Focus is a vital component of success in life, business and career, and the same principle applies to football. For Arsenal to achieve their objectives this season, they must apply a clear sense of focus and strategic intent.
The Gunners possess one of the strongest squads in English football, yet talent alone will not guarantee trophies. What the team must now learn is how to manage their resources and energy across the demanding calendar of top-level competitions.
Learning from Last Season’s Shortcomings
Last season, Arsenal reached the semi-finals of the Champions League and Carabao Cup, while also finishing second in the Premier League. Despite their efforts, they walked away without a single major trophy, continuing a run that has stretched since 2020.
The club’s ambition to win across all competitions may have been admirable, but it ultimately proved unsustainable. Attempting to lift the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup in a single season placed an enormous physical and mental burden on the players. As a result, key individuals were overused, and the squad struggled to maintain peak performance at crucial moments.
Had Arsenal focused their efforts on just one or two competitions, such as the Carabao Cup or FA Cup, they may well have ended the season with silverware. A more measured and targeted approach might have delivered tangible results, rather than near misses across the board.
A Refined Path to Silverware
Looking ahead, Arsenal must consider prioritising. Competing at the highest level requires not just quality but also tactical clarity. Even if the Gunners were to secure just the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, it would be a better outcome than repeating another season of semi-final exits and a second-place league finish.
Arsenal’s challenge is not merely to participate but to win. This season should not be about chasing every title at once, but rather about choosing the right battles and committing to them fully. Focused ambition, rather than scattered efforts, may finally lead the club back to the silverware they seek.
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EPL, because the long competition is easier to win than UCL. Arteta’s inverted fullback tactics and squad are also built for a marathon like that
We shouldn’t focus on the Carabao and FA Cups, since the rewards are too small and we’ve got too many of those minor trophies
We can never have too many trophies
Better field our youngsters, backup and squad-rotation players for the minor competitions, to prevent injuries on our key players
Minor competitions ?
The arrogance lol
I’m being realistic, since many Arsenal players are injury-prone
Agree, FA Cup oldest trophy in the world, any trophy is better than none, I have never missed an FA Cup final since 1979 when we beat Man Utd, love the competition
Agree Dan; a strong squad with solid options in every position, should be competitive in every competition Arsenal enters.
Wenger used the Carabao Cup as a chance to give fringe players such as the youth coming through.
It’s a double edged sword really. Unless the main squad is so superior that they are easily able to win multiple titles then playing a second 11 is likely to be counterproductive. From memory, AW brought back the experienced players as the rounds progressed and sometimes fielding a severely weakened team resulted in losses.
Rotation is the word. Having enough talent and cover too.
Yes, that’s what I liked about Arsenal managers
They always play the fringe and squad rotation players in the minor cup competitions to prevent them from getting rusty
@Gai, I agree with you absolutely 👌
Personally, no trophy is worth celebrating apart from Epl & UCL. After finishing 3rd thrice and we reach semi of UCl why should we settle for less.
Progress in terms of trophies should be measured on something bigger than the FA Arteta won in his first season. It’s either Epl or UCL trophy
All of them but especially FA Cup, PL and Champions League
I agree with you. We aim to win every competition available this season. When we have spent the kind of money this transfer window on back up players and a star striker, I can’t justify any excuses for Arteta now. Surely the process that we have all trusted has now concluded! Time to deliver 🏆❤️🤍
(and if the spuds get relegated as well, that would be the cherry on top 🍰 😂)
Don’t agree, I love the Derby games against Spurs and I would miss the intensity and rivalry of playing Spurs
Premier league, CL, FA cup, Carribou cup, in that order. But it is silly saying we should focus on just one!!!!!!
Let the team focus on fa cup and champions league
EPL very important
I agree with you Stephanie We can’t have too many trophies, we should claim everything expecially PL cup, Champions League and probaly FA and Caraboa cup
I don’t see the possibility of having everything at once, but you must have priority despite other endeavours. Your priority takes a huge part of your time and creativity than others
No team will go all out for all the cups! Our priority should be PL, CL, FA. For CC, play our 2nd team consisting of our fringe & academy players.
I think it will depend on how the various competitions play out. In the first half of the season, definitely prioritize the League to the fullest extent. The Champions League will be in the “League” phase, and there should be enough winnable games to rotate squad players and hopefully finish top 8. For the Carabo Cup and early FA Cup, include backups and rest some top guys – keeping the backups in form and ready to contribute.
In the 2nd half, continue to emphasize the league, as I would assume we will be in contention. If we are in the semifinals of the Cups, then go for them – it seems our team is now deep enough to compete on more than one front. As the knockouts progress in the Champions League, we can rotate the team to match up, and hopefully in the semi and final put out the best possible team.
In other words, I think the “priority” should be to compete using some rotation and be opportunistic as the various competitions progress.
Aim for all 4 at the outset and time will quickly tell how the team is playing and what’s realistically possible.
