The FA Cup, and the Rest of the Season

I watched two excellent FA Cup ties this week:  West Ham beating Liverpool in the added time of extra time and West Brom beating Peterborough with their final penalty kick after extra time.  Great stuff.  I've read that this competition has lost its luster, but I don't believe that.  For teams that are in relegation battles, maybe it's not a top priority, but that takes nothing away from the drama for me.  It's still huge for nearly every team in it, big or small.  Arsenal's last two wins were fantastic.  None of the players or coaches I saw this week looked disinterested.  In fact, these games were as hotly contested as any league contest I saw this season.

Let's not forget the role this competition plays in building and testing the squads, especially at the big clubs where playing time is at a premium for young players and some on the fringes.  It's exciting to see someone like Alex Iwobi perform on this big stage, with elimination staring at us.  And it's a reminder of how grit, organization, and effort can beat talent and reputation on a given day.I'll be following the FA Cup, as always, even if the Gunners are eliminated.

Okay, here we are, five points back of Leicester and behind Tottenham on goal differential, and just one above Manchester City.  I wrote earlier that the Spurs look like a "team of destiny" and I have not changed my mind.  They have the league's best defense and GD, and that did not happen by accident.  This may be their year, and they will try as hard as they can to break their 55 year silverware drought before they enter their "pay for the new stadium" years.  Pochettino has found the magic formula.  It seems that he did best by offloading tools like Adebayor and Townsend.  I think they're vulnerable, but the fact is that they look pretty good these days and will take some beating.

Sunday is, obviously, key.  A loss at home to the Foxes puts us nearly out of touch with the top.  Ideally, we'll beat Leicester and City will hold Spuds to a draw, but I'll settle for just a Gunners win.  Neutrals all understandably want Leicester to win the league, but I'm not a neutral.  If it's down to them and Tottenham, I'll root for the Foxes with all my strength, but Arsenal can win this thing.  Here's our remaining schedule, without the matches that we'd play were we to win future knockout contests.

February 2016

Show last 5 matches and coverage	Competition	Fixture	Date	Kick-off	Status
	Premier League	ArsenalvLeicester	Sun 14 Feb	12:00
	FA Cup - Fifth Round	ArsenalvHull	Sat 20 Feb	12:45
	Champions League -Round of 16	ArsenalvBarcelona	Tue 23 Feb	19:45
	Premier League	Man UtdvArsenal	Sun 28 Feb	14:05

March 2016

Show last 5 matches and coverage	Competition	Fixture	Date	Kick-off	Status
	Premier League	ArsenalvSwansea	Wed 2 Mar	19:45
	Premier League	TottenhamvArsenal	Sat 5 Mar	12:45
	Premier League	ArsenalvWest Brom	Sat 12 Mar	17:30
	Champions League -Round of 16	BarcelonavArsenal	Wed 16 Mar	19:45
	Premier League	EvertonvArsenal	Sat 19 Mar	12:45

April 2016

Show last 5 matches and coverage	Competition	Fixture	Date	Kick-off	Status
	Premier League	ArsenalvWatford	Sat 2 Apr	15:00
	Premier League	West HamvArsenal	Sat 9 Apr	15:00
	Premier League	ArsenalvCrystal Palace	Sat 16 Apr	15:00
	Premier League	SunderlandvArsenal	Sat 23 Apr	15:00
	Premier League	ArsenalvNorwich	Sat 30 Apr	15:00

May 2016

Show last 5 matches and coverage	Competition	Fixture	Date	Kick-off	Status
	Premier League	Man CityvArsenal	Sat 7 May	15:00
	Premier League	ArsenalvAston Villa	Sun 15 May	15:00

Incredibly crowded, right?  Five games in 16 days starting Feb 20, including Barcelona, Man U, and Tottenham!  If Giroud breaks his leg or even pulls a hamstring, we're in trouble!  But everyone else has similarly crowded schedules, and we have a big squad--and we're as healthy as we've been since October.  I'm not optimistic about Champions' League, but you know, we can beat Barca.  Really.  And the way United is playing, we should win that game.  That's our valley of death.  If we set ourselves up by beating Leicester, and manage to get to Feb 6 without dropping more than two points, I think we're looking really good.  The only top team we face after that is Man City in May, and by then we can put so much daylight between us they can't catch us.  Well, that's the way I'm calling it, anyway.

Additional FA Cup and ECL games complicate matters, of course, but those are happy complications.  We can prioritize, and we have that big squad.  I don't really expect Wilshere or Welbeck to contribute, unfortunately, but it would be great if they could.  We're going to wear out Giroud and Ramsey.  I do expect Elneny to add something positive, and for Coquelin to return to fitness.  Iwobi can slot in occasionally, and Walcott may start to become useful again, though I'm not counting on it.  We will need some good work out of Campbell and Chamberlain.  I have a feeling that Ozil is going to start assisting again; he's putting some good balls in there and our guys just aren't making the most of them.

What do you think?