Often called the "Mickey Mouse" Cup, the Carling Cup is not seen as a big trophy to win these days, and several people hold this competition with little regard. You can see it even in the way, managers set out their team, choosing to play young players and those in the fringes rather than their best players.
But for Arsenal, the value of the competition cannot be stressed enough. This year, much to the surprise of several Arsenal fans, Arsene Wenger took the Carling Cup extremely seriously and that was evident as the Gunners made it to the final. Heading into the final, the Gunners were overwhelming favorites as they took on struggling Birmingham. But much to the shock of several Arsenal fans, the Gunners capitulated when it counted the most, and Arsenal lost 2-1 to Birmingham.
Since that defeat, things have gone from bad to worse for the Gunners. They were eliminated from the Champions League at the hands of Barcelona and then were ousted from the FA Cup by Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United.
Their league form has been appalling to say the least as they have won just two league matches since their Carling Cup humiliation. All this has seen them go a sixth season without a trophy, and things are at an all time low for Arsene Wenger and his side.
The pressure has never been so intense on Wenger and his boys and certain off-field activities haven’t helped the Gunners either. The frustration and anger among fans was there for all to see after the Gunners crashed to their second consecutive loss against Aston Villa last week.
Now the Gunners are faced with the prospect of finishing fourth and going into the UEFA Champions League through playoffs. All this just goes to show how much the Gunners have fallen in the last three months, from prospective quadruple winners to trophyless once again.
There is no doubt that the catalyst in this collapse was the 2-1 loss against Birmingham. The Gunners once again showed their fragile mentality and their obvious inability to bounce back following disappointment.
Even Wenger and several Arsenal players have pinpointed the Carling Cup defeat as the root cause of Arsenal’s failures. This once again reaffirmed a fact that Gunners’ faithful have been fearing for sometime now. Quality wise, Arsenal need only a few signings, but when it comes to the hardened winning mentality that teams like Manchester United have, there is so much work left to be done.
Arsenal’s collapse is now a yearly ritual, and it is usually triggered by the coming of March. In this period, we have understood one crucial thing, the Gunners lack the ability to close out games, they lack confidence to keep leads and they tend to doubt themselves far too easily.
All this can be solved by winning a trophy. This is why the Carling Cup takes such importance for the Gunners. While it might not be the most sought after trophy, it is a trophy nonetheless.
Winning a trophy is an extremely important first step in the career of any football player. At Arsenal currently, there are only a few players who have actually one a trophy of any significance. So right now, it would suffice to say that Arsenal lack any winning experience.
There are two ways this can be sorted out. One is by bringing in proven players, whose experience, attitude and grit can leave a positive impact on the club.
The second involves using these players and helping the current team win trophies and achieve glory.
The Gunners no doubt have to start winning major trophies like the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League, but such trophies require harden attitude throughout the year and that can only be slowly cultivated.
That is why the Carling Cup is so crucial. This season, Arsenal were one of the few top teams who actually took the Cup seriously, and as a result they went all the way. Next season too you can expect much of the same, and so Wenger has to take the Cup seriously.
The Carling Cup is the first trophy that can be won in the year. The final is played around February, and it precedes the ending all other competitions. It comes right before the title run-in starts.
We saw this year how the Carling Cup had a negative result on the Gunners. Since that defeat, everything went downhill for the Gunners.
So maybe winning the Cup can have the opposite effect. A look at Chelsea and Manchester United will tell you that the Carling Cup an prove to be a great stepping stone to success. Both teams had extremely successful periods after they won the Carling Cup.
Arsenal fans might not be too delighted with the prospect of winning the Carling Cup, but we have to realize that it is a start. Winning it can galvanize the team and provide them with some much needed confidence before the business end of the season kicks in.
Winning a trophy is an essential part of the development of the numerous Arsenal youngsters. Players like Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott and Alex Song are all immensely talented but none of them of them have won a major trophy. Winning the Carling Cup will give them some much needed confidence before the title run kicks in.
You might get plenty of confidence and thrill by causing a major upset and by scoring victories over clubs like Barcelona, but the joy of winning a trophy and its benefits cannot be achieved through any other means.
You can add experience and steel to the team, but if the youngsters have to become truly good players, then they have to win trophies.
Arsenal’s main problem this season has been their lack of confidence when the going gets tough and their glaring inability to motivate them when they face the smaller teams, a fact that even Wenger has been quick to admit.
It is going to be virtually impossible for the Gunners to be successful without overcoming these hurdles. I think winning a trophy will go a long way in helping the Gunners overcome their problems.
But with Arsenal, the problem is earlier in the season they display great tenacity, mentality and confidence, but it is during the end of the season, when the pressure starts to mount, that the Gunners start to crumble and collapse.
The Gunners will have to avoid their customary collapse at the end of the season and the best way to prevent that is to go into the period, guns blazing, with a trophy in hand and confidence aplenty.
The Carling Cup gives Wenger this opportunity. Its timing ensures that the benefits can be reaped in the same season itself. There are few teams out there who need to win a trophy as desperately as the Gunners need one right now. If Wenger does persist with playing his best team or at least a strong team in the Carling Cup, then the Gunners can use this as a launch pad for achieving greater things.
Wenger at the same time can use the Carling Cup to give playing time to those who need it like he did this season as he found a perfect harmony of regular first team players and fringe players in need of playing time.
We Arsenal fans haven’t been used to success for quite sometime now, six years to be precise. Right now, even the Carling Cup will be enough, but in the long run, fans will demand greater things.
But we have to understand that the club has just come out of a rebuilding phase and the best way to start things is by a triumph in the Carling Cup. Its dual benefits will mark the beginning of greater things, like it did for Chelsea and Manchester United.
Nikki Reed Natasha Bedingfield Audrina Patridge Simone Mütherthies Carrie Underwood
No comments:
Post a Comment