Gavin Garthwaite
This was my first visit to Deepdale, but a couple of lads who I travelled up to Preston with had been before for our previous meeting in 1999. One of them still has the match worn shirt from Patrick Vieira!
The stadium in itself is quite modern, with four built up one tiered stands with a capacity of just over 23,000. There is a lot of emphasis on former players with the stands named after Alan Kelly, Bill Shankly, Tom Finney and the Invincibles Team of 1889, respectively.
The one thing that doesn't sit right with me is the Invincibles tag they give their former team. The fact it was only a 22 game season back in those days and the competition wasn't as fierce as it is today, devalues Arsenal achievement in 2004. In my eyes - there is only one Invincibles team!
The atmosphere before the game was building and I must say that for all the recent years of suffering (albeit a couple of FA Cup wins), we have such a loyal away support with fans that will follow Arsenal no matter what, through thick and thin. We love the club and it hurts us when we don't deliver on the standards expected of the players.
With team news confirming Cech, Sanchez, Ozil and Kos would be rested, there was a confident expectancy that the Gunners would outclass their opposition from the off and secure a relatively straightforward passage into the next round.
How wrong we were...
We never got going. Maitland-Miles looked out of his depth, Xhaka looked a shadow of the player he was for Switzerland in last summer's Euros and Gabriel looked his normal lightweight self.
If the scoreline had been 3-0 to Port Vale at half-time, I don't think anyone could have had any complaints.
I didn't feel a statutory Arsene Wenger team talk would have ignited something in the team for the second half, so it was difficult to see where the increased effort and commitment was going to come from.
How wrong we were again. Instantly Preston were on the back foot from kick off and Ramsey produced a neat finish to give hope to the travelling supporters, within 50 seconds of the restart. Preston were pegged back into their own half for the entire 45 minutes.
Iwobi looked sharper, The Ox was more penetrative and Perez showed glimpses of what he could be about.
Enter the captain for the day and the current man of the moment. When Arsenal call, he responds and again he got his late goal and rewards.
The passion from Giroud as he celebrated was fantastic to see. As fans, of course we want to see all the quality in the world but if we get the desire, hunger and commitment every game from the first eleven - then our performances will improve tenfold.
It was a case of job done in the end, but it could have been a nightmare. This would have given Wenger food for thought - so let's hope this provides a wake up call for the upcoming vital period of games for us.
A quick mention of Giroud and Ramsay mentioning in their post match interview that they were surprised with Preston's commitment and attitude... hello! This is the FA Cup and they are playing The Arsenal - we have to be prepared for this in EVERY game.
