Match Reaction vs West Bromwich Albion (COC tie).

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

I don't believe we have a realistic chance of winning the league unless we sign a player or two in January and that for me is no certainty in spite of the amount we paid for Ozil. Like you, I believe this season presents a fantastic opportunity to win it, but I remain unconvinced that we will capitalise on that (off the pitch).

I struggle to remember a side who have won the league with such poor options at Centre forward.....not least since Blackburn which was an entirely different footballing climate all together and with respect to Giroud, Alan Shearer he is not. Shearer made 42 league appearances and scored 34 league goals in that season which was incredible and not exactly something we can ask of or expect of any one player whilst staying injury free.

If you gave me Alan Shearer and couple guarantee me he would be fit for the entire season, then you yourself could be his back up for all I care and I'd put my liver on us winning the league.

[Fist of Lehmann]

as soon as one of the first team gets injured in a COC match everyone will be calling for wenger's head for not playing the kids in it.
fuck the league cup.

Well precisely. Bollocks I say.

Two upsides.
1. Winning breeds confidence and belief. Clough used to talk about how winning the Shitty Whatever Cup gave his side the confidence to go on and win the European Cup. That's great, but frankly no amount of confidence is going to add depth to our squad, prevent injuries or be an extra striker. Ultimately that will be the real threat to any sustained challenge we hope to make.

2. It stops all the bleating about no trophies for X years. That's also great, but had Koscielny not lost his mind that day you suspect the lament would now be "only 1 COC in X years" (and look how far confidence took Birmingham City). The League Cup is small time. A small time trophy for small time teams. All the prestige is in the PL, all the money in the CL. Arsenal doesn't need to win a trophy for trophy's sake, we need to be up there trading blows with Man City and Man Utd, Barca and Bayern.

If deprioritising this, the least of the 4 competitions we are in, helps us do that, then fuck the COC. Win it or don't win it, who gives a shit?