Arsenal begin their FA Cup title defence with a match against fellow English Premier League side Sunderland on Saturday.
The Gunners cantered to the FA Cup title last season, beating Aston Villa comfortably in the final to win the prestigious tournament for the second season in a row. Arsene Wenger's men will now have their sights on a hat-trick of titles, with Sunderland the first hurdle.
"We want to win every competition we participate in," Wenger told the club's official website. "The FA Cup is one of them, for us it is an important competition. My energy is about giving absolutely everything to win the next game. The next game is the FA Cup. For us it is a very important competition as always.
"This is a serious competition. I've won the FA Cup six times -- that means I take it seriously. In the whole history, nobody won it more. That means as well that it's not so easy to win it. You want to feel as well that your team is ready for every single challenge and the FA Cup is one that matters to us."
Wenger does not really have the luxury of resting too many of his first-teamers – only Mesut Ozil has been omitted from the squad -- owing to the long injury list. Alexis Sanchez was expected to make his return from injury for this game, but another setback means the Chilean will not be available until the visit to Stoke next weekend. Santi Cazorla, Francis Coquelin, Jack Wilshere, Danny Welbeck and Tomas Rosicky remain on the treatment table, but Mikel Arteta returns from the calf problem that has troubled him for a couple of seasons now, while David Ospina is expected to start in goal for Petr Cech.
Sunderland, though, might consider a few changes, as Sam Allardyce is likely to prioritise Premier League survival over a cup run. However, Wenger, whose team had a difficult outing against Sunderland in the Premier League recently, is taking nothing for granted.
"I've been in the job long enough to not expect any weaknesses from Sam Allardyce because I know him well enough to know that his team will be focused and motivated no matter who plays," the Frenchman added. "In the Premier League you cannot say that the managers play weaker teams because everybody has a squad of 25 players who are of Premier League level.
"The FA Cup is a great competition. We take care of this competition like everybody does. Everybody dreams of winning the FA Cup. There may be some priorities at some stage of the season for some clubs who think they are in trouble and have to make these kinds of decisions, so they choose."
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Arsenal vs Sunderland is set to begin at 3 pm GMT (8.30 pm IST, 10 am ET). Live coverage of the FA Cup third round match in India will be on Sony Six. Sonyliv is the live streaming online option for viewers in India and the rest of the subcontinent.
BBC Radio is the only option for viewers in the UK, with no live coverage of the FA Cup third round encounter on TV. ESPN will broadcast the match live in Australia, with the live stream option on ESPN Player.
Viewers in the US can watch Arsenal play Sunderland live on Fox Sports 1, while the action can be live streamed on FoxSoccer2Go. Sportsnet World and Watch Sportsnet will show the FA Cup game live in Canada.
Viewers in Singapore can flip their remotes to Eleven, while Arsenal vs Sunderland will be shown live in China and Hong Kong on LeTV. Bein Sports will broadcast the match live in the Middle East and North Africa, with the live streaming option on Bein Sports Connect.
