For all its romance the FA Cup is no longer top of the agenda

Published: 28 January 2010

IF you play such a weakened team, as Arsenal did against Stoke on Sunday, you don’t deserve to win the FA Cup. The trophy has too much of a glorious history for a club to win it by plucking youngsters from their reserves.
Stoke would have had a harder task against a determined championship side.
So, no trip to Wembley this year. We won’t cry.
The truth, unpalatable as it may seem to the purists, is that a trip to the Bernabeu in Madrid for the Champions League final outweighs the value of Wembley by a ratio of 20:1.
For all its romance the FA Cup is no longer at the top of the agenda. Obviously, it’s not quite down there with the trash of the Carling Cup, a tournament only Spurs care about. But the world’s oldest knock-out competition cannot compete with the prestige and importance of being crowned Premier League or Champions League champions.
To stay with the élite Arsenal must doggedly keep those priorities as their main goals. The three teams that have won the league championship more than any others – the true big boys, Liverpool, Man United and Arsenal – are all out of this year’s competition. That’s the difference between a top club’s aims and those filling the Europa League bracket.
Now, bring on United.
RICHARD OSLEY

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SO Arsenal are out of the FA Cup.
With each passing week Arsene Wenger’s criticisms of Mick McCarthy seem more ironic. Wenger said that the Wolves boss undermined the credibility of the Premier League when he fielded a weakened side against Manchester United.
Yet on Sunday the mad Professor named a side which was seemingly picked on the basis of a sign stuck on the noticeboard at their London Colney training ground saying: “FA Cup this weekend, anyone fancy it?”
Their mishmash side was rightfully beaten by Stoke and Wenger must feel he should have tried a lot harder because they won’t get a better chance of silverware this season.
As for Spurs, we love a cold February night in Leeds to test our resources and resolve. Watching Michael Dawson’s slow-motion lunge was truly painful, a pub full of people saw it coming: “Just shepherd it out!” they cried. But no, Michael had to get ambitious and wipe Jermaine Beckford out in the 95th minute. Superb. At least the replay could be a great chance to see what Roman Pavlyuchenko and David Bentley can muster after their recent glimpses of quality.
A comfortable victory against Fulham pushes us ever closer to that coveted fourth spot.
PIP WROE

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