Arsenal’s reward for a hard fought victory over Burnley in the last round of the FA Cup is a meeting with Championship side Hull City in the fifth round.
The Gunners have faced Steve Bruce’s side in both of their last two FA Cup campaigns, winning both ties; The final in 2014 and in the third round in 2015.
But manager Arsene Wenger has a tough decision to make; whether to stick with his first team or rotate and include some of the fringe and youth players.
Young guns up to the task
Freshening up the first team would give the supporters a chance to see how talented this whole squad is, and how the quality of the young guns fighting for places is possibly is at its highest level in the last few years.
Winger Alex Iwobi has played eight times this season, including three starts in domestic cup competitions. During his time on the pitch, he has shown he is comfortable on the ball and more than capable of being a threat to opposition defences.
Another exciting youngster is French midfielder Jeff Reine-Adelaide, who joined the Gunners in the summer from RC Lens. Making his first two appearances in the Emirates Cup, the 18-year-old excited the crowds with his pace and dribbling skills, and set up Theo Walcott’s winning goal against Wolfsburg.
Both have shown they have the talent to be involved in the first team, and players such as Hector Bellerin have shown that when given the chance, younger players can become an integral part of the first XI.
Keep big players for the big games
With their opponents residing in the second tier of the football pyramid, a lot of people may be expecting Wenger to rest many of his key players to keep them fresh for the more important matches in the Premier League (not forgetting the huge tie against Barcelona in the first leg of the Champions League last sixteen the week after).
Two weeks after the clash with the Tigers, Arsenal have trips to Manchester United and Tottenham, undoubtedly two key games where they will need their big players to be fresh and up for the fight. So, with the Gunners well and truly in this seasons’ title race, positive results in these games are crucial.
The same goes for their match against the European Champions. In the last two first-leg meetings with the Spanish side, Wenger's me have won one and drawn one, and have gone into the second leg at the Camp Nou with a realistic chance of qualifying. With the strike force of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez to contain, the Gunners will need their star men to be on form.
First team momentum
In contrast to this, as a fan you would want to see your best players with experience going into big games with momentum, which would be an argument for keeping the big players in the side in the coming matches.
Players such as Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Petr Cech are so important to how this Arsenal side play that keeping their form going could be crucial for the Gunners to have a successful season.
History beckons
A place in history is also available for the North London side. After the victories in the 2014 and 2015 finals, they could become the first side since Blackburn Rovers in 1886 to win the prestigious competition three times in a row.
After having not won a trophy in nine years before 2014, a third in as many years would be a huge achievement in the modern era. Also, with most of this team having experienced the highs of the past two finals, surely they would be up for another chance at lifting the trophy.
So, Arsene Wenger has some thinking to do ahead of his sides fifth round game. Play the youngsters and fringe players despite their lack of experience, or continue with the big guns and risk injuries or fatigue going into bigger games. No matter which way he goes, there is no doubt the Arsenal boss will be grilled by fans and pundits if his side end the season trophyless.