Arsenal: FA Cup Final is not an “all or nothing” situation

Arsenal has a lot riding on this FA Cup Final, but that doesn’t make a situation where if we don’t win, this season has been a failure.

I want nothing more than to see Arsenal trounce Chelsea in the FA Cup Final. We’ve done it before, though hopefully this time it can be a bit more… confident than last time. And hopefully, Olivier Giroud doesn’t conjure any magic on the other side of things.

But let’s assume the worst happens and we aren’t able to get past Chelsea like we were able to get past Manchester City. Is that cause for doom and gloom and complete despair? Absolutely not. And I’m not just saying this as a cop-out in case we lose. Of course I want to win. Of course so much would be gained if we do win.

Let’s say we don’t though. Let’s say we get nothing from this season in the form of silverware. Guess what we did get? Our new manager. That’s better than a trophy, sorry. Jose Mourinho’s entire career is proof of that. Give me a long-term manager to build a new era at the club over a single trophy.

Both would be nice. But again…

What many Arsenal fans are struggling to grasp is what a rebuild looks like. As far as rebuilds are concerned, an eighth-place finish and a berth in the FA Cup Final is incredible. Liverpool wasn’t managing that with their rebuild. And Manchester United sure as hell didn’t either. And for United, they still had endless vats of money to spend to try to make the rebuild easier.

It didn’t help.

We have to learn how to rebuild before we can get back into the mix. And just from what we’ve seen this year, we are well on our way. mid-table is not ideal, it never is, but Arteta had half a season with whatever Unai Emery left behind and he still guided us to a Cup Final. Give the man some credit, give the club some credit.

The FA Cup final would be like an exclamation point at the end of the season. We don’t necessarily need an exclamation point, but if it’s there, I’ll embrace the hell out of it.

In the meantime, be proud of where this club is headed, trophy or not. But again preferably with a trophy. Everything is better with a trophy.