Arsene Wenger

Published: 6 March 2014
by STEVE BARNETT

ARSENE Wenger admits he has “started dreaming” about winning the FA Cup again ahead of Arsenal’s quarter-final showdown against Everton on Saturday.

The Gunners are just one win away from Wembley and Wenger has made no secret of the fact that he would “love” to get his hands on the cup for a fifth time.

“I have been lucky enough to win it four times, but unfortunately we haven’t won it for a long time now, so in fact I’m even more focused to do well in this competition,” he told Arsenal Magazine.

“I would love the club to win the FA Cup again.”

Explaining what the “magic of the cup” means to him, Wenger added, “When you get close to the end of the competition – the dream becomes more real.

“We all had that dream as kids, we were educated by seeing people lifting cups. That became our dream and to make it come true is one of our targets.
That’s what the cup is about. When you are a young boy you dream to lift the cup.

“I’m lucky enough to have won the cup in every country I’ve worked in, and that magic moment when you realise ‘it’s ours’ is something very special. It makes everybody happy.”

Wenger admits that if he could, he would change the priority that the FA Cup has over the Premier League when it comes to re-arranging fixtures late on in the season. But other than that, the Frenchman believes there is no doubt that it’s the best domestic knock-out competition in the world.

“England have two qualities that are exceptional: first they created the competition, and secondly they maintained the traditions better than in other countries.

“You always feel that this is the country where the FA Cup has been the first competition.

“Going to Wembley for the final is always a traditional and special event.”