Ever since the dramatic shootout victory over Wigan Athletic a month ago, Saturday May 17th has been pencilled in as Arsenal's date with destiny. An eight-year barren run of trophies is set to come to an end, with The Gunners being overwhelming favourites against Hull City at Wembley tomorrow evening.
And while expectation, optimism and excitement has reached "Fever Pitch" amongst Gooners, there is also a sense of pride, importance and a shedload of nerves ahead of tomorrow's 5pm showpiece.
That is because even in the not so distant past, Arsenal have been here before. Not that recalling this is ever enjoyable - but back in 2011 when the club were looking at six trophyless years - even then, that had seemed far too long enough - performing strongly on four fronts looked a decent possibility; the chance of claiming silverware was almost a certainty.
But on the day, cruel twists of fate turned Arsenal's season that year upside-down. What could have been the much-called "catalyst" for success was nicked from right under their noses by a fortunately-placed Obafemi Martins. It was not meant to be.
Three campaigns on, and Arsenal have endured some uncompetitive seasons; the bare minimum requirement of Champions League football being the highlight of the two years that followed, while this year's title bid was exciting while it lasted, but ultimately left the team where they were in previous attempts. The progression has been minimal.
So tomorrow's FA Cup Final presents the chance for Arsenal to progress at last. But at the same time, presents Hull City with the opportunity to send The Gunners backwards.
The overall feeling seems to be - mainly because it is true - is that this is more than just a Cup Final. There is more at stake than ending the trophy drought. This is an endgame for more reasons than Arsenal could wish for ahead of the biggest game for the club in the last decade.
Look at it this way - we are definitely coming to an end of an era at about 7pm tomorrow evening. Whether we win or lose defines what direction in which the next one starts.
Let's face it, (half of) North London will go into meltdown if the unthinkable happens. We become the laughing stock of the nation, our reputation will be tarnished somewhat, Arsene Wenger will probably be heading out the door and likely followed by a few others in the summer. The supporters will not just hit an all-time low, they will hit rock bottom. Putting it simply, it would be a catastrophe to end all catastrophes.
But if we win tomorrow... goodness me.
Brush Hull aside and we are back, baby. And here to stay. We fell desperately short of the league title on the mental and technical side of things but all the ingredients are there - with opportunity to add a little more this summer, too (although Wenger seems to be letting others get ahead by waiting until after the World Cup, but that is a blog for another day).
For these players, and our fans, and our manager to be deprived of success for so long, success tomorrow will breathe new life into everyone. And since it is only Hull City (no disrespect), we can smell it. Hell, it is almost as if the FA Cup has grown some limbs and is saying "come here, Arsenal, I've missed you so much". I cannot begin to imagine what will follow if we manage to pull it off. This could be the start of something very, very special.
Let us not also forget that the players, for all the shortcomings we have suffered this year, have worked tremendously hard. They have put in far more excellent performances this season than the ones we would rather forget (if we could). They have battled through injuries, harsh critics, true tests of character and fickle fan pressure beyond belief.
Yet here we are, potentially less than 24 hours away from reaching our goal of silverware, when none of the big clubs, barring Manchester City, can say they have done better. Who will be the specialist in failure then, eh, Jose Mourinho? I am sure Wenger would not dare give Jose a public dressing-down should we beat Hull but he would bloody well deserve one.
The Gunners get to decide in what direction their future lies tomorrow. One final chance to call the season a success, and set a precedent for the next campaign to become, as Wenger may put it, "consistently consistent". This is not just for the FA Cup. This is for the destiny of Arsenal Football Club.
COME ON YOU REDS!
And while expectation, optimism and excitement has reached "Fever Pitch" amongst Gooners, there is also a sense of pride, importance and a shedload of nerves ahead of tomorrow's 5pm showpiece.
That is because even in the not so distant past, Arsenal have been here before. Not that recalling this is ever enjoyable - but back in 2011 when the club were looking at six trophyless years - even then, that had seemed far too long enough - performing strongly on four fronts looked a decent possibility; the chance of claiming silverware was almost a certainty.
But on the day, cruel twists of fate turned Arsenal's season that year upside-down. What could have been the much-called "catalyst" for success was nicked from right under their noses by a fortunately-placed Obafemi Martins. It was not meant to be.
Three campaigns on, and Arsenal have endured some uncompetitive seasons; the bare minimum requirement of Champions League football being the highlight of the two years that followed, while this year's title bid was exciting while it lasted, but ultimately left the team where they were in previous attempts. The progression has been minimal.
So tomorrow's FA Cup Final presents the chance for Arsenal to progress at last. But at the same time, presents Hull City with the opportunity to send The Gunners backwards.
The overall feeling seems to be - mainly because it is true - is that this is more than just a Cup Final. There is more at stake than ending the trophy drought. This is an endgame for more reasons than Arsenal could wish for ahead of the biggest game for the club in the last decade.
Look at it this way - we are definitely coming to an end of an era at about 7pm tomorrow evening. Whether we win or lose defines what direction in which the next one starts.
Let's face it, (half of) North London will go into meltdown if the unthinkable happens. We become the laughing stock of the nation, our reputation will be tarnished somewhat, Arsene Wenger will probably be heading out the door and likely followed by a few others in the summer. The supporters will not just hit an all-time low, they will hit rock bottom. Putting it simply, it would be a catastrophe to end all catastrophes.
But if we win tomorrow... goodness me.
Brush Hull aside and we are back, baby. And here to stay. We fell desperately short of the league title on the mental and technical side of things but all the ingredients are there - with opportunity to add a little more this summer, too (although Wenger seems to be letting others get ahead by waiting until after the World Cup, but that is a blog for another day).
For these players, and our fans, and our manager to be deprived of success for so long, success tomorrow will breathe new life into everyone. And since it is only Hull City (no disrespect), we can smell it. Hell, it is almost as if the FA Cup has grown some limbs and is saying "come here, Arsenal, I've missed you so much". I cannot begin to imagine what will follow if we manage to pull it off. This could be the start of something very, very special.
Let us not also forget that the players, for all the shortcomings we have suffered this year, have worked tremendously hard. They have put in far more excellent performances this season than the ones we would rather forget (if we could). They have battled through injuries, harsh critics, true tests of character and fickle fan pressure beyond belief.
Yet here we are, potentially less than 24 hours away from reaching our goal of silverware, when none of the big clubs, barring Manchester City, can say they have done better. Who will be the specialist in failure then, eh, Jose Mourinho? I am sure Wenger would not dare give Jose a public dressing-down should we beat Hull but he would bloody well deserve one.
The Gunners get to decide in what direction their future lies tomorrow. One final chance to call the season a success, and set a precedent for the next campaign to become, as Wenger may put it, "consistently consistent". This is not just for the FA Cup. This is for the destiny of Arsenal Football Club.
COME ON YOU REDS!
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