TODAY’S FA Cup fifth round tie between Arsenal and Hull was the Gunners boss Arsene Wenger’s 100th match in the competition.
Remarkably it has also been the third successive season in which the two sides have met in the tournament. This tie is going to a replay and, unless there’s a major upset, the North London giants will record a third straight victory over Steve Bruce’s men and continue their march towards an incredible hat-trick of FA Cup triumph.
Should Arsenal go all the way and win the final at Wembley on May 21 it would be the seventh time Wenger has won the famous trophy – all of course with the Gunners – and would make him the most successful manager in the competition’s history, a mark he currently shares with Aston Villa’s George Ramsey.
But the Frenchman admitted it could so easily have all ended in tears two years ago had they lost the 2014 final to Hull – a match in which Arsenal were 2-0 down after just eight minutes and looking like extending their wait for any silverware to nine years..
Wenger revealed to the Telegraph on the eve of this season’s clash with the Tigers:
“It was up in the air and we had to give everything to win that final and after to reflect. If we had lost it I don’t know.
“It would have been a problem if we had not won. But we won.
“Was it a turning point? Yes of course. Today in the modern job you have to explain what you do not achieve and why you did not win.
“We had not won trophies and people wanted trophies. So of course it was vital.”
Of course that is history now and it’s been 15 matches and three years since Arsenal last tasted defeat in an FA Cup tie.
But can they go on to achieve a hat-trick of FA Cup wins and, if so, will Wenger’s record haul of winners’ medals ever be beaten?
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