The town of Reading may have been swept up in FA Cup euphoria , but Steve Clarke has instructed his players to approach this weekend 's semi-final like any other day at work . It has been 88 years since the Royals last reached the last-four juncture and the SkyBet Championship side travel to Wembley facing the unenviable task of overcoming in-form Arsenal . Reading are striving to make the FA Cup final for the first time in their history , leading to excitement understandably building in Berkshire - if not the club 's Hogwood Park training ground . Reading overcame League One side Bradford with a 3-0 replay win to progress to FA Cup semi-final . Clarke , a winner as player and coach at Chelsea , has told his players not to get caught up in the occasion , with progression the only objective . ' I think when you go through to semi-finals , the only way to enjoy it is to win the game , ' the Reading manager said . 'You ca n't go to Wembley and play the occasion . It is not about playing the occasion , we 're playing Arsenal . 'For us , it has to be a day of work . We have to go there focused only on what happens on the pitch . The Royals face Premier League giants Arsenal in crunch clash on Saturday at Wembley . 'The supporters can go and enjoy the day , that 's their little reward for a cup run . 'For us , it is to go there with a mentality that we are there to do a job and if we do that right we can go through . ' Clarke is confident his players can make history on Saturday , even though few outsiders share his faith . One bookmaker has them at 14/1 to win and Reading 's manager accepts they will have to play the 'perfect game ' to overcome an Arsenal side on the back of eight straight league wins . It has been 88 years since Reading last made an appearance in the semi-finals of the FA Cup . 'They look strong , well-balanced , ' Clarke said . 'They 're winning games . 'They have terrific players . Great problems for us to solve . 'Maybe they have left their run too late to catch Chelsea at the top but certainly a good chance to finish the season strongly . ' Reading have no fresh injury concerns ahead of the semi-final , with Pavel Pogrebnyak fit after a slight calf complaint ruled him out of Tuesday 's 1-0 loss to table-topping Bournemouth . Steve Clarke was appointed Reading manager in December 2014 to replace Nigel Adkins . Clarke felt defeat was harsh on his side , stretching a run of winless matches to five since winning the quarter-final replay against Bradford . 'Cup competitions , one-off games , we seem to have approached it with a little bit more freedom , a little less nervousness , if you like , ' the Royals boss said . ' I think the league campaign has been disappointing . There is sort of a feeling of doom and gloom around the league campaign this year which is never nice . Reading have struggled in the Championship but have brought FA Cup euphoria to the town with their great run . ' I think that is reflected in the game ( against Bournemouth ) , when we are knocking at the door in the last 10 minutes and knocking on the door very , very much . 'Bournemouth , because they 're on a winning run , know how to get over the line and win at the moment . 'We 're struggling in the league a little bit to find a way to win games , whereas in the cup we 've been good . 'We 've known how to win the cup games so hopefully that continues on Saturday . '
Reading face Arsenal in FA Cup semi-final on Saturday at Wembley . Premier League giants are bookies favourites as they look to retain cup . The Gunners have won the last four editions of the competition and will be hoping for a repeat performance against their local rivals.