when they have been carling semi/finals in the main when the strongest possible team has not been picked, or the infamous semi against chelsea then we can see that they have not been taken seriously enough.
patting young players on the back for getting arsenal to that stage has backfired, instead of putting out the strongest team possible to finish the job. the bigger picture is arsenal and not personal rewards for the players. part of being in a larger squad is having to sacrifice for the greater cause at times.
either way, the reason we haven't at least nicked a cup or two is down to the manger and if avram grant, benitez, ramos can lift a trophy, then we should've been able to.