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Oxlade-Chamberlain hoping occasion doesn't get to Arsenal

Arsenal young gun Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has urged the side to not think too much about the occasion when they take on Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup semi-final next month.

The Gunners booked their Wembley date by beating Everton 4-1 on Saturday and will next meet the Latics, who eliminated Manchester City, on April 13 in the final four.

Attacking midfielder Oxlade-Chamberlain is determined to land his first trophy since joining the north London club from Southampton in 2011 and hopes that the team treats the semi-final simply as another game of football.

"As a professional and as a winner, you always want to win things, that goes for every member of our team," he said.

"There's no doubt it's in the back of your mind because all you want to do is win. This is an opportunity for us, we are one step closer.

"Every step, every round you go through, you get that little bit closer and you get hungrier and hungrier for the end result.

"You watch FA Cup games at Wembley when you are growing up and that's where you want to be. That's the stage and that's what it's all about.

"It's the first time we've been there since I've been at Arsenal, so it's definitely a big thing for us. But we can't get too carried away. It's a game of football and we can't let that occasion affect us too much.

"We just have to approach like we do every other game. We want to be excited but approach it very professionally, calm and cool as we can. Hopefully we can get through and get to the final."

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Andrew Slevison
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