FA Cup

Do any Arsenal fans still care about winning the FA Cup?

The FA Cup has played a huge part in the history of Arsenal football club.  The FA Final was the first major honour The Gunners won in history in 1930 after Huddersfield Town were beaten 2-0. 

The North Londoner’s have also lifted it a record 14 times, which no team in the nation of England has beaten! 

I’ve supported Arsenal for the past 22 years since I was born and I can vividly remember us winning the competition four times. In fact some of my best memories of being a Gooner have arguably involved the FA Cup, especially when we bounced back from two goals down against Hull City to win 3-2 in extra-time of the 2014 final. I can remember sitting in my Grandparents house with my Grandad son of Arsenal legendary talisman Ted Drake, clinging onto the sofa arm feeling hopeless after ten minutes of kickoff with The Gunners 0-2 down to Steve Bruce’s Tigers, wondering if we would even equalise yet alone win! As a highly emotional child (and still now) who had never watched Arsenal in a final of a major competition before that point in time, I was soul destroyed.

ramsey

After Santi Cazorla fired in a wicked free-kick it gave me some hope but it was still nerve racking when we were still 2-1 down in the 71st minute before Laurent Koscielny flew in the equaliser. And when Aaron Ramsey won us the cup after finding the target in extra-time I just couldn’t have felt any happier as an Arsenal fan. (I can remember the emotions bursting through and the final as if it was yesterday, despite it being a decade ago!). 

However after watching Arsenal win a further three FA Cups since then I’ve started to feel that the magic I once felt for the competition has vanished into thin darkness without trying. It’s just not the same anymore, I’d like to see Arsenal win the FA Cup again but unless it was won in dramatic style like the 2014 final, I’m not sure if the magic would be rekindled in quite the same way. 

After watching Arsenal lose the past two Premier League titles which they should’ve won, I would much prefer to watch The Gunners win the league than anything else domestically speaking! 

I’m sure I’m not the only young Gooner who feels this way? 


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38 Comments

  1. Arteta has won the FA in his early days at Arsenal. I think the most important trophy for most fans and the players alike would be Epl trophy after getting close twice.
    And then get to UCL semi final or final. It would be a statement to dethrone PepG, only JKlopp did it once during his time at Liverpool. For a big club like Arsenal we need to break over 20yrs of not winning Epl. You can only imagine what the euphoria and the jubilation would be for all Arsenal fans world over if we win. Arteta’s credentials would rise immensely and the players status increased. Also, respect for Arsenal in Epl would top notch considering it’s modern era.

    1. Exactly. I think that this is where most objective fans stand.

      But then you have some people that were pushing this notion that Man United had a better season than Arsenal last season because they won a Cup while we finished 2nd with nothing to show for it. Even if we took the title race to the last game of last season.

      Imagine thinking that a Man United team that finished in 8th position on 60 points (30 points behind Arsenal) had a better season. But some people still want to push such nonsense.. smh
      🤦‍♂️

      1. There will come a time when you will have to learn to be happy with your opinion without having a go at the other fans.

        1. @HH
          When people chat nonsense consistently then they better be prepared to get as much push back as possible. Isn’t it?
          But I love your likes hypocrisy. You are known for being one of the most negative individuals on here. I can go back into the archives or just your recent comments in the last week or two to prove my point. All you do is complain about other people’s opinions as long as they are positive towards Arteta. Your sly digs and comments etc..
          Isn’t it?
          Smh

  2. It is the only trophy that Arsenal still leads (just) all other EPL clubs in wins having fallen far behind the likes of Utd and Liverpool in title wins (with City moving up closer as well).

    The FA Cup still counts of course, but not as much as it did in “the old days” when it had major importance domestically. After all, winning it as part of “The Double” is no longer the achievement it clearly once was with so many teams accomplishing it now. City’s recent feat of winning all domestic trophies in a single season has also diminished its importance a little further, I think.

    For Arteta and Arsenal, I suspect that the EPL must continue to be the top priority because of the near misses in the last two seasons. Once you’ve come so close to the biggest domestic prize, it would surely be a step back to fail for a third consecutive season yet win a domestic cup instead.

    1. You have not given any compelling argument on why it has less importance now domestically.

      I don’t see how Man City winning all domestic trophies reduce their importance. Them winning all domestic trophies, shouldn’t it make them more important?

      Continuing with your logic, the EPL trophy should be even more less important since they have won it 4 years in a row. The first club to do that in England I believe.

