Defeat not an option for Arsenal

Nine long years, nine painful years. Arsene Wenger has seen his side glide downward from the heights of being ‘Invincibles’ to a side celebrating a Champions League spot at the end of the season.
The pain and agony of the defeat in the League Cup final back in 2011 was the last time they came close to lifting a trophy but were denied by a Birmingham side, who got relegated and since then, haven’t managed to earn a place back in the Premier League.
The likes of Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy, Robin Van Persie, Ashley Cole, Cesc Fabregas have all moved on from Arsenal and have been rewarded with silverware.
The fans have voiced their concerns since last season when the banner of 'Wenger Out' was on display.

The club that once boasted the likes of Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry in attack now has to make do with a young and inexperienced Yaya Sanogo and Olivier Giroud whose inconsistency has been his major foe.
They did shell out a record transfer fee on Mesut Ozil this summer from Real Madrid but once again, they ignored the obvious weaknesses in the side. One that came back to haunt them later.

Arsenal spent 128 days at the top of the Premier League this season. More than any other club in the league and a massive 117 days more than eventual champions Manchester City, but it all came down to nothing as they had to pay for their shortcomings in the transfer window.

While Wenger can look back at injuries to Theo Walcott and Aaron Ramsey as the defining moment of the season, failure to strengthen in those areas remains a mystifying decision. The departure of Van Persie has still not been dealt with as Giroud doesn’t have any real competition to start upfront. An injured Kim Kallstorm was recruited on loan to fill in for Ramsey.

Santi - I prefer FA Cup to Copa del Rey

Source - Arsenal.com

Santi Cazorla says he prefers the FA Cup to the Copa del Rey because more teams have a chance of reaching the final in England.
The Spain midfielder, who scored the winning penalty against Wigan Athletic last month, is preparing to play in his first ever domestic cup final on Saturday.
Cazorla watched the FA Cup when he was in Spain and believes the two-legged structure of the Spanish Cup gives the bigger sides an unfair advantage.

It is something new for me and something that I want to experience, hopefully it is the first of many with Arsenal

"The difference is that here you have a greater chance of a smaller team getting to a final," Cazorla told Arsenal Player. "It is just one game, you can play home or away, that is the luck of the draw but in Spain there are two legs.
"With Barcelona or Real Madrid, it is very difficult to beat them because you have to play at their stadium, I think it is better here because all teams have a chance of progressing. Look at Hull City this year or Wigan last year, that makes things more open.
"It is the first ever cup final that I am going to play in, I have just played in the finals of the European Championship with the national side and I have never played any other final with any club. So it is something new for me and something that I want to experience, hopefully it is the first of many with Arsenal."
Arsenal have beaten Tottenham, Liverpool and Everton on their way to the final and Cazorla thinks the team can take confidence from those victories.
"It has not been easy," he said. "We’ve played against three great teams, even Wigan in the semi-final, that was a very tough game so we are in the final because of our own merits.
"We’ve done things very well in this competition, we have got past some great opposition, we are at the last step, and we have to think that in this competition the team has done very well, and hopefully we can perform like that in the final."