Palate cleansing cups

A break from a relentless league campaign and chances for silverware

Back in October, I wrote about the feeling that something big could end up happening at Arsenal this season and how, in case it does, I want to really soak it all up along the way. Easier said than done.

It’s now January, and I’m tired.

Arsenal have won eight of the 12 Premier League games since that piece but it has often felt like they have been limping. Despite a six-point lead at the top of the table, it just doesn’t feel like there has been loads to shout about.

A late Sunderland equaliser punctured the good mood before the international break. A draw with 10-man Chelsea immediately followed the good mood of the (obligatory) 4-1 derby win against Tottenham. Defeat to Aston Villa soon followed, and though that result was followed by five league wins in a row, four of those were by a single goal. No matter how good the performance is, those margins make things nervy.

The pair of 4-1 wins over Tottenham and Aston Villa were incredibly enjoyable, but otherwise there hasn’t been all that much to sink your teeth into: no statement win in the four games against typical competitive rivals Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea to date, no player hitting an unstoppable run of form, and everything unfolding amidst the pressure, the stress, the anxiety of the fans that a 22-year wait could finally be ended.

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I am very grateful, then, for the schedule this week. The relentlessness of the title challenge can be put to one side and simpler elements of fandom can be indulged.

Looking at the big picture, it feels churlish to say the 0-0 draw to Liverpool was disappointing. Though it obviously was, it left Arsenal six points clear, continued an unbeaten run, and marked the end of a run of the demanding Christmas-New Year period. After defeat at Villa Park, Arsenal have taken 16 from a possible 18 Premier League points and it still isn’t enough to satisfy. Clearly we all need a break.

The cups offer just that. For fans, yes, but also for the players Mikel Arteta is incredibly reluctant to play a league game without: Martin Zubimendi played every minute of each of the five league games from 20 December-8 January, and has played at least in an hour in 26 of Arsenal’s 27 Premier League and Champions League games so far this season.

Arsenal have a great history in the FA Cup — they are the most successful club in the world’s oldest national football competition — but January’s third round feels a long way from May’s final. The yellow ribbons are still safely tucked away. The stakes are lower, especially when the draw hands you a trip to Portsmouth rather than, as Arsenal have faced in recent years, a game against a side like Liverpool or Manchester United.

Everything feels different, an escape from the Premier League bubble. A day off for the likes of Martin Zubimendi but also for fans: a weekend break, if you like. The stresses of life, of Arsenal, are still with you, but you’re on holiday from the majority of it.

It was great to see Ethan Nwaneri spark to life in Sunday’s second half, and to see Eberechi Eze perk up from the left once Martin Ødegaard was introduced. It was important for Gabriel Martinelli to have a positive experience after all the talk about him over the past few days. And it felt huge to see Kai Havertz back in an Arsenal shirt for just the second time this season and just the fourth time in 11 months. His movement, his touch, his weight of pass all stood out instantly. There was an opportunity for Myles Lewis-Skelly to shake off some of the rust that has built up over recent months ahead of what looks likely to be a little run in the team for him, and a chance for Gabriel Jesus to start a game for just the second time in a year.

And there was a comfortable win. Fans weren’t made to sweat, to swear, to nervously bite their nails. Arsenal are in the hat for Monday’s fourth round draw.

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Now Arteta has a choice to make on Wednesday: how seriously does he take the semi-final first leg at Chelsea? Does he stick with the heavy rotation, allowing the likes of William Saliba, Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka to rest up for another few days before the Premier League machine starts to whirr again, or does he get them back involved as Arsenal hunt a first piece of silverware (and a first final!) since 2020?

I think he’ll go strong and reintroduce much of what is considered the ‘first choice’ team, and that’s fine by me. Semi-finals shouldn’t be taken for granted. Arsenal reached at least one semi-final in 20 of the 24 seasons from 1998-2021 and a at least one final in 15 of those campaigns.

Last season, Arsenal reached two semi-finals after back-to-back seasons without reaching one. They lost both. It is now six years since Arsenal played in a final, the longest such run the club has been on since the first half of the 1980s.

Arteta will be desperate to set that record right, even if it is ‘only’ the League Cup. But the stakes aren’t the same as in the league. And as it’s not been easy to enjoy that particular journey of late, I’m grateful for this week’s detour and the chance to be consumed by something else for a few days.