Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger has admitted that the FA cup is no longer his priority, even though he still acknowledges all the history behind it.
Arsenal has managed to win the oldest club competition in the world four times under Wenger. The last time they won was back in 2005 when they beat arch rivals, Manchester United on penalties.
Leeds will visit Arsenal over the weekend to play in the FA Cup third round and Wenger is expected to make numerous changes in the team following the frenetic festive season.
Wenger, though, maintained that FA cup holds a special place in not just English but European football as well, but for him it is not the first priority and his focus is on winning the Premier League.
Wenger Said:
"I said since the start of the season that I have a big squad and that we will go for all the competitions. Tomorrow, for us, our desire is to qualify. We take the FA Cup very seriously... Maybe people have lost the romance from the FA Cup a bit because
there are so many Champions League games, and the Premier League has become massively important, but the FA Cup is still a big thing”.
Wenger said that at times when the FA cup goes into its final stages, it tends to coincide with Champions League games, and that does become something of a hassle.
Wenger went on to say that a few years back, they played Manchester United over the weekend, which was a tough encounter, and just three days later they had to pack their bags and head off to play the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
He said that as both games were important, he had to play the http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Big-Players-c38635, and the congested fixtures took their toll on the team and so they ended up losing the quarter final.
Wenger said that when he looks back, at times he thinks that he could have sacrificed the FA cup for the League. He said that it is not easy for a team to be intensely involved in all competitions at all times.
A number of team managers have shared those views over the years. For this reason, there was a suggestion made that the FA cup winners from http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/England-c749 should be awarded a place in the UEFA Champion’s League, as that may give big teams more of an incentive to
focus more seriously on the FA cup.
Arsenal is expected to be without Dutch striker, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Samir-Nasri-c32360. Cesc Fabregas may also be given a rest considering he has played a big part in the festive season. Arsenal, though, do possess big names that can light up the field
even if they are not all part of the fist team. Players like Maroune Chamak, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Nicklas-Bendtner-c27726 and the Russian dynamite, Andrey Arshavin are all expected to turn up.
Wenger said that despite his statement about putting less focus on the cup, his team would go out and play for the win. He added that, if needed, he would keep putting out 2nd string players as he is confident that his young guns can get the result
as well.
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