Arsenal vs Watford team news: Olivier Giroud leads the line for Gunners as Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez also start

The match kicks off at 1.30pm

Olivier Giroud celebrates his first goal against Hull on Tuesday night (2016 Getty Images)

Olivier Giroud leads the line for Arsenal this afternoon in their FA Cup sixth-round fixture against Watford at the Emirates Stadium.

The French striker scored twice in the 4-0 FA Cup fifth-round replay win over Hull City on Tuesday night.

Theo Walcott, who also scored twice in that game, and Danny Welbeck are on the Arsenal bench.

Arsene Wenger may have a full quota of fit centre-backs to chose from against Watford on Sunday afternoon - but the Arsenal boss still fears the threat of Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo.

The Hornets make the short trip to the Emirates Stadium for their FA Cup sixth-round tie - with a place at a Wembley semi-final the prize for the victor.

Arsenal, in search of their third FA Cup success in as many years, came through a replay at Hull in midweek to set up a clash with Barclays Premier League rivals Watford.

Wenger lost both of his centre-backs on Tuesday as Gabriel and Per Mertesacker were forced off with injuries.

But he is hopeful both will be available for Sunday, while fellow defender Laurent Koscielny could also be fit for a recall having recovered from a calf injury.

Even though Wenger could have the trio at his disposal, with a Champions League tie in Barcelona and a tough Premier League trip to Everton to come inside a week, he may have to look carefully at who is given the nod against Quique Sanchez Flores' side.

And the Frenchman is wary of the threat that Watford's two strikers can possess - with the visitors looking to spring a surprise by knocking out the record 12-time winners of the trophy on Sunday.

"They have done extremely well," Wenger said of Watford's first season back in the top-flight.

"It looks like the Championship teams that come up now deal very well with the Premier League regime.

"You have Watford who are doing extremely well. They are very prepared and very efficient. They have two strikers who are very efficient with Ighalo and Deeney and we worked very hard to control the game (last time we played them).

"They give us a tough time. When we played against Watford in the Premier League, Deeney had not scored I think for a long time. After us he started to score but during the game I was impressed by him. He's a good player.

"They have a very good understanding between the strikers and the quality between our two centre backs will be vital on Sunday."

Teams

Arsenal: Ospina, Chambers, Mertesacker, Gabriel, Gibbs, Elneny, Coquelin, Campbell, Ozil, Sanchez, Giroud. Subs: Walcott, Monreal, Flamini, Welbeck, Bellerin, Iwobi, Macey.

Watford: Gomes, Nyom, Prodl, Cathcart, Ake, Capoue, Watson, Behrami, Guedioura, Ighalo, Deeney. Subs: Mario Suarez, Jurado, Oulare, Amrabat, Pantilimon, Anya, Abdi.

Referee: Andre Marriner (West Midlands)