Arsenal were complacent and we out-thought them, claims Hearn
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Your support makes all the difference.The Leyton Orient chairman Barry Hearn joked yesterday that the revenue from his side's lucrative FA Cup replay with Arsenal next week would "cover the legal expenses" of challenging West Ham's move to the nearby Olympic Stadium.
The 1-1 draw with Arsenal earned by Jonathan Téhoué's 88th-minute equaliser means that Orient look set to double their earnings of more than £600,000 that they have earned from their FA Cup run so far. However, Russell Slade, the Orient manager, said that his players would hold Hearn to his earlier promise of a trip to Las Vegas if they held Arsenal to a draw. Slade said: "The lads have got a CD of Elvis Presley singing 'Viva Las Vegas' on in the dressing room. A nice trip in May or early June would suit us well."
He added: "We are humbled but we are also proud that we have got this far and have another opportunity to play against Arsenal in a magnificent stadium. It is OK going out to enjoy yourself but only if you get some kind of performance and we got a performance."
Hearn said that the game had been "a mixture of heart attack" and "unbelievable joy". He said: "Football always ends in tears, doesn't it? We don't know how to give up at this club. We didn't play the best football we've played this season for a long time – not by a long way.
"The best thing for us is that it was 1-0 because Arsène isn't going to put on any of his main line-up that's on the bench. He's trying to nick it. He's trying to get away and let these blokes have a little rest. Now if we equalise in the 70th minute, the floodgates open and on comes [Cesc] Fabregas and all of them and we're in desperate trouble.
"What he has done is he's got a little bit complacent, the old Frenchman, and the other Frenchman [Téhoué] put the boot in. That's why this bloke [Slade] sends him on and says don't score too early. And once again Wenger has been out-thought by a better brain."
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