The FA Cup has provided Arsene Wenger with considerable salvation but Arsenal’s success has not provided a platform for progress in the area that hurts them most.
A consistent failure to deliver in big matches against top opposition has undermined their Premier League and Champions League aspirations.
Much of this was attributed to the psychological inhibitions brought about by a nine-year trophy drought until Arsenal won the FA Cup in 2014 and 2015, triggering talk emanating from the dressing room that a battle-hardened, winning mentality had finally been formed.
We are all still waiting. A closer examination of Arsenal’s four previous FA Cup visits to Wembley hints at why: in 2014, the Gunners required penalties to beat Championship side Wigan at the semi-final stage before falling 2-0 down in the Final against Hull City, who had avoided relegation from the top flight by just four points, only to stage a dramatic comeback to win 3-2 in extra-time.
A year later, Arsenal again needed extra-time — and a goalkeeping howler from Adam Federici — to beat Reading, another second-tier opponent, before thrashing a desperately poor Aston Villa side 4-0 to retain the trophy. The Gunners showed a degree of character in both years yet these were still performances punctuated by vulnerabilities that allow better sides to take an advantage they rarely relinquish.
There is unlikely to be any margin for error this time. Arsenal will have to beat Manchester City and either Chelsea or Tottenham to win a third FA Cup in four seasons and it therefore raises the issue again of whether the Gunners can thrive against English football’s elite.
Their record this season does not bode well. A table of League games between the top six has Arsenal in last place, taking six points from eight games.
If Wenger has any chance of making a cogent case that he should continue in charge of Arsenal, the Gunners surely have to deliver on Sunday.
Aaron Ramsey believes defeating City can help Arsenal end the campaign on a high. “This is massive for us,” he said. “It’s going to be important for us to finish the season strongly and hopefully have a final to look forward to.
In Pictures | Arsenal training session | 20/04/2017
“It has been a quite difficult season. There are a lot of things being said but we have to stand up for ourselves and get back on track as quickly as possible. There’s still a lot at stake and it’s important now to put ourselves right.
“City have got a world-class manager [Pep Guardiola] and have exceptional players. They’re very dangerous.”
Wenger may not be able to survive many more body blows. Monday’s win at Middlesbrough constituted progress, given their wretched recent form, but the trial of a 3-4-3 formation was not sufficiently encouraging to suggest it would withstand a searching examination by City’s array of attacking talent.
Sergio Aguero is the epitome of a big-game player: in 49 matches against the rest of the top six, the Argentine has scored 33 goals. Aguero struck when the teams met in a 2-2 draw at the beginning of the month, with Arsenal coming back twice after conceding.
So what did Arsenal learn from that match? “That they are a team who are very positive going forward, they like to have the ball and to take initiative and we do as well,” said Wenger.
“So on that front in our last game it was 50-50 on the possession front. It could be a very intense game with two teams trying to go forward.”