After making it through to the quarter-final of the FA Cup courtesy of a 4-0 victory in a replay away to Hull City, Arsenal remain on course to defend the trophy once again. They have the hope of winning the cup for the third consecutive year, something which has not been done in this tournament since Blackburn Rovers in 1886.
Arsenal have recently dropped points in games against Manchester United, Swansea City and Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League which means they are at the time of writing eight points behind leaders Leicester in the table and three adrift of North London rivals Spurs.
Their recent form leaves them with a lot of work to do if they are to win their first league title since the Invincibles in 2004.
The Gunners can be backed at 9/2 in the football betting for the Premier League when this article was produced. Leicester, who were as big as 5000/1 at the start of the campaign, are now available at 11/10 and Tottenham are in the outright market at 11/4.
If Arsenal are to still win the 2015/16 Premier League title, they are going to need the Foxes to stutter, the closer they get to what was an improbable outcome at the start of the campaign. Claudio Ranieri’s men have taken advantage of the slip up of the traditional big four, including the Gunners, to secure the top spot in the final third of the season.
Arsenal’s participation in the 2015/16 Champions League campaign could soon also come to an abrupt close, unless they are able to get the result they need in the Barcelona. After losing the first leg of their last-16 clash with the Spanish giants 2-0 at the Emirates, they are forced to go to the Nou Camp needing to attack the holders. With Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Neymar all in hot form for Barcelona this season, that could play into the hosts’ hands.
If the Gunners therefore do fall out of the title race in the Premier League and crash out of the Champions League in the last 16 once again, the FA Cup becomes a huge competition for Arsene Wenger as he looks to keep his critics off his back for another season.
The FA Cup for the last two campaigns has given Arsenal fans something to cheer about at Wembley at the end of the respective seasons. In 2014 they came from 2-0 down to defeat Hull 3-2 in an entertaining final, while last season it was a very much one-sided success as Wenger’s men ran out comfortable 4-0 winners against Aston Villa.
Even if the gap at the top of the Premier League table between Leicester and Arsenal does not extend beyond eight points over the next few weeks, Wenger would be forgiven for putting his best team out for his FA Cup ties. The Gunners take on Watford at the Emirates in the last eight in a game they will be expected to get through. With a thin squad at his disposal, though, it would be no surprise to see the Frenchman rest a few of his stars before that fixture in the Premier League.