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A slightly labored 2-0 win at Dean Court sealed Liverpool's progress to the Fifth Round of the FA Cup, and this morning's draw revealed that Brendan Rodgers and company will be traveling to London over the weekend of February 15 and 16 to face Arsenal. It would be the tie of the round were it not for the fact that Manchester City will be hosting Chelsea as well, setting the stage for the league's current top four to face one another in the round of 16. That could all change by then, of course, but as it stands you'd almost think the draw wasn't entirely random.
Liverpool last faced Arsenal in the FA Cup in 2007, when they lost 3-1 at Anfield during a stretch that saw them face off against Arsene Wenger's squad twice in the span of three days in both domestic cup competitions, losing both by a combined 9-4 scoreline, with the other six goals coming in the 6-3 League Cup romp.
It's a challenging draw, no question, but not one that interrupts much in terms of the league campaign. The league schedule currently has Liverpool hosting Arsenal at Anfield on February 8 before traveling to Fulham on February 12, and they'll head home after the FA Cup fixture to host Swansea at Anfield on February 23, leaving enough time for Rodgers to again pick full-strength sides in both competitions with (hopefully) added depth in the squad. By contrast, Arsenal will be in the midst of the most challenging stretch of their campaign to date; away to Liverpool before heading home to host Manchester United, Liverpool, and Bayern Munich in a seven-day stretch.