The league and CL are the most prestigious. A trip to Wembley for a final is a brilliant day out but the other 2 trump domestic cups. I went to the Villa final. A crushing victory but it’s not the league. Many point to any sort of trophy as vital. Helps morale/winning mentality but the league is it, followed by CL football. In that sense Wenger was right finishing in the top4 is as valuable to the club as the FACup. trophy. Spondulicks and the opportunity to go again the following season in Europe’s top competition and hopefully win it.
As you described above, I believe AW handled the EFL cup and FA Cup competitions about as well as possible. It is the way I believe that most managers handle them to this day.
Getting to the UCL and then going as far as possible is the target of the owners for the obvious financial reasons. Financially, the other cup competitions aren’t even in the same league (pardon the pun). The pertinent consideration when it comes to the other cup competitions is whether they can have a net positive effect in achieving the UCL related objectives. As long as they are intertwined with the regular season, my opinion is they have to be used in whatever way deemed necessary by MA to achieve the financial objectives of the ownership. If that leads to more trophies in the cabinet, great!
Theoretically, a club with a strong squad should be able to tackle multiple trophies within a season but few actually manage that – and Arsenal certainly hasn’t in previous seasons.
The problem for Arteta is that because he has just one trophy “in the bag” since 2019 any trophy in 2025-26 would be welcome (belatedly), but given the expenditure to date, and particularly this summer, I’m not sure the likes of the Carabao Cup will really suffice now.
He would have been in a stronger position had his teams picked up, say, a Europa League and a Carabao Cup earlier in his tenure as coach but as that didn’t happen, I suspect something rather more substantial, the league title, will be needed this time around.
For me, I’d say that we should use the minor cups to give fringe/youth players a chance- and focus more on the EPL and the UCL. If we do really well in the minor cups then Arteta can choose whether or not he should play a stronger lineup. After all, a trophy is a trophy…
This seems to be a recurring question before every season. And it makes me laugh every time. Now while a team that has had their fare share of success in recent times may well be in a position to pick and choose, for me picking and choosing is ridiculous.
For one you can’t be sure what of the four trophy’s you could win, if you did pick and choose if any.
And in our teams case, we’re hardly in a position to pick and choose are we, with our recent record regarding winning trophy’s. 🤦♂️🤷♂️
@ Derek, I understand your point.
However I think the point being made here i what we need to prioritize here. There has to be some sort of focal point here with the amount of competitions there are.
I know we haven’t won anything major for a while, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a focal point/s.
Kia,
I know that the Premier League and the Champions League are the two majors that the big boys want. And I understand that.
But looking at the history of our club, it is possible for them to challenge for the major’s without diluting in the two other cups. And as I’ve said, with our recent track record we’re not in any position to pick and choose.
Just win a trophy. PLEASE! 🤷♂️
Derek,
Yes agree, it’s just my opinion that we have built up to the point where I don’t think anything besides PL or CL will be enough.
We have spent way too much money over the last few seasons “building” and now if Gyokeres is supposedly the “missing piece”, I unfortunately won’t be happy with anything less than the PL or CL (or both!).
Sorry if it sounds arrogant, but that’s just where my thoughts are at right now given the recent past.
Whatever team is picked, whether giving some youngsters a chance or playing some of our second string players, we should play to win every game in every competition and pick the appropriate team to do just that.
How can you prioritize which competitions to go for, does that mean you go out and deliberately lose games because you haven’t prioritized that competition. Whatever team they pick just aim to win the next game.
100% agree with you.
Never mentioned anything about deliberately losing games, I’m talking more about team selection in certain competitions. No doubt that whoever is selected to play on the day will play to win.
OT – It’s being reported that Xhaka has been acquired by the Black Cats for £17m. Welcome back to the PL Granit.
We have purchased top quality players because we are aiming to win major trophies. If it was a question of just any trophy, we wouldn’t have spent that much money. I am of the view that our priority should be EPL, Champions league, FA and Carabao cup in that order. .
The level arrogance among some fans in here is appalling.
We’re talking here about a team that hasn’t won anything in more than 5 seasons or is it six?
Let’s be sincere with each other.
We don’t have the luxury of rejecting any competition.
I still hope Arteta adopts a different tactics, in terms of how we play. Our style last season was one of the reason we fell short massively.
How can you prioritise any trophy over the other at the start of the season?
We have matches where even if you played your best possible 11 you somehow lose.Imagine if you lost in that cup you had prioritised ,do you then stop playing for the remainder of the season?
Just make maximum use of the available players by allowing proper rotation in the squad to keep all players up to speed and minimise injuries. This will allow you a chance to compete on all front, and let come what may.
Cliff,
I like your post, and I agree with all you said. 👍
EPL and CL .. FA is our thing!
The legendary Jurgen Klopp once said, you must become greedy, maybe that’s what turn teams into mentality Giants.
So the focus should be on winning everything
Our main goal should be the EPL title. Champions of the Worlds best football league!!! After that, the UCL, FA Cup and the Carabao Cup. I agree with Gai, we should play some of our excellent Academy youngsters in both the FA, and especially, the Carabao cup as AW did. He didn’t do too badly did he?