 | REDKNAPP'S VIEW |
Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp is convinced his side are capable of surprising Arsenal. The Gunners are odds-on to beat Pompey in this weekend's FA Cup quarter-final and move a step closer to the Treble.
But Redknapp said: "We held Arsenal at their place earlier in the season when nobody gave us a prayer.
"Certainly, we will not fear Arsenal. When you get to this stage of the competition you have to feel that going all the way is not beyond you."
And Redknapp, whose team knocked Liverpool out in the fifth round, believes home advantage could again be a major factor in Pompey's favour.
He explained: "It will be a great occasion for the fans and Arsenal would have probably preferred to venture to more familiar territory at Anfield.
"Pompey are in the FA Cup quarter-finals against Arsenal on a fantastic night, and how many people would have predicted that a couple of seasons ago?
"Our ground and close-in fanatical crowd will be a new experience for most of them (Arsenal's players) and you need plusses like that."
Another plus, Redknapp insists, is that his players need feel no pressure when they take on Arsene Wenger's men.
"I would have thought they've stopped taking bets on an Arsenal treble because it's more a probability than a possibilty," he told Pompey's website.
"In that sense, there is absolutely no pressure on us.
"And if the lads perform as they have in the past few weeks, then we are more than capable of making a game of this."
MMIX
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