Arsène Wenger has acknowledged the pressing need to claim Arsenal's first trophy in five years and will demonstrate his desire to win the Carling Cup by including a number of recognised first-team players in tomorrow night's fourth-round tie at Newcastle United.
The Arsenal manager ditched his established policy of using only youngsters in the competition in the previous round's victory at Tottenham Hotspur and will field such players as Theo Walcott, Nicklas Bendtner, Kieran Gibbs and Laurent Koscielny at St James' Park. Wenger, who has been dismissive of the Carling Cup in the past but has also fielded under-strength teams in the FA Cup, reassured shareholders at the club's annual general meeting last week that he would "go for every single competition with every resource we have", with this evening's selection to reflect that urgency.
His comments at the AGM had prompted applause and some cheers from those present. Asked whether there had been a change in his selection policy for the League Cup, Wenger replied: "First of all because we have a big squad and, as well, I believe we have a good enough squad to go forward [and win] trophies. That's why I think: 'OK, let's go as far as we can.' If needed we can still always choose later but, at the moment, it is important for everybody to think we go for everything we can. I said to the players we will go for everything we can, as simple as that. And not really specifying one more than the other. That's why I believe we are on a good run and we want to keep that going.
"It's important to keep it moving no matter what competition it is. That's what we want to do. We are doing well in the Champions League and we have done well so far in the Carling Cup, and we are back on track in the championship. The win at Manchester City on Sunday was certainly a pivotal moment of our season because we could not afford a defeat. To keep in touch with the top teams and have a victory was mentally very important for the team. So it's just all movement. We want to end our wait for a trophy. We want to respond with the maximum commitment to the demands of people. The only thing I can promise is that we will try to give our best in every competition."
Wenger, speaking to Arsenal TV Online, admitted the pressure has mounted with each trophyless season stretching back to the 2005 FA Cup final victory over Manchester United. "Yes, there are, as well, a lot of demands from people who know you are at the top and they try always to find your weakness," he said. "They try to exploit that. You just have to look around Europe to see just how difficult it is to be consistently at the top, as we have been. You can see what we have done is quite remarkable, but we want more.
"I can understand that people want more and we want to give them more. You can only show attitude, commitment and we have talent, so let's go step by step and try and win the game tomorrow and keep that urgency and that attitude until the end of the season. I repeat: we will play with a good team [at Newcastle] and we do our best, and that's all we can do."
Walcott has not started a club game since August having suffered an ankle injury playing for England in Switzerland, his absence checking his fine early-season form which had brought four goals in three league appearances. "He was in fantastic form but what can you do about that?" Wenger said. "He is now physically very sharp in training and he has a good opportunity to show that he is fit to play."
Key senior figures such as Cesc Fábregas, Marouane Chamakh and Samir Nasri will be rested for the game on Tyneside, with Wojciech Szczesny starting his second game for the club in goal and Craig Eastmond, Henri Lansbury and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas the other youngsters to be involved at some stage.
Source: Dominic Fifield, The Guardian on 26 Oct 10
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