5 reasons why Arsenal have a good shot at one of the cups

#2 It’s a chance for lesser players to shine

The cup competitions are a chance for fringe players like Jack Wilshere to shine

In a somewhat related note, Arsenal’s squad – filled with great, but not necessarily world-class talent – might actually be better equipped to pick up one of the secondary cups than one of their mega-talented