Arsenal face Port Vale on the road on Wednesday night, looking to secure safe passage to the last 16 of the Carabao Cup – a competition which could end the club’s trophy drought
No-one should underestimate the importance of the Carabao Cup to Mikel Arteta. The Arsenal manager has done a terrific job at the Emirates since taking charge in December, 2019, but has got one trophy to show for all of his excellent work.
That solitary FA Cup in 2020 which, at the time, meant the world. It was a huge moment. A trophy to lift, something lifted the mood in the fanbase even if the final was played out in a near-empty Wembley Stadium in Covid times.
But we keep going back to it… Arteta has spent £900m and has got one trophy to show for it. Of course Arsenal want the biggest trophies like the Premier League title and the Champions League. That is a given.
But do not tell me the League Cup does not matter. Yes, the big clubs do rest and rotate in the early rounds but, by the latter stages, they are all fielding their best teams – and trying to win it.
Why? Because it matters. It matters that you have silverware to parade to the fans. It matters that you have got a trophy to show off.
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Arsene Wenger always used to say top four is like a trophy and take stick for it. That was unfair because the two things should not be exclusive: you can have a good season, finish in the top four and win a domestic cup. You can do both.
In fact, Wenger is the most successful manager in FA Cup history, Arsenal have won it a record 14 times and Arteta won it twice during his time as a player at the club.
That is the FA Cup. But the Carabao Cup also matters. Arsenal reached the semi final last season, lost to Newcastle over two legs and then Eddie Howe’s men beat Liverpool at Wembley.
Just look at the celebrations afterwards. Look at how disappointed Liverpool were. Don’t tell me it doesn’t matter. It does.
If Arsenal had won the Carabao Cup last season and reached the Champions League semi final as well as finishing second then it would have been a terrific season.
As it was, Arsenal did not win a trophy and you get people like me asking questions about Arteta needing to win more silverware.
Down the years, the League Cup has been big for Arsenal – despite only winning it twice in 1987 and 1993. In 1987, Arsenal beat the mighty Liverpool and, if they had not beaten Spurs in the semi final, I genuinely believe there would have been no Anfield 89. It was a pathway.
If you look at recent winners of the trophy. They are all big guns. Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea.
Yes, Arsenal want bigger trophies this season. But never underestimate the importance of any piece of silverware. They are all special, they all remain in the history books and photo albums. They define managers and the Wembley heroes.
In fairness, Arteta is not a manager who has dismissed domestic trophies like some. He has played in England and knows what it means. And therefore, he will know that Arsenal cannot take it lightly. Starting at Port Vale tonight.
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