LEWIS Bate hopes Oxford United can write themselves into FA Cup folklore with a win against Arsenal – even if he admits the U’s will be coming up against some of the best players in the world.
The Gunners are five points clear of Manchester City in the Premier League, and boast the likes of Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli within their ranks.
Ahead of the third round clash tomorrow night, Bate knows the pressure is off his teammates and hopes that can be to their advantage.
He said: “It’s been on our minds ever since the Exeter game finished, we’re really looking forward to it and hopefully we can cause an upset.
“They’re bang on form, some of the players they have are some of the best in the world so it’s going to be a really difficult game for us.
“I think he’s played it under that he’s playing it against his old team and brushed it under the carpet a little bit.”
— Oxford Mail OUFC (@OxfordMailOUFC) January 8, 2023
Lewis Bate says Marcus McGuane is relaxed about facing former side Arsenal tomorrow night #oufc https://t.co/xhW9rDUdZ4 pic.twitter.com/EnPaYuznDP
“It’s the FA Cup, upsets can happen and hopefully we can pull one off.
“I can’t imagine the feeling of causing an upset.
“I wouldn’t say there’s much pressure on us so we can go out and play free, and do our thing.”
Asked whether disrupting Arsenal’s rhythm by wasting time could be a tactic to deploy, Bate said: “I don’t think it’s in our nature to waste time but if we want to win, we’ve got to what we’ve got to do.”
The midfielder, on loan from Leeds United, added: “The expectations are always high here, especially at home, but I think they should be.
“When you look at our squad on paper, we should be a lot higher than where we are in the league.
“It’s disappointing to see we’re 15th and it’s frustrating as well, we’ve had some results this season that haven’t quite gone our way.”
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