Published: 14 February, 2013
by STEVE BARNETT

THEO Walcott has revealed that the Arsenal squad is “on a high” ahead of this Saturday’s FA Cup fifth-round clash against Blackburn at the Emirates Stadium.

The England international is predicting changes to the starting XI ahead of the tie against the Championship side, but is still confident of progressing into the quarter-finals.

“A lot of players are back from international duty and still need a bit of a break,” Walcott told the official Arsenal website. “Some may be rested for the FA Cup game, but that’s just as important as we want to go far in that competition.”

The feel-good factor buzzing around the Gunners’ dressing room was ignited by Saturday’s victory away at Sunderland, in which Arsene Wenger’s side had to survive the last 28 minutes with 10 men following the dismissal of Carl Jenkinson.

Arsenal held firm for a 1-0 win that moved them up to fifth in the Premier League and within touching distance of that all-important top four.
“It was an important win,” Walcott added. “The three points have us on a high. If we lost at Sunderland we would have been dwelling on it for so long, so I’m glad we didn’t.

“We are very confident of finishing in the top four. We can battle through any sort of situation. The teams around us are winning as well, but we have just got to make sure we look after ourselves and try to win as often as we can.

“We will see where we are at the end of the season, but we have got to show the belief we did at Sunderland. I felt there were a lot of winners in that dressing room and the boys were fantastic.”