There are a lot of positive things for the Arsenal fans, players and Arsene Wenger to take from the fourth round EFL cup win over Reading but which one do we think was the biggest and most important?
With a long and arduous season ahead of Arsenal in four competitions, perhaps the fact that some players like Olivier Giroud, Lucas Perez and Carl Jenkinson got a rare chance to play and gain some match sharpness for when they are called upon by Arsene Wenger for a Premier League or Champions League match will turn out to be crucial.
Just the fact that the Gunners are now just three games away from a Wembley final, with the EFL cup semi-final being a two legged affair, is a big thing. And with Tottenham going out last night and one of the Manchester clubs and another two EPL clubs from Chelsea, West Ham, Southampton and Sunderland to join them, you would give Arsenal a good chance of making it and claiming another trophy.
Then you have the experience gained by young Gunners like Martinez, Holding, Maitland-Niles, Zelalem and Reine-Adelaide coupled with the idea that the good performance of the team against Reading should keep the regular first teamers on their toes.
For me though, the biggest thing about this match was that the manager was able to rest his key players like Alexis Sanchez and Ozil and pretty much all of the starting line-up that will take on Sunderland in the Premier League on Saturday and Arsenal still got the confidence boosting victory to set us back on track.
We have been a looking a little tired of late and that caused us to drop vital points against Boro. We cannot afford to do that again so having the first team fresh again while still getting through the cup clash was massive. One or the other would have been good but is getting both a huge boost for Arsenal’s season?
Bob.