Manager Simon Grayson admits he is looking forward to pitting his wits against Arsene Wenger.

The Lilywhites were drawn against the Frenchman’s Arsenal in Monday night’s Emirates FA Cup third round draw and he will bring his Gunners to Deepdale in a repeat of the 1999 tie where North End found themselves 2-0 up after 22 minutes.



This time round it will be Simon Grayson that Wenger comes up against as they go for a place in a fourth round.



“It is great for the football club,” the gaffer told PNE.Com after the club’s carol service on Monday night. “When you are asked what you want in a draw, your response is always a big team either home or away, but being at home it gives your own fans the opportunity to see some world class players and they don’t come much bigger and better than this Arsenal squad at this time.



“It is fantastic for everybody, we will all be looking forward to it, but the cliché is that we have too many games before then to worry about Arsenal. But, it’s great for the club and everyone connected with it.”



The run of home games coming up heading through the festive period is a mouth-watering one for every PNE fan, as well and the manager and players.



“It is going to be brilliant in the next few weeks,” he continued. “With the next four home games being Blackburn, Leeds, Sheffield Wednesday and Arsenal and when you get numbers in here at Deepdale it makes a it a place that everyone wants to be a part of.



“We are looking forward to it; Arsenal have a fantastic history and tradition and will be looking to try and get some silverware this year and on the other side of that we will be looking to progress to the fourth round.



“We have quite a few league games to concentrate on, but when it comes around it will be great for everyone.



“For myself, I can pit my wits against Arsene Wenger. I have done it before a couple of times when I was at Leeds and the players will be looking forward to it and will be desperate to play and hopefully it will add a bit more spice to the team over the next few weeks, as everyone looks to improve to get some results and stake a claim for a place when the tie comes around.”



The last big team to visit Deepdale were Manchester United in the fifth round back in 2014 and that coincided with a fantastic run of form that eventually saw North End promoted at Wembley and the boss is hoping for another uplift in fortunes in the league.



“Let’s hope we see a repeat and we get to the Arsenal game with a fantastic result and a positive result, rather than the defeat we suffered against Manchester United.



“We have some big games to come and the players will want to repeat the good performances we have had this season against world class players,” he added.

