Arsene Wenger's Gamble Stokes Arsenal Out of the FA Cup

The morning after any defeat is a strange one. For many Arsenal supporters, it’s probably the headlines and the recycled TV footage of the said defeat that can make them lose the will to live.

For others, it’s a balance between lying in a dark room with a cold towel over the face or confronting friends and colleagues at work to explain why yet again, Arsenal fell short. Sometimes I’m glad I don’t have to face such an inquisition, but nevertheless, any loss is disappointing for the simple reason that I don’t like losing.

When my Liverpool supporting friend walked into the room and asked me “Have you seen your team playing Stoke?”, my first question was “Has Wenger done a Man United?”

You see, in March 2008, I was with Dean (my friend) listening on the car radio while driving when Arsenal visited Old Trafford in the fifth round of the FA cup. At that time, the Gunners were top of the league, five points clear and with a game in hand.

For some reason, the Arsenal team didn’t get off the bus that day and were dispatched back to London with a 4-nil defeat. Dean’s reaction to that game was that Wenger threw the game to focus on the Premier league and the Champions league.

With a threadbare squad leading up to this weekend, it was therefore anyone’s guess as to who will make an appearance. Most of the headlines of course went to Sol Campbell, who, I must say, didn’t have a bad game for someone who’s been in the wilderness for a while.

And so the team was overhauled. Dean joked in exclamation when he pointed out that “Jesus! Arsenal have started the game with 4 English players. This is a miracle. ” I reminded him that it could have been five if Little Jack Willy didn’t pull a sicky, forcing Cesc to make an appearance.

We had a bet as to how many times the commentators will mention the fact that Arsenal started the game with four English players, two shy of Stoke’s six Englishmen. I said they wouldn’t notice, and I won the bet.

Stoke seemed to want this game more than Arsenal did and within 70 seconds, Delap duly obliged with one of his trademark throws. Fabianski was none the wiser as the ball ghosted past him into the net.

The match then took that “they’re going to park the bus” feeling. A scrappy match followed for most part with constant references of Stoke’s giants vs. Arsenal’s pint sized diddy men. Clearly the revised script titled “How to be a lazy observer” was in full use.

The match ticked on at 1-1 with Denilson’s equalizer being referred to constantly as a deflected shot. I actually got pissed off the more this was said. Frank Lampard for example, has perfected the craft of scoring deflected goals yet no one bothers to mention that they’re deflected.

I expected that at some point, Wenger would relieve Theo Walcott off his misery. Theo couldn’t even fart on the pitch without being surrounded by a gang of red and white Stoke shirts. For all intents and purposes, it was like Arsenal were playing with 10 men.

When Wenger decided to unleash all three substitutes at the same time, I said to Dean – “this is going to be dodgy.”

The only time I remember Wenger ever employing a triple substitution was in early September 2006. I was actually sat at a bar in a mall in down town Kampala with Dean and some friends.

Middlesbrough were 1-nil up and Wenger brought on Thierry Henry, Alex Hleb,, and Julio Baptista at the same time. We still ended up drawing 1-1 despite the reinforcements.

Maybe it was déjà vu, but triple substitutions give me the jitters. At one point, Sly nearly ruled himself out of the game and I was convinced Arsenal were going to complete the game with 10 men.

Stoke, however, applied themselves well and scored twice from attacks launched after Arsenal sloppily conceded the ball. I guess that’s what you get with a team determined to cause an upset and a heckling Britannia stadium behind them.

The team selection was always going to be a slippery banana skin for Wenger. Damned if he played his strongest team, damned if he didn’t. I was actually pleased that Gallas and Vermaelen had their feet up with a cup of cocoa watching the game from home. The two needed a rest and this game was as good a chance as any to give them a rest.

Doom and gloom merchants as well as media hawks and I-Zombies (the new name for plonkers and pundits, aka plundits) will be quick to point out that Arsenal have killed their chances of silverware this season.

Frankly speaking—that’s total nonsense. Arsenal had to make a choice and prioritize and in the grand scheme of things, the FA cup was the sacrifice.

Of course Arsenal want to win, but prioritizing the Champions League and the Premier league has to be the case. The blunt truth is that the FA cup doesn’t bring in big bucks.

It’s still very disappointing to lose a game and I’m sure that the team that played were bitterly disappointed.

Time will tell whether the loss adversely affects the morale of the team a la the drama following the fifth round defeat in 2008.

Stoke were worthy winners on the day and they gave the game a really good cup atmosphere. I must say, their crowd are brilliant and get well behind their team.

It was also very nice to see J Emmanuel Thomas have his full debut for the first team. I like the lad and he has a lot to offer this team. I seriously hope he gets more game time.

And as for the nonsense about Stoke being our new bogey team, there’s a simple answer to that according to Wenger. Arsenal doesn’t struggle against Stoke at the Britannia, Arsenal struggles against any team if they don’t play well, period.

A positive response is needed at Villa Park on Wednesday night when the first team returns for duty.

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