O'Neil wants Portman Road fortress for Arsenal visit
Gary O'Neil wants to harness the Portman Road atmosphere as he aims to guide Ipswich Town to aCarabao Cup upset win over Arsenal.
Ipswich welcomes the Premier League champion, and last season's Carabao Cup runner-up, to Portman Road on Wednesday.
The Tractor Boys claimed a 3-2 win at Crystal Palace last weekend, but in their last home game, they went down 2-0 to Liverpool, conceding both goals early on.
Though Ipswich missed a chance to make the most of a packed crowd against a top club when it played the Reds, O'Neil feels his team is ready to take a second chance.
"Arsenal are tough to beat, even if you do everything right," O'Neil said. "I will make some changes to my team. I'm sure Mikel Arteta will make changes to his team, but it is a game we want to win.
"I want us to get as far in the cups as we possibly can, so we are going to give it our best go at home under the lights.
"We missed an opportunity against Liverpool [at the start of September]. We played well, but it was already 2-0 in the ninth minute.
"We missed an opportunity to use the energy of Portman Road under the lights against a big side, but we can correct that on Tuesday.
"We can start the game well. We can take the fans with us. We can attempt to beat one of the best sides around."
O'Neil has lost all four of his managerial meetings with Arsenal in all competitions (one with Bournemouth, three with Wolves).
Only against Manchester United and West Ham has he managed more games without ever avoiding defeat (both five).
Arsenal has progressed from 21 of its last 23 third-round ties in the Carabao Cup.
