00:00The League Cup final hasn't always been the most popular competition with Arsenal fans,
00:07but there's a real sense that this year it could be the catalyst for Arsenal season to really kind of
00:12propel them forward.
00:15Do you, I mean, do you agree with that? Do you think that it is important in the Premier League
00:21title race?
00:22I mean, Man City have been such a kind of monkey on Arsenal's back for the past few seasons.
00:29Could it be a win-win? Could it be that Arsenal lose the final and they actually, you know, it
00:34gives them a kind of cause for revenge?
00:39Yeah, how do you see that kind of cup final playing a part in the title race?
00:44And also just as a fan seeing Arsenal in a cup final again for the first time since the FA
00:48Cup?
00:49How do you feel about it?
00:50So there's a few pieces of this.
00:51And first is just, I think as football supporters, we should step back and remember to enjoy the opportunity to
00:58win something.
00:59Not everything has to be measured in the context of everything else.
01:03Not everything has to be measured in terms of, will I get to laugh at the worst people on social
01:09media?
01:09You know, like, frankly, going to Wembley and winning a cup final, especially over Manchester City,
01:14would be a huge day out for so many Arsenal supporters and just a phenomenal experience overall.
01:18So we shouldn't have to contextualize it.
01:20There's plenty of reasons to be miserable these days.
01:23So why not take every opportunity to experience joy?
01:27If Arsenal win it, it'll be a joyous occasion.
01:29Whether or not it matters in the context of anything else, I'm more skeptical of that.
01:34I think it will massively shape the narrative.
01:36Of course, if Arsenal were to lose to City, it'd be like, see, they can't do it when it really
01:40matters.
01:40They're not able to get it over the line.
01:42And that will be the narrative.
01:43Do I think that's real?
01:45No.
01:46If Arsenal win it, people say they've finally got the monkey off their back.
01:49Now they're ready to go on and win everything.
01:50Do I think that's real?
01:51Also, no.
01:52You need look no further than the Europa League final last season,
01:56where Manchester United were humiliated by a terrible Tottenham Hotspur.
01:59And famously, that determined their next seasons, right?
02:02Oh, no, it didn't.
02:03United are pushing for Champions League and Tottenham are pushing for relegation.
02:06So I think the idea that winning the League Cup will somehow mean that Arsenal go to the Etihad
02:12and win and go on to win the title is incorrect.
02:14And the reverse is incorrect or inverse is incorrect as well.
02:18So I think let's just enjoy it if it happens.
02:23It is a win-win, I think, in the sense that if it happens, it's a huge, joyous occasion.
02:27And I'm going to love it.
02:28If it doesn't happen, there's still three huge competitions out there for Arsenal to win
02:33and everything to celebrate.
02:35And a treble would be a legendary moment in the club.
02:37And no one's going to look back and be like, but the League Cup.
02:40And in fact, I think from a measurement standpoint,
02:43if Arsenal were to win the League Cup and nothing else,
02:46I doubt Arsenal fans will be, you know,
02:48running onto the streets at the end of the season saying we had a tremendous season.
02:51So it's a potential moment for joy.
02:54But beyond that, I think it is just a point in time.
02:56And I don't know that it'll have much impact on anything else.
02:59And I think it's just a point in time.
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