Why Arsenal Should Take the FA Cup Replay Seriously! by AT
Arsenal have definitely had the luck of the draw in the FA Cup this season. After consecutive home draws against Sunderland, Burnley and Hull City, the Gunners have been handed yet another home draw against Watford should they beat the Tigers in the replay at the KC Stadium. So once again, it seems as though the FA Cup seems to be a very achievable trophy for Arsene Wenger’s team.
Considering that Manchester City, Spurs and Leicester have all been knocked out of the prestigious competition, there is only a revitalised Chelsea side that possesses a real threat to the Gunners winning the FA Cup for the third consecutive season. So with that being said, I am really hoping to see Arsene Wenger take the replay against Hull seriously.
Make no mistake about it, the Premier League is the first priority but I would really like to see Le Prof fielding a stronger starting eleven when his Arsenal team take to the field at the KC Stadium. Now while I do understand that that is easier said than done as the match will take place just days after the North London derby, I really believe that it is still possible to field a side that is too strong for the Championship’s table-toppers.
Basically, Arsenal find themselves in a situation where the Premier League and FA Cup are both very achievable targets as a result of the other ‘big teams’ slacking off this season. To be honest, I think there is still some way to go for the Gunners to be able to win the Champions League. But this is perhaps the best opportunity to win the double and I really hope to see the boss give equal preference to both domestic competitions.
Anurag
The double would be awesome
Three Reasons:
1. Double
2. First PL in over a decade that we have been aching and yearning for
3. History. 1 st FA Cup hattrick
Hope you’re right, but the double…forget that, how about the treble! I don’t expect us to get past Barcelona, but stranger things have happened. Who would have thought an injury ravaged Monaco would get past us over two games!
Would be great to equal Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers achievement of three FA cups in a row.
if we are looking to progress ahead of hull city, who wouldn’t take the FA cup replay seriously?
I actually see us reaching the FA Cup finals…and winning it.
UCL? I quite doubt it…given our records with FCB (however, records are meant to be broken).
BPL? As long as we don’t pick up any more injuries, I also see us lifting it with a close shave.
My thoughts.
How many hours left for blood to be shed?
Too many ?
this msn combo is better than all of our legends combined.
So rest in piece mertz.
for starters, u should try sleeping in a coffin! L()L
I’m sure you’ll boo our boys if you were in the stadium tonight!
I’ll grant you Messi. While Neymar and Suarez may end up surpassing TH14 at the moment they have some catching up to do in iconic status, career goals (411), club honours (20) a World Cup and European Championship winners medal and over 80 individual awards, nominations, accolades etc. Picking either Suarez or Neymar over TH14 in his prime is no easy call. And call it blind, unadulterated bias but I’d have Bergkamp in any combined X1 team from the past 30 years.
I was very happy with the FA cup we won 2 years ago since I hoped it would install confidence and killer instinct in the squad. I was also happy with last years FA cup since it was clear from the beginning we had no chance to compete with Chelsea for the PL.
This year winning only the FA cup will not do IMO. This is probably a sign of the progress we have made in terms of reasonable expectations. These reasonable expectations have been helped a lot by the under-performance of Chelsea, Manu and City this season.
However having already lost 5 games in the PL and seeing how poor are form is compared to Spurs and Leicester this calendar year, particularly our difficulty in scoring goals, I am not so comfortable any longer that we have the mental strength to take this golden opportunity to win the PL.
City, Man U and Chelsea will all have new managers next season. This might be an advantage, although Moureen knows the PL well. It will also mean we are not likely to buy a world class striker since Man U, City and Chelsea will go out and try to bring the likes of Aubameyang and Lewendowski to their clubs. Without a proved 20+ (season after season) PL goal scoring striker we are not likely to win the PL IMO. In other words this is really our big chance but it feels like it is slipping.
Only the PL will do IMO the FA cup will only count as a bonus in addition to the PL for me. On its own it will be a failure in absence of the PL.
The writer mentions that we have a decent chance of perhaps winning some silverware this season “as a result of the other ‘big teams’ slacking off this season”. Personally I get pee-ed off when I hear this echo chamber refrain nonsense that keeps popping up. Surely every PL ever won relies on other teams not doing as well as expected, or falling away under pressure at critical times etc. Surely preparing for a season without shooting yourself in the foot with manager instability, poor preparation or dodgy transfers is all part of the equation. If by chance we do win the league this season I fear the tabloid/social media headline writing is on the wall already – “Arsenal win the poorest PL in memory” blah, blah etc. I would spin it and say this has been one of the most difficult PL campaigns for every team for as long as I can remember and the quality difference between the top 5 or 6 and the middle teams is as close as it has ever been. Ergo – whoever wins this season will have done remarkably well irrespective of the ultimate question of absolute quality.