Source - Arsenal.com
Santi Cazorla says he prefers the FA Cup to the Copa del Rey because more teams have a chance of reaching the final in England.
The Spain midfielder, who scored the winning penalty against Wigan Athletic last month, is preparing to play in his first ever domestic cup final on Saturday.
Cazorla watched the FA Cup when he was in Spain and believes the two-legged structure of the Spanish Cup gives the bigger sides an unfair advantage.
"The difference is that here you have a greater chance of a smaller team getting to a final," Cazorla told Arsenal Player. "It is just one game, you can play home or away, that is the luck of the draw but in Spain there are two legs.
"With Barcelona or Real Madrid, it is very difficult to beat them because you have to play at their stadium, I think it is better here because all teams have a chance of progressing. Look at Hull City this year or Wigan last year, that makes things more open.
"It is the first ever cup final that I am going to play in, I have just played in the finals of the European Championship with the national side and I have never played any other final with any club. So it is something new for me and something that I want to experience, hopefully it is the first of many with Arsenal."
Arsenal have beaten Tottenham, Liverpool and Everton on their way to the final and Cazorla thinks the team can take confidence from those victories.
"It has not been easy," he said. "We’ve played against three great teams, even Wigan in the semi-final, that was a very tough game so we are in the final because of our own merits.
"We’ve done things very well in this competition, we have got past some great opposition, we are at the last step, and we have to think that in this competition the team has done very well, and hopefully we can perform like that in the final."
The Spain midfielder, who scored the winning penalty against Wigan Athletic last month, is preparing to play in his first ever domestic cup final on Saturday.
Cazorla watched the FA Cup when he was in Spain and believes the two-legged structure of the Spanish Cup gives the bigger sides an unfair advantage.
It is something new for me and something that I want to experience, hopefully it is the first of many with Arsenal
"With Barcelona or Real Madrid, it is very difficult to beat them because you have to play at their stadium, I think it is better here because all teams have a chance of progressing. Look at Hull City this year or Wigan last year, that makes things more open.
"It is the first ever cup final that I am going to play in, I have just played in the finals of the European Championship with the national side and I have never played any other final with any club. So it is something new for me and something that I want to experience, hopefully it is the first of many with Arsenal."
Arsenal have beaten Tottenham, Liverpool and Everton on their way to the final and Cazorla thinks the team can take confidence from those victories.
"It has not been easy," he said. "We’ve played against three great teams, even Wigan in the semi-final, that was a very tough game so we are in the final because of our own merits.
"We’ve done things very well in this competition, we have got past some great opposition, we are at the last step, and we have to think that in this competition the team has done very well, and hopefully we can perform like that in the final."
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