PETER CLARKE will lead Town into FA Cup action at Arsenal on Sunday pledging: “We’ll go for it.”
The Galpharm skipper is desperate to reward the sell-out contingent of 5,188 fans who will head to London for a fourth-round tie which could challenge the post-War attendance record for a match involving Town.
The current figure is 59,772 for the 4-4 top-flight draw at Manchester United in November 1947, with the second highest 59,175 for the Wembley League II play off win over Bristol Rovers in May 1995.
Arsenal’s lowest Premier League crowd this season is 59,552 for Saturday’s 3-0 win over Wigan while the lowest for any game at the Emirates Stadium this term is 58,845 for the Champions League clash with Partizan Belgrade.
Town are massive underdogs but Clarke who scored a last-gasp goal to earn former club Southend a 1-1 draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the third round of 2008-09, is upbeat ahead of his club’s first visit to the venue which opened in 2006.
“Winning promotion from League I is our main priority, but we’ll still give it our best shot at Arsenal,” said the 29-year-old.
“The beauty of the FA Cup is that it’s about lower-league teams pitting their wits against the top Premier League sides and sometimes they beat them.
“They’re no reason why we can’t do that. We’re going to go there and perform to the best of our ability. If that brings a good result then so be it.
“Hopefully it’ll be a great day out for the fans. And there’s no doubt that every player in the lower leagues wants to play in the big stadiums and test their skills against the top clubs.”
Clarke, who also helped Southend memorably beat Manchester United 1-0 on the fourth round of the League Cup in 2006-07, last tackled Arsenal in February 2002.
He was in the Everton side beaten 1-0 at Goodison in the Premier League.
Arsenal secured a place in the Carling Cup final after beating Ipswich 3-0 last night and 3-1 on aggregate over two legs in their semi-final with goals from Nicklas Bendtner, Laurent Koscielny and captain Cesc Fabregas.
