Arsenal: FA Cup worth pursuing for Unai Emery

Arsenal are in the fourth round of the FA Cup after a 3-0 win over Blackpool at the weekend. It is a competition that is worth pursuing in Unai Emery’s first season at the helm.

Sport — any sport — is about winning. We may try and break it down with analytics and narrative and history and fandom. But, ultimately, it is about one person or team trying to beat another person or team, with one person or team eventually being victorious.

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As sporting society educates itself and studies the intricacies of sport with greater intelligence and awareness, there is increasing talk of processes, plans, philosophies, values.

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Take Jurgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino as examples. They are largely heralded as substantial successes at Liverpool and Spurs respectively. But what have they actually won? I am not saying that they are poor managers. Both have done brilliant jobs and are some of the brightest coaches in world football. But if sport is ultimately about winning, what have they achieved? In the end, not much.

As Unai Emery embarks on his project at Arsenal, one that has frequently been compared to that of Klopp’s at Anfield and Pochettino’s at White Hart Lane — sorry, Wembley — there has been plenty of talk about his process, the style with which he wants to play, the plan that he is implementing at the club, and the patience that is required to see it come to completion.

And while that is all well and good, and I myself have extolled the need for time and trust, Emery is at the Emirates to win things. So why not start in his first season?

Arsenal are not going to win the Premier League. They are already out of the EFL Cup. They have a long way to go in the Europa League, though that is a competition that they have the ability to compete in and ultimately win. And they are also into the fourth round of the FA Cup after Saturday’s 3-0 win over Blackpool.

The FA Cup is an increasingly maligned competition. It does not carry the same significance that it used to. Arsenal, and almost every other club chasing success in whatever league they are in, play a weakened side in the early rounds. It is as if the trophy does not matter until it becomes a realistic possibility of being lifted. But this season, Emery has a great opportunity to prioritise it and chase it. Winning a trophy early in his tenure would be a great start, even if a top-four finish is missed out on.

Yes, the Premier League is the most important competition. And yes, the Europa League offers a backdoor into the Champions League. But the FA Cup is a trophy that Arsenal can win, and that is something worth pursuing.