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Bendtner stars as Gunners progress

Nicklas Bendtner fired a hat-trick as Arsenal shook off their Carling Cup final disappointment to set up a clash against Manchester United in the last eight of the FA Cup with a 5-0 thrashing of Leyton Orient.

The Gunners showed no sign of a hangover from the shock of losing to Birmingham at Wembley on Sunday as the npower League One side were brushed aside in clinical fashion.

Marouane Chamakh set Arsene Wenger’s men on their way in the seventh minute with his first goal since the end of November, before Bendtner’s well-taken double put the result beyond doubt ahead of the interval.

The Denmark striker completed his treble to boost his hopes of playing against Barcelona in the Nou Camp this time next week from the penalty spot, with full-back Gael Clichy netting a rare effort with 15 minutes left.

Only Tomas Rosicky, who would later become another untimely Arsenal injury casualty as he limped off, remained from the starting XI left crestfallen at Wembley. Teenage defender Ignasi Miquel made his first home appearance and 19-year-old winger Connor Henderson a senior debut.

Centre-back Laurent Koscielny was, officially at least, rested because of a minor hamstring problem, while keeper Wojciech Szczesny – the other guilty party in Sunday’s dramatic and costly mix-up which gifted the Blues a last-gasp winner – warmed the bench to give him a break from the spotlight.

Samir Nasri, Jack Wilshere and Andrey Arshavin were also among the substitutes should they be needed to help get the job done at the second time of asking.

Wednesday’s replay – earned after Orient forced a last-minute equaliser at Brisbane Road 10 days ago – was expected to bring in around £700,000 for the League One side, who are set for a trip to Las Vegas on chairman Barry Hearn at the end of a season which could yet finish with promotion via the play-offs.

The Os were cheered on by some 9,000 fans, most having travelled more in hope than genuine expectation of a cup shock which would be off the scale compared to Sunday’s result at Wembley.

Chamakh was deployed in Robin van Persie’s role at the spearhead of the attack, with the Dutchman set to be out for around a month with a knee injury picked up in scoring the equaliser against Birmingham.

The Moroccan settled any early nerves when he put Arsenal ahead from close range.

Rosicky darted into the right side of the Orient box before cutting the ball back to the penalty spot, where Chamakh guided a shot into the bottom left corner to take his tally to 12.

Orient almost produced a response when Ben Chorley, a former Arsenal trainee, sent an angled volley goalwards from a corner which was deflected over.

The away fans behind the far Clock End thought Alex Revell had steered in an equaliser from Charlie Daniels’ cross, but the ball only rippled the side-netting.

Arsenal were soon back on the offensive and doubled their lead on the half-hour when Bendtner sent Kieran Gibbs’ cross back into the top-left corner with a looping header from 12 yards.

It was 3-0 in the 43rd minute when Bendtner cut in from the left and curled a low strike into the far corner, for his sixth goal of the season.

Abou Diaby should have made it four at the start of the second half when he waltzed through the Orient defence, but dragged his low shot wide.

Orient refused to lay down and caused more than one moment of panic in the hosts’ six-yard box.

However, Arsenal were then awarded a penalty on 61 minutes when Gibbs was tripped by Revell.

During the break in play, Rosicky, who had picked up an injury, was replaced by Nasri. Bendtner smashed the spot-kick into the bottom-left corner to complete his hat-trick, a second for Arsenal.

Wilshere and Clichy were given run-outs for the final 24 minutes, replacing Bendtner and Diaby.

The French full-back drilled number five into the bottom corner for his first goal since November 2008 as Arsene Wenger’s men booked a mouth-watering clash against their Barclays Premier League title rivals at Old Trafford on March 12.

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Tottenham winger Gareth Bale faces a race against time to be fit for his side’s Champions League last-16 second leg against AC Milan next week.

Bale looks certain to miss Spurs’ Premier League visit to Wolves on Sunday, leaving him as a major doubt for the crunch European clash at White Hart Lane next Tuesday.

The Welshman has been one of Tottenham’s star players this season, and has thrived on the Champions League stage, scoring four goals – including a devastating hat-trick against Milan’s city rivals Inter at the San Siro back in October.

But he has been out for almost six weeks with a back injury and his failure to return to full training has thwarted Harry Redknapp’s plan to test Bale’s fitness against Wolves.

Redknapp will now be sweating as to whether Bale will be ready to step out against Milan, having appeared convinced only last week that the 21-year-old would be ready to return.

Meanwhile, Spurs should be able to welcome Alan Hutton back to face Wolves this weekend, after the Scotland right-back declared himself fit following a spell on the sidelines with a groin injury.

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The agent of Udinese midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah has claimed his client is a target for big-spending Manchester City.

Asamoah, 22, has impressed in Serie A this season and reportedly has a number of high-profile European suitors, with his representative Claudio Vagheggi insisting City are one of them.