      1. It’s down to a question of shifting priorities for the big clubs. There was a time when the league title and the FA Cup were the only trophies to be won by English teams. Arsenal’s “glory years” immediately before WW2 saw them win five league titles and two FA Cups within a decade, for example. That “exclusivity” was part of the FA Cup’s prestige – fewer available trophies means they are more important.

        Over the years, with the introduction of the League Cup and up to three European competitions, the potential trophy options have been increased – and the prize money disproportionately.

        As I mentioned previously, the FA Cup was also important as one part of “The Double”. In the modern game only Sp*rs” had accomplished that in 1960-61 until Arsenal did it a decade later. However, since then it has been achieved nine more times. Teams are now clearly equipped to win both (and more, in the case of a few clubs) within a single season.

        However, you only need to win 6 games to win the FA Cup. It’s theoretically possible to win it without facing (other) topflight opponents at all, or more likely, only a few as has happened. The EPL takes 38 games of course – everyone home/away – so it’s obviously remains by far the most prestigious domestic trophy – and gets you into the huge money-making CL, unlike winning the FA Cup (where the winning team picks up a total of £3.6m in 2024).

        1. By teams winning them more times (and big teams at that) doesn’t that show their importance is the same or even more now?

          Why would a club like Man City pursue all competitions even the Carabao Cup if they were not important? If the EPL and CL were more important and the other have no relevance shouldn’t Man city, Arsenal, Liverpool and the likes field youth teams in the FA and Carabao cups in order to increase their chances on the more important ones?

    2. Of course winning the Prem is better but FA Cup is still great
      We are not a good enough team to be putting our nose up to Cup

  3. I loved the FA Cup from childhood, especially the Wenger era. But I was disappointed by our last win, in an empty stadium. Especially when Arteta was credited for it, though it was Emery’s squad which Arteta rapidly dismantled. Even Ljungberg deserved some credit.
    Ironically Arteta has has some massive losses in his full seasons. He uses it as the only time to rotate.

    I would be content with another second place finish IF we won the FA Cup in style and reached at least the semi final of the champions league. That’s progression!

  4. I’ve loved the FA Cup since I was a child
    I’m so proud of the amount of FA Cups that we won. We’ve won more than any other club.
    We’ve won 14. One more than United
    I want us to increase the gap

    The FA Cup means as much to me as thr PL title

  5. They should retire the Carling Cup, make Champions League qualification for top 3 on the table and the 4th spot for the FA Cup winner.

    If there is a double winner then the CL spot will go the 4th on the table.

    I love the FA Cup and the PL equally.

  6. Of course I still care about winning the FA cup. Who would turn down a trophy win when afforded the opportunity?

    But the league position / progress come first. That’s the bread and butter for the Top clubs. Then the domestic cups come later as the appetiser / cherry on top of the cake..

    That’s my personal opinion as always. 👍

  7. And I also think that the FA cup romanticism is a generational thing. The older the fan the more attached / fond they are for the domestic cups etc.

    From the Silent generation, Boomers, Gen X, Millennials and all the way to Gen Z’s.
    As you go down the generations the domestic cups lose that traditional romance. And on top of that you have the foreign fans that don’t have that attachment to domestic cups..

    1. I think you right about foreign fans. I think the domestic cups mean more to English fans. Just the same way the rivalry with Tottenham means more to local fans. As a foreigner,I’ve never really felt strongly towards Spurs.

      1. You are right about Spurs. In my country the English will find it strange that there are a lot of Arsenal fans who like Spurs or don’t care about them at all. Personally I neither like nor dislike them. I like Son though.

        Arsenal and Man utd are the biggest rivals to the local population. With each having nearly half the population as supporters.

        In the era of Wenger and Ferguson you wouldn’t cross a street without seeing someone wearing either a Man utd or Arsenal shirt and a Barcelona one here and there occasionally to ruin the scene.

        The rivalry was so intense you would think they are local clubs. When these two met the streets were nearly empty for 90 minutes.

        1. Blimey, that’s an eye opener. It’s hard to imagine that in another country. Where is this?

          That “Barcelona shirt ruining the scene” thing 🤣 Haha. Excellent.

          And no Liverpool fans there? After all their league and Euro success.

      2. It’s crazy. I have a few fellow gooner mates that are born and bread in London with Arsenal blood running through their veins going back a generation or two, but they don’t seem to have the same animosity I do have towards Spurs. I just can’t stand spurs supporters.

        But many of my fellow gooner friends can’t stand Liverpool, Man United and recently Chelsea for some reason..

