Arsene Wenger has denied suggestions that Arsenal's midweek Champion League game against Barcelona influenced his team selection for their FA Cup clash against Hull City.
The Frenchman made an array of changes to his first eleven with players such as Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey and Petr Cech rested for the game, and Alexis Sanchez on the bench.
But a much changed Arsenal side only managed a 0-0 draw at home to Hull City, and will now be forced to play a replay at the KC Stadium in order to earn an FA Cup quarter-final berth.
Many felt their big European game against Barcelona on Tuesday influenced his team selection, but Wenger insisted that the Champions League encounter had no bearing on the eleven that were named.
He explained that he had reasons to rest the players he wanted to, and believes the team were good enough to get the job done against Hull.
relatedNewsStory
The Frenchman was quoted as saying by the club’s official website: “I played a team that, in my opinion, had the quality to win the game today. The Barcelona game was not in my mind today.
“I rested Ramsey and Ozil completely, because they’ve played many games since the start of the season. When I can do it, I do it. Mesut Ozil was a bit sick over the week, so I decided to leave him out completely.
“Ramsey has played many games, so that’s why I kept him out.”
All the Arsenal big guns are expected to come back into the team for their encounter against the European champions on Tuesday.