“I cannot deny that there are several clubs interested,” Vagheggi told Firenzeviola.it. “Manchester City? It’s true but they are not the only ones interested in Asamoah. Fiorentina were among the first to show an interest in the player.

“But we have decided not to speak about Udinese’s transfer market right now because it is premature. Udinese’s strategy is to focus on the season right now.

“If the team continues to do so well and perhaps reach an important goal by the end of this season, then, Asamoah is likely to remain.”

Asamoah is valued at €30 million by Udinese and is under contract with the Serie A outfit until June 2014.

Udinese, who hammered Palermo 7-0 in Sicily last weekend, are fifth in Serie A, one point behind Lazio, who hold the last Champions League qualifying spot.

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Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier admits the 4-0 defeat by Manchester City in December was “the lowest point of my career” ahead of Wednesday night’s FA Cup clash between the clubs at Eastlands.

Villa reached rock bottom with that drubbing in the Premier League with Houllier accusing his players of giving up without a fight. But it proved to be a turning point with Villa having lost only two of their 11 league and cup matches since that day of humiliation.

Houllier said: “It was the poorest performance of any team I have had in my life. There was no soul, no attitude. In sport, you can be beaten but you never give up. It was the low point of my career. I never in my life, never, had a team that has given up so quickly. We looked resigned to things rather than trying to fight to get back into the game. We hit rock bottom there.”

Houllier never doubted he would be able to revive Villa’s fortunes with the support of club owner Randy Lerner and chief executive Paul Faulkner.

He said: “I knew I would turn things around, because I had the faith of the chairman and the chief executive. We work closely together. It was just that I was too soft in trusting players too long. That is probably what happened. We recovered after that. We have only lost twice since that, home against Sunderland when we were down to 10 men and away to Manchester United away when we played well. Ever since that Manchester City game, we’ve started to build and improve.”

Houllier points to a 1-0 home success over City in January as the springboard for Villa’s upturn in fortunes.

He said: “We were a bit lucky. Honestly they were better than us. We managed to get an early goal and we hung on. We had a couple of chances but they were superior to us. But that performance was the starting base because the team stuck together more and held on for the result. We have improved physically and mentally. We have improved as a team. The squad lives together better. They realise it is not just 11 players and the rest. We have quality everywhere. We also improved in the ball retention, passing and movement.”

Houllier believes his players now have the hunger and desire to win as they look to try and emulate the Carling Cup success of local rivals Birmingham.

He said: “When I was at Liverpool, the success of Manchester United did give me a bit of a boost to win things there as well. What players remember on their last bed is their joy and their records and their medals won, their success. This is what our players have got to be aware of and it creates a unique bonding between them. Money can’t buy the success we’re talking about or what to achieve. Forget about that. What matters in your sporting life unless you are not passionate is you have done everything to win things. We now have the quality to win things.”

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John O’Shea says he is in awe of the achievements of Manchester United team-mate Ryan Giggs and insists the Welshman’s longevity could see him continue playing until he is 40.

Wednesday marks exactly 20 years to the day that Giggs made his United debut against Everton, though he was unable to celebrate the anniversary by securing victory over Chelsea on Tuesday night.

While a few one-club men still exist in English football – Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Ledley King and Tony Hibbert among others – Giggs’ achievement in reaching the milestone of two decades in the top flight is unparalleled in the modern era.

And even though many of Giggs’ team-mates have been around Old Trafford for some considerable time themselves – O’Shea, Paul Scholes and Wes Brown included – they are lost in admiration for the 37-year-old.

With Giggs having signed a one-year contract extension earlier this year, O’Shea feels he could carry on for at least another three years.

“Without a doubt,” O’Shea said. “His physical shape hasn’t changed since I’ve known him and he looks after himself so well.

“Depending on injuries he could easily carry on, although I am sure he just wants to take it one season at a time. He is just enjoying it so much at the minute so I can’t see why he can’t but I’ll let him decide on that.”

If nothing else, Tuesday’s game allowed Giggs to equal Sir Bobby Charlton’s record of 606 league appearances, another record in addition to the scores the Welshman already has.

Indeed, in the modern era, the only player O’Shea can think of that is remotely comparable is recently-retired Italian legend Paolo Maldini.

“You see how the manager has built squads and Giggsy has been a vital part of every single one of them,” he said. “It’s just incredible. Maldini springs to mind with AC Milan but I think Giggsy has even gone past him.”

Giggs’ new one-year contract means that he could certainly run Maldini close, but the United winger remains 41 league games shy of Maldini’s total of 647 games for AC Milan and also 39 short of his overall total of 902 matches.

Nonetheless, O’Shea believes Giggs can be considered nothing less than an “absolute legend” at Old Trafford.

“The speed and the balance he still shows to go past whether it be an old, experienced defender or a new, up-and-coming young strong defender is incredible,” O’Shea said.

“Every cliche in the book has been used about the man already and I am sure they will be said many times again. He is an absolute legend.”

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