Giroud, Ramsey lead lethargic Arsenal past Preston
- by Grant Boone
- in Sports
- — Jan 8, 2017
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, looking to make no mistake against the Championship side, picks Shkodran Mustafi and Gabriel Paulista as the central defensive pairing, while David Ospina is between the sticks.
Arsenal bossed the second half, but its frustrations endured until late.
Grayson said: "There's not many words to describe how proud I am of the players, how they followed our instructions and the effort they have made". It was important for us to come out and show what we are about in the second half.
"I've played in the Championship and I know how hard every game is and they proved that in the first half".
Wenger looked very unhappy on the touchline and it was not until the latter stages of the first half his side began to threaten.
In their last Premier League match against Bournemouth on January 3, the Gunners were totally outplayed by their modest opponents and were down 2-0 at the half - before salvaging a 3-0 deficit into a 3-3 tie.
Match victor Giroud said: "We wanted to start the game better than last time out against Bournemouth".
Coverage of today's game between Arsenal and Preston will be shown live on BT Sport 2, (channel 409 on BT TV), with the pre-match build-up starting at 5pm before kick-off at 5.30pm.
The goal against North End was the Wales international's first of the season.
On his goal, Ramsey said: "I am happy that one has finally gone in. We can be pleased with how we've played, but it is a bit of a kick in the teeth as well".
Despite having the same number of attempts as Arsenal in the first half (eight), Preston failed to muster a single shot after half-time.
"You don't want that kind of performance but this team always responds when we are in trouble".
Arsenal have lost just one of their past 37 FA Cup ties against lower league opposition (0-1 v Blackburn in February 2013). Still, Preston deserved a bigger lead for its overwhelming superiority in creating chances.