        While on the other hand I don’t have any animosity towards Liverpool due to my Uncle and Cousin being staunch Liverpool fans.
        It’s weird.

  8. It’s wrong to discredit the FA Cup by even suggesting that some Arsenal fans might not care about winning it. It’s still a major competition open to ALL football teams in the country and I’m looking forward to us taking part again, and If any of our so-called fans do wish us out of it, then I feel sorry for them.
    The Cup Final was once watched by millions worldwide but the whole event became devalued when Ferguson withdrew United so that they could take part in the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup in 2000 and It’s never recovered the glamour it once had.

    1. “I’m sure I’m not the only young Gooner who feels this way?” You must be very, very young then, and a poor supporter.
      I remember how emotional Emi Marinez became after that win, in Arteta’s first season, he couldn’t complete his interview. That’s how much it meant to the players.
      Do not discredit the FA Cup.

  9. In the “good old days and” The coverage of the FA cup final started around 9.30am on both BBC and ITV.
    They would broadcast from coaches carrying the two teams, along with others carrying both sets of supporters.
    It was a magical day, even if your club wasn’t involved.

    Times have changed however but I agree with Jax – don’t dismiss the oldest knockout competition in the world.

    I also agree with HH regarding awarding the winners with CL qualification, but I’m not sure if EUFA rules would allow that.

    I have to admit that the seven times we won it under Arsene also holds great value to me as an ardent supporter of Le Prof.

    1. The problem with FA Cup –> CL is when you get a lower league side winning it. They just get shot to bits in the next season and they have a rubbish domestic season due to the pressures on their squad and the finances of travelling abroad etc.

      It’s romantic – and maybe a decent way of upping the status of the FA Cup – but impractical.

  10. YES,

    As an older supporter, I still regard that winning the FA Cup is a great accomplishment, and attending the final at Wembley is a great day out.

    It is an English Trophy!!!!

    I know that winning the Champions League brings in more money…..

    But the FA Cup is a tradition, and taking one’s grandchildren is a wonderful bonding process.

    Many years ago I played in one of the very early rounds of this great cup competition

  11. For me our No.1 target should be the EPL followed by the UCL and then the FA Cup. Winning 7 FA Cups didn’t make Arsenal a legend, it was the three Premier League titles against against a formidable Man United side. Today it’s Pep and City who stand in our way, win the title this year and Arteta becomes an Arsenal legend. Come second again but win the FA Cup would not be regarded a success. Just my opinion!

    1. If I were Arteta I would put all my efforts into winning the Champions League. His legendary status will be ensured as the first one to win it for us.

      1. That’s a bit of an all or nothing shot. Fail to win the CL and come 5th in the PL… and you’re more zero than hero – and might be out of a job.

        I think MA has instilled in his squad the same mentality PG has at City – take every game as it comes and do your level best to win it.

  12. Being of the older generation, the FA Cup has always been special to me. As Ken posted further up, the two British TV channels made the day of the Final a great watch.

    Winning any trophy is a plus for me. Loved winning the League Cup in ’87 against the club that had practically ruled the English game for over a decade, Liverpool, as it was the first Final I was at that we won. We were the first team to beat them when Ian Rush scored for them.

    The FA Cup has lost a bit of it’s glamour, due to, imo, the greed of modern day football.

    1. Hard to disagree with any of that. The last sentence especially.

      The CL expansion and rewards makes for a different set of objectives. In the old days when the European Cup was only for the winners of each country’s league, no big club could do anything but try to win their own domestic league. The Euro campaign was a bit of a bonus the next year.

      They also tried to win the FA Cup because the only other European route was the Cup Winners Cup – there was no Europa League, nor the other even lower on WHU won. Not until the Fair Cup came along and that wasn’t all that highly regarded iirc.

      Nowadays you don’t need to win anything to make a lot of money as a club, just come 2nd – 4th every year, that’s the business model that works – more income/profit means you have more to spend on players under FFP rules, so that’s the priority.

      I have no doubt that was made clear to Wenger – he was so right when he said that CL qualification is a trophy. Fans may not see it that way, but clubs (and those who run them) certainly do…

      Becasue when fans want top players bought in the next season – where’s the money coming from to buy decent players? CL qualification ofc.

      1. Neutral, as you say, back in the day teams earned their place in European competitions. Now the so called CL is mostly made up of non champions. There used to be a TV advert for Ronseal and it finished with the saying “It does what it says on the tin”. Well the CL isn’t.

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