Teeside club. Arsenal have faced Middlesbrough 3 times previously in the FA Cup, winning all of the clashes. One of these was even a semi-final, being played at the neutral ground of Old Trafford. You have to go back to the 1995/96 season to find the last to Arsenal lost in the FA Cup to a lower division side, and the Gunners’ record since then has been pretty impressive; making 6 finals since that point and winning 5 of those since that loss.
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Arsenal have not played against Boro since they were relegated at the end of the 2008-09 season after being a mainstay in the EPL since the 1995/96 season. Results for Arsenal in this fixture have been especially favourable towards Arsenal when played on home turf, with Arsenal winning 62% of the fixtures played at home; losing only 11% of them.
Boro do not have the same illustrious history as Arsenal in the FA Cup, in fact they are yet to win the competition; coming closest in 1997 when they finished as runners up to Chelsea where they lost 2-0. They may push most of their efforts this season into getting promoted back into the EPL, given that they are currently sitting second in the Championship; only 1 point behind current leaders Bournemouth.
Can Arsenal carry on their FA Cup history?
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