- Of course it is international week so of coure Arsenal are hit with injuries
- Now and then: how Arsenal have progressed to where they are now
By Tony Attwood
Although you might not always know if from the news reports, Arsenal, along with a number of clubs, play in four competitions most seasons – including this one. We obviously know that Arsenal are top of the Premier League and play the Tots on Sunday, and will play Crystal Palace in the League Cup quarter finals on 23 December, along with more Champs League games… and then in January we have the FA Cup.
And you probably also know that Arsenal haven’t won the League Cup since the dim and distant days of George Graham. The often inaccurate AI feed on Google tells us that our George, “appears to be enjoying a quiet retirement. Some recent reports indicate he has arthritis, plays golf and tennis, and is retired, living in Hampstead, London with his wife, Susan.”
You will of course also know that Arsenal are top of the Premier League and are awaiting their next game against Tottenham Hots this coming Sunday at 4.30pm. Followed by Bayern Munich at home on Wednesday 26th in the Champions League. Matches continue in a fashion known in the media as “thick and fast” right up until the start of the FA Cup third round at the start of the new year as is traditional.
In fact Arsenal have no less thant 11 (eleven) games between now and the end of 2025 and still more before the FA Cup begins on the weekend of 10 January. One in every 3.8 days.
And having taken that lot in, we then started arguing about how many clubs have played in FA Cup finals in the past 12 years? Not for any particular reason, but because there was a feeling that the same clubs often seem to appear over and over in those finals.
And OK, it is a bit of a random question, but apart from endless tales about Arsenal players getting more injuries during the international “break” there has not been too much more to talk about.
But to answer that question above, obviously the maximum number possible is 24 clubs, but we know at once that the number is going to be lower than this since Arsenal have played in, and indeed, won four cup finals in the last 12 years.
In fact. no club has done better than that. Arsenal and Chelsea have played in nine finals between them in the last 12 years, are clearly are out in front in terms of any question about FA Cup finals of late. Which is probably why the media never looks at the question.
Indeed, the only difference in fact between Arsenal and Chelsea in terms of recent FA Cup finals is that Arsenal have won all four that they have been in, in this most recent period, while Chelsea have lost four and won just one of their five that they have attended.
In fact, in the last dozen years, only seven clubs have won the FA Cup. In this period Arsenal have won the FA Cup four times, and although it would have been possible for 24 different teams to have appeared in the FA Cup final in the last 12 seasons, in fact only ten have done so. Which seems to suggest that for all the excitement generated by the media, the FA Cup is getting a little bit samey.
Here is the winners’ list for the last 12 seasons….
- Arsenal 4
- Manchester City 2
- Manchester United 2
- Chesela 1
- Crystal Palace 1
- Leicester 1
- Liverpool 1
In terms of losing finalists, as we have already noted, Chelsea are running away with that accolade…
- Cheseal 4
- Manchester City 2
- Manchester United 2
- Watford, Aston Villa, Hull City, Crystal Palace 1 each
Which turned me, on this morning when it is still dark outside to the issue of club totals. In this case the number of wins for clubs in this recent period compared with the number of cup finals played in, is
- Arsenal: four wins, no defeat in a total of four finals
- Manchester City: two wins and two defeats in a total of four finals
- Manchester United: two wins and two defeats in a total of four finals finals
- Chelsea: one win and four defeats in a total of five finals
- Crystal Palace: one win and one defeat in a total of two finals
- Leicester City and Liverpool: a total of one win in one final each.
- Watford, Aston Villa and Hull City: each with no wins, having played in one final (each).
The second round of the cup is played on the weekend of the 6th/7th December and the third round on the weekend of the 10/11 Jnauary.
