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It is fair to say that without winning consecutive FA Cup Finals, Arsene Wenger may well have struggled to keep his job in recent years.
The Gunners' back-to-back Wembley wins over Hull City and Aston Villa stuck some much-needed silverware back in the North London club's trophy cabinet and, more than that, injected Wenger's squad with some sorely-lacking belief.
Arsenal have not lost in 12 FA Cup matches after winning back to back titles. The Gunners best unbeaten streak is 21 games from 1978-80.
— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) January 8, 2016
The reigning champions start their third straight FA Cup defence against relegation-threatened Sunderland at the Emirates tomorrow with Black Cats' boss Sam Allardyce already bemoaning the fact he has a must-win Premier League game against Swansea just four days later.
The temptation for Wenger to field a powerful side to take advantage of Sunderland's plight must be strong, particularly as Arsenal will become only the second club (still in existence) to win 'three in a row' should they retain the Cup. The only other active club to achieve this feat were Blackburn Rovers over a century ago.
FAC consecutive games without defeat: 24 Blackburn Rovers (1884-86) 21 Arsenal (1978-80) 18 Tottenham (1981-83) 17 Arsenal (1970-72)
— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) January 8, 2016
And yet, you get the sense that Arsenal could really benefit from losing to Sunderland.
After under-achieving - albeit beautifully - for so long, the Gunners finally find themselves in pole position to win the Premier League. After what feels like an eon, their squad is showing signs - as evidenced by league wins over Manchesters City and United - that they will actually be able to fight the good fight against their direct rivals rather than just bully also-rans. For the first time in well over a decade, the likes of Chelsea, City and United are all there for the taking.
The time is now for Arsenal and Wenger, particularly the latter if - as mooted - Pep Guardiola is waiting in the wings to succeed the Frenchman who wrote history with his 'Invincibles' of 2003/04.
Arsenal have already crashed out of Europe; maybe an early exit from their one remaining distraction could be a blessing in disguise.
A quick flick through the Footballzz archives has unearthed a few quality FA Cup stats, some of which were a surprise.
Top FA Cup goalscorers (playing their football in the Premier League) over the past five years? The usual suspect, Sergio Aguero, and Arsenal's Olivier Giroud both with eight goals. So far, so expected.
The next goalgetter on the list, with seven, is Wayne Rooney, so no surprises...but joint with England's captain are Chelsea's Ramires and Sunderland's Jordi Gomez, who famously won the FA Cup with Wigan back in 2012/13. We double-took, but the stat is solid.
Current PL players with most FA Cup goals (since 11/12) 8 Aguero & Giroud 7 Ramires, Rooney & Jordi Gomez 6 Mata Gomez = Surprise!
— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) January 8, 2016
His name isn't on people's lips as much as it used to be, but our FA Cup statting also underlined the quality of Spanish playmaker Juan Mata. Mata is top in terms of assists in the competition since 2011/12 - putting David Silva firmly in the shade - and also runs away with the crown of most productive player over the same timescale. Underfire Louis Van Gaal will hope for some Mata magic tomorrow when Manchester United host Sheffield United.
Current PL players with most FA Cup assists (since 11/12) 9 Mata 5 Silva 4 J Gomez, A Carroll, Giroud, Berahino, Ozil & Ox-Chamberlain
— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) January 8, 2016
Current PL players with most goals/assists FA Cup (since 11/12) 15 Mata: 6Gs/9As 12 Giroud: 8Gs/4As 9 Aguero: 8Gs/1A 9 Berahino: 5G/4As
— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) January 8, 2016
Saido Berahino doesn't seem a particularly easy customer to deal with. Fisticuffs with West Brom team-mate James Morrison a few years back were followed in the summer by an unseemly spat with seemingly everyone at the club when a potential move to Spurs fell through on transfer deadline day.
Out in the cold ever since, Berahino is now being linked with a move away from the Hawthorns - with Stoke City currently being touted as the most likely to take a punt on this moody, yet prolific English talent.
Berahino's 14 Premier League goals last season, coupled with a fine array of FA Cup stats, see below, suggest he could prosper in tandem with Shaqiri and Bojan at the Britannia.
Most goals/assists 14/15 FAC (fr. R1): 9 BERAHINO (WBA): 5Gs/4As 8 Stead (BRAD): 5Gs/3As 7 Sanchez (ARS): 4Gs/3As Rotting on the bench
— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) January 8, 2016
Which currently active Premier League player has the most FA Cup goals to his name? Check out the Playmaker below.
Current active PL players with most FAC goals: 22 Defoe 19 Rooney 16 Crouch 11 J. Terry, J. Walters, Sturridge 8 Aguero & Giroud
— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) January 8, 2016
3-1 | ||
Joel Campbell 25' Aaron Ramsey 72' Olivier Giroud 75' | Jeremain Lens 17' |
