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Arsenal must beware Hull's Tottenham connection in FA Cup final - Thomas Vermaelen
ARSENAL club captain Thomas Vermaelen is hoping that north London rivals Tottenham don’t come back to haunt the Gunners in the FA Cup final against Hull on Saturday.
Vermaelen is adamant that Arsenal will not underestimate Steve Bruce’s side as they seek to end a nine-year trophy drought.
And while Tigers strike duo Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic are cup-tied for the game, the Belgian believes that Tom Huddlestone – who joined from Spurs at the start of the season – and Jake Livermore – who is on loan from White Hart Lane – could make the Gunners pay.
He said: “If you look at the players they have there, they have individually some quality.
“Of course, they bought some new strikers in the winter but I’ve heard they can’t play.
If you look at the players they have there, they have individually some quality.
“Still they have some good players in midfield with Livermore and Huddlestone so they have some individuals with a lot of quality who can make it difficult.”
And Vermaelen believes that the recent game between the two sides in the Premier League proves that Hull are a side that can cause Arsenal problems, despite the eventual 3-0 scoreline.
He added: “If you look at the first half [of that game], they made it quite difficult, they battled a lot and used long balls. So it wasn’t easy for us in the first half.
“After we scored our first goal it was much easier but Hull is a good team, they have a great manager and the final is always something special so it doesn’t mean we are going to win easily.”