I know that a lot of Arsenal fans will disagree with me on this one, as we never want to lose a game to our north London rivals Tottenham, but I think we have to be realistic about this and say that the Capital One Cup game at White Hart Lane on Monday night is way down on our list of priorities.
The problem is that Arsenal have just had two disheartening defeats in a row, so a lot of people will want Arsene Wenger to react to this and play a strong Arsenal team against the Spuds, but I think this would be wrong and I do not think he will do it either.
The game that the Gunners really have to win is the one against Leicester City at the weekend and the Foxes are on fire. They are playing very well and it is an all action sort of football that demands any team wanting to beat them to match their intensity, at the very least.
So resting key players is surely the way to go, no? Also, playing a second string side against Spurs will not necessarily mean defeat and by the same token, playing a full strength team will not necessarily mean that Arsenal win.
Imagine how damaging, morale-wise, it would be to play our best XI and still lose? It will be painful to get knocked out of the cup by our local rivals, but in the long run, do we not have to focus on the Premier League?