Bradford out to make Arsenal pay the penalty with Giroud ruled out of cup

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UPDATED:

00:59 GMT, 11 December 2012

Of all the things Bradford City might fear about tonight’s Capital One Cup quarter-final against Arsenal, the prospect of a penalty shootout is not one of them.

You see, the League Two promotion hopefuls have won their last eight attempts at football’s so-called lottery, including the elimination from this competition of Wigan at the DW Stadium in October.

So make no mistake, if Phil Parkinson’s team send the tie into extra time, there will be a change in the level of expectation against an Arsenal team trophyless for the past seven years.

Capital concerns: Olivier Giroud (right) is out of Arsenal's clash at Bradford

Arsenal team (from):

Mannone, Szczesny,
Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Ramsey, Arteta, Cazorla, Podolski,
Martinez, Coquelin, Djourou, Arshavin, Chamakh, Frimpong, Gnabry, Angha,
Meade, Miquel, Yennaris, Eisfeld, Bellerin.

Naturally, Bradford practised their
skills from 12 yards yesterday but goalkeeper Matt Duke, whose role in
the win at Wigan preceded a frenzied 100-yard dash to celebrate in front
of the club’s 5,000 travelling fans, declined.

Both he and fellow keeper Jon
McLaughlin, who featured in the other two post-match dramas this season
against Hartlepool and Northampton, have been there enough times
already.

‘Our record is there to be recognised,
and it stands up,’ Parkinson said. ‘When you have a lot of success in
those kind of scenarios, you have to be confident. We are but there is a
lot of football to be played before it gets to that stage.

‘There is no big secret to it. But we
don’t like these shortened run-ups, or trying to be clever. There is no
better feeling than sticking the ball in the net.

‘Players over the years have wanted to
do something better than that — score in an arrogant fashion — and have
not always been successful. So we have always told the players, “These
are our rules. Pick your spot and stick to it”.’

Down and out: In-form forward Theo Walcott will also be missing at Bradford

While Duke has tasted success against
Arsenal before — four years ago he was on the bench when Hull won a
Premier League match at the Emirates — this will be a significant step
up in class for Bradford.

Boss Parkinson thinks his
players will be not over-awed. ‘No, that won’t happen,’ he said. ‘I
understand we’re up against a very good side who scored seven against
Reading and six against Coventry in earlier rounds. But we’re a
confident bunch of players.’

/12/11/article-2246038-167207D5000005DC-37_468x321.jpg” width=”468″ height=”321″ alt=”Parkinson: Bradford's boss getting to grips with the Capital One Cup” class=”blkBorder” />

Parkinson: Bradford's boss getting to grips with the Capital One Cup

‘So we have had a lot of disruption
but the spirit is great, and we have tried to plan things out so that
nobody is playing too many minutes. For example, the three players who
had played more than anyone else this season, we didn’t even take with
us to Port Vale last week.

‘The demands on the players physically are just the same whatever level you are playing at.

‘We document every minute our players
play, and have heart-rate monitors in place to regulate the intensity of
training every day. Your eye tells you so much but it’s good to have
the information to back that up.’

Not that the saturated programme has
unduly affected Bradford: they have lost only twice in 16 games in all
competitions, sit fourth in League Two and remained in all three cup
competitions until expulsion from the FA Cup for fielding an ineligible
player in the draw with Brentford last week.

Parkinson said: ‘If we go out we’ll
take it on the chin and move on; if we play the replay we’ll give it a
good go. To be fair, this is the reward for our hard work. After getting
so far, we waited for the plum draw to come out and got it with what is
a great tie for us financially.’

To join the debate ahead of Round 5 of the Capital One Cup, visit Facebook.com/CapitalOneUk