LONDON, Sporting Alert – Arsenal went crashing from the FA Cup on Sunday after losing 2-1 to Watford at Emirates Stadium.
Second half goals from Odion Ighalo and Adlene Guedioura was enough for Watford, which had to sustain a nervous last few minutes as it advanced to the semi-finals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gukn_dI3T-w
Danny Welbeck grabbed a goal for Arsenal two-minutes from time, before Alex Iwobi struck the post moments later.
Arsenal won the FA Cup title in the past two seasons, but the Gunners’ long run in the tournament has finally come to an end.
“Our long, long run has come to an end in a very sad way because I don’t think that we deserved to lose,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said.
“We have to look at ourselves for the first goal. The second goal was a fantastic shot. I felt that it was a real cup game where they defended very well and took their chances on the break, the few chances they had.
“As long as we didn’t score the first goal they kept their belief. They were physically very strong but we had enough chances to win the game.”
Arsenal, who will take on Barcelona in a very difficult Champions League quarter-final second leg this week, were hoping to enter that fixture on a high.
Wenger admits that the FA Cup defeat to Watford is a big setback, but the Frenchman is confident his players will be able to pick themselves up for the trip to Barcelona.
“It’s always difficult, but it’s our job to prepare for the next game,” the boss said.
“We have shown that we can always respond. This team has a great spirit and a very strong attitude.
“They play at the moment with the idea that you cannot afford any negative results.
“We can deal with that and we will deal with the fact that we have a good opportunity to show on Wednesday that we are up for it.”
