Gunners thrash Orient

LONDON.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger turned his attention back to the English Premier League soccer title race immediately after defeating Leyton Orient 5-0 to seal a place in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup on Wednesday night.
The Gunners were the beneficiaries of Chelsea’s win over Manchester United on Tuesday, as their game in hand and meeting with Sir Alex Ferguson’s team mean their destiny is in their own hands.
“For us, it keeps us even better in the race,” Wenger said.
“I felt anyway, no matter what happened (in United’s clash), whether it was a draw, would have been good as well. It just depends on us.
“It’s down to our results. I say that for a long time, it depends how consistent we will be with our results. That will decide the championship.”
Wenger’s side face Sunderland at the weekend and warmed up for that clash by thrashing League One team Orient in the Cup, with Nicklas Bendtner scoring a hat-trick.
It went some way to getting over the disappointment of losing to Birmingham in the League Cup final at Wembley on Sunday.
They now face title rivals United in the next round at Old Trafford.
“We were professional,” Bendtner said.
“After the disappointment of Sunday it was important for us.
“We know its going to be difficult against United but we very much look forward to that game when it comes.
“We just need to focus on Sunderland first.”
Next week Arsenal also play the second leg of their Champions League clash against Barcelona, taking a 2-1 lead to the Nou Camp.
Robin van Persie is set to miss that match as he is out for three to four weeks with a knee injury.
Tomas Rosicky suffered mild concussion against Orient but should recover, and there is optimism of Cesc Fabregas overcoming his hamstring complaint.
“I personally hope he will be there next Tuesday,” Wenger said.
“He has a chance to play in Barcelona.
“I don’t think he will be involved on Saturday – no chance. But we will try with him on Sunday and Monday and have a final test on Monday morning.
“We go from day to day. Two or three days ago thinking to play part of game if all goes well.”
Orient manager Russell Slade praised Wenger for getting the best out of his players after suffering disappointment at Wembley – Marouane Chamakh and Gael Clichy were the other scorers.
“It was a hard night, we found a side in good form with a real strong focus and a spot-on attitude,” Slade said.
“Mr Wenger got the performance from his players.
“They were ruthless really with the first three goals. Three attacks, three opportunities and three goals. But I was proud of the way we kept the ball and kept passing.
“We need to go away and learn from that and establish some momentum in the league and try to push and see if we can attain a top-six spot. I think we can do that.”
Meanwhile, Roberto Mancini believes Manchester City are still to see the best from Mario Balotelli, despite seeing his striker go some way to answering his calls with an eye-catching performance in the 3-0 victory over Aston Villa on Wednesday night in their FA Cup fifth round clash.
The Manchester City manager questioned the Italian striker’s work-rate and demanded he do more ahead of the match.
Balotelli, who cost £24million, has been struggling with a knee problem and had threatened to earn more yellow cards than goals since his arrival from Inter Milan.
But after his fine finish took him into double figures for the season, Mancini said: “Mario played well and scored a fantastic goal against Villa.
“He’s improving all the time, but it’s hard as he has just returned from injury. But I know there’s still more to come from him.”
Manchester City have been fighting on three fronts with the FA Cup joining the Europa League and the Premier League in their chase for silverware.
It’s been 25 years since their last trophy but they took a step closer to achieving that aim as goals from Yaya Toure, Balotelli and David Silva, all summer signings, saw off a weakened Aston Villa side. Manchester City will now face Reading, the Championship side who pulled off a big upset by beating Everton. – AFP.