“It’s very hard to accept”

“One day I almost had it all. But he almost doesn’t count.” This has been one of the most popular phrases in recent days after the world premiere of ‘Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man’. A law of life that, to a certain extent, could also begin to apply for a Arsenal whose project, with Mikel Arteta At the controls, he goes out of his way to play metal… and never quite takes the final step.

“It’s very sad and very hard to accept. Especially for our players and all our fans. We know how much it means to them and how much we love it,” he lamented. Mikel Arteta after a match that marked his first defeat in Wembley as a player and coach. Until now, it was 8/8. “The fact of not having achieved it is disappointing, sad… and leaves you with a bitter taste,” he insisted.

It was certainly not the Gunners’ afternoon. And, despite that initial triple chance, they barely bothered Trafford. The most worrying thing, however, was that the City awakened certain ghosts that already seemed frightened in a Arsenal that ‘collapsed’ after the unforced error by Kepa. “It would have been very unfair to do something different. I would choose it again,” claimed a Mikel Arteta who looked especially angry when, less than five minutes later, O’Reilly He completed his double.

When you reach these stages and you have gone years without winning a trophy, obviously it adds more need

Mikel Arteta, Arsenal coach

Being still alive in the four tournaments that he Arsenal is competing in this course, no one is aware that the Carabao Cup He was the youngest of them all. Now, Arteta I was fully aware that achieving the title had enormous significance at the project level. “When you get to these stages and you’ve gone years without winning a trophy, it obviously adds more need. But also more drive because you really want it.”

Beyond the Community Shield of 2020 and 2024, which are not even counted as an official category title in England, it has been almost six years since the last time the Arsenal He brought a trophy to the showcases of the Emirates Stadium. It was the FA Cup conquered in 2020 against the Chelsea. Paradoxically, it was in the most embryonic phase of the project initiated by a Mikel Arteta who had collected the witness of Unai Emery on the ‘Gunner’ bench a few months before.

Since then, a total of 2,061 days have passed in which the rest of the clubs in the BigSix They have won at least one title. Of all of them, the one Arsenal It is the most stable project of all of them. But, despite having invested more than 1,000 million euros since then to completely rebuild the squad he inherited from Emerythey have not played metal again. Bukayo Sakawho did not participate in that final, is the only survivor.

Time since last BigSix title:

• Manchester City: one day (Carabao Cup)
• Chelsea: 254 days (Club World Cup)
• Tottenham: 307 days (Europa League)
• Liverpool: 331 days (Premier League)
• Manchester United: 668 days (FA Cup)
• Arsenal: 2,061 days (FA Cup)

Now, furthermore, the Arsenal drags the slab of being the team with the most lost finals (7) in the history of the League Cup. Title that they have only won twice… and that has resisted them since 1993. But, above all this, they know that they have once again given life to a Manchester City who was on the canvas after falling in the round of 16 Champions against him Real Madrid. “We are happy to have beaten the best team in Europa next to the Bayern Munich and, perhaps, Barcelona.”

The break is coming and they must use it to oxygenate their minds before facing the decisive stretch of the season: they are in the quarterfinals. FA Cupone step away from returning to a semi-final position Champions and leaders in Premier with a nine-point lead—with eight games remaining—over a Manchester City which, yes, has one less game and still has to receive them in the Etihad.

Let’s use this disappointment and this fire in our stomach to face the most incredible two months we’ve ever had together.

Mikel Arteta, Arsenal coach

“We are going to use this disappointment and this fire that we have in our stomach to face the two most incredible months we have ever had together. It is up to us and we are going to manage that energy in the right way,” acknowledged a Mikel Arteta for which the ‘almost’ begins to not count at the controls of this Arsenal thirsty to transcend. There is no choice but to get up and continue.