Arsene Wenger believes FA Cup Third Round opponents Plymouth Argyle will prove the increasing strength of the Championship when they take on Arsenal at the Emirates in January.
Wenger admits he was pleased with the draw after the Gunners were paired with the Devon club - but only because his team were pulled out of the hat first!
"We play at home, of course - and coming after the Christmas games and at the start of January that's important," he said.
"Everybody told me 'Don't get a draw against them because to get down there is impossible!', so we'll take them seriously.
"They are from the Championship and in the last three or four years the Championship has become closer to the Premier League.
"I watched Wolves v Birmingham at the weekend and you can see they are good teams now. So we have to be careful."