Wenger: Frustrating afternoon
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Arsene Wenger was quick to pay tribute to Leyton Orient after seeing them hold Arsenal to a 1-1 draw.
The Gunners arrived at Brisbane Road on Sunday as overwhelming
favourites to book a safe passage into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.They will, however, have to see off Orient at Emirates Stadium in a replay if they are to face off against Premier League title rivals Manchester United
in the last eight.A Tomas Rosicky header had them well-placed to get the job done over the weekend, but Jonathan Tehoue
snatched a dramatic late leveller to leave the Gunners frustrated.Wenger conceded afterwards that his side had been short of their best, but feels the dogged determination displayed by Orient made life difficult for his troops.
"We have played the game with the right attitude and could not fault our fighting spirit, but you also have to give credit to Leyton Orient
because they never gave up and fought very hard," said the French tactician."As long as you do not score the second goal, that can happen.
"Overall it is a disappointment, but we are still in the competition and will now play at home.
"The most important thing is to go through.
"You had a match against a team which is technically superior, but fighting spirit has a chance."
Breather
Wenger, though, continued: "The most negative side of our result today is one more fixture and in fairness that is not what we needed."We have had problems in the cups against teams from the lower divisions to finish them off, but also we have given a lot.
"Sometimes, mentally, a breather would not be bad.
"What people forget is that since the beginning of December, we have played every three days, so sometimes to have a week where we could give the players a little breather would not be bad."
While he could do without another game, Wenger insists he does begrudge Orient their big night out at the Emirates.
He added: "It will make their budget for the season, if not more, and to scrap that off would be a blow to all the smaller clubs in England.
"They suffer already, so you would not have a lot of supporters to do that (scrap replays)."