Wrexham are off to the 4th round of the FA Cup after knocking out Nottingham Forest. Here’s a look at the 3 sides the Dragons would love to be drawn up against for the next round.
Barring a few fixtures, the 3rd round of the FA Cup campaign nears a deserving end. While the opportunity of a couple more Cupsets remains, this Cup has witnessed enough to be called one of the most iconic ones ever.
Possibly, it’s just the magic of the FA Cup that one sees the last year’s finalists suffering completely different fates. On one side, Man City punish Exeter in their usual way, while Macclesfield rewrite history, knocking off the defending Champions while being a non-League side.
If that ain’t special, fans have got the fairytale story of Wrexham. The same club that rose through multiple promotions to eliminate Nottingham Forest in arguably the most entertaining fixture this round.
That’s not forgetting it’s been a 5/5 perfect run for Wrexham fans in all competitions, who’d want the next FA Cup round to take place as early as tomorrow. While that’s practically impossible, let’s take a look at some of the clubs the fans would be raving to draw for their 4th round clash.
3 FA Cup opponents Wrexham would love for 4th round
Arsenal
First, and foremost on the list ranks Arsenal. Definitely, this pick ought to startle many fans, but if Wrexham are destined to draw another PL opponent in the next round, better be it Arsenal.
After all, none would’ve forgotten when Wrexham wrote off one of the biggest upset stories after knocking off Arsenal in 1992. Definitely, Macclesfield’s latest Cupset has taken the crown, but for Wrexham, this win remains the first of the few incidents in which they overpowered a PL side.
That’s still minding apart some of the Wrexham stars’ Arsenal relations. Notably, quite a few of them, like Nottingham heroes Arthur Okonkwo, George Dobson and Ben Sheaf, were gunners before.
Having just knocked off a Premier League side, the trio would be willing to check in on their career progress by facing their former club. Who knows, Okonkwo and co have more fire crackers in store after he denied an ex-Arsenal man, Omari Hutchinson, to win it for Wrexham the other day.
Lastly, given Arsenal’s track record of heavy rotations in FA Cup rounds, an easy win for Wrexham might be on the cards. But as of now, even that isn’t guaranteed as Gunners impend a result against Portsmouth.
Wigan Athletic
Next on the list we have League One side, Wigan Athletic. Already been in discussions among Wrexham fans over Paul Mullin’s loan return saga, the Welsh club would be anyway motivated to face them in the 4th round.
Not saying it intends to be a potential hostile faceoff, given quite a lot of the current crop of Wrexham players have represented Wigan before.
In fact, among the names like James McClean, Josh Windass, Nathan Broadhead and Kieffer Moore, some had been teammates at Wigan as well. This definitely creates a sense of potential reunion against their former side, which may not be the friendliest one.
That’s still taking out the divisional advantage Wrexham possess over Wigan. Agreed, the latter advances to the next round by smashing Preston, but that’s the least the Red Dragons would hope for given their sensational form.
Swansea City
Unlike that of Arsenal and Wigan, Wrexham’s history with Swansea has been far less overlapping in player rosters. Even emotionally, the clash is an up-and-rising derby, as was evident from their December clash.
However, that doesn’t change the fact that if Wrexham draw Swansea in the FA Cup 4th round, it’s tipped to be a full-house show.
Pinpointedly, it was a last-minute humiliation against Swansea that pumped up Wrexham to win 5 games on the bounce. With the 4th Cup round scheduled to be a Valentine’s week clash, there can’t be a better time for revenge.
Anyway, Swansea’s FA Cup track record hasn’t been impressive, and if Wrexham punish them through elimination, it will be absolute cinema.
