WENGER’S POWER OF TEN
Arsene has won nine in a row... now Wembley can once more be his salvation
ARSENE WENGER has found salvation in his remarkable Wembley record – and desperately needs another big result tomorrow.
Incredibly, Arsenal have won their last nine showpiece games at Wembley in the FA Cup and Community Shield, always managing to rise to the big occasion. In the FA Cup finals of 2014 and 2017 Wenger was at the end of his contract and knew defeat would see fans screaming for him to go and yet somehow pulled off a result under the most severe pressure. Arsenal went 2-0 down against Hull in 2014 before they came back to win, and history repeated itself last May when they upset the odds to beat Chelsea. Now, with his future firmly in the balance again, Wenger must get another result and this time it is the League Cup offering him a lifeline. Make no mistake, this is win or bust for Wenger. While a trophy will probably guarantee his future at the Emirates, an empty cabinet and failure to finish in the top four would likely mean the end for him.
Once again, Arsenal go into tomorrow’s final as underdogs, especially after the dismal defeat by Swedish minnows Ostersund in the Europa League on Thursday night. Though they went through on aggregate, their ‘reward’ is a two-legged tie against AC Milan.
Arsenal have their backs against the wall but that is when Wenger has been at his best – now he faces an even bigger test against the best team in the country, Manchester City.
“The pressure is immense always,” said Wenger. “You must have enough belief to think you can do it.
“Everyone says you have to be motivated for a final but it is about finding the right balance between focus and motivation and being relaxed enough to play your game.
“We are may be underdogs but we have to believe in our quality. We have done it before so we can do it again.”
Facing a crisis is nothing new to Wenger but it does feel as if the walls are closing in again. Arsenal are stuck in sixth, despite the new arrivals of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the fans are restless, and only a trophy can change the mood at the Emirates.
Wenger, who has never won the League Cup, was clearly annoyed by questions about City chief Pep Guardiola’s ability as a manager.
“I don’t want to make this about Pep Guardiola,” he said. “I think what is important for us is to focus on our game. He has done very well in his career and he is a good manager, but we should not focus on what is going on at Manchester City.”
When asked whether Guardiola had set a new standard this season, Wenger replied: “No, because you look at Barcelona and they are still the best team in Europe. I think you have to accept that the modern game has changed a great deal with the recruitment of the best players in a small number of clubs.
“We as managers can maybe impart our philosophy but this game belongs to the players because the importance of the players has become greater than ever before. The recruitment of the best players is in a very small number of units.”
This final could be Wenger’s last stand both as Arsenal manager and in his fight for his footballing principles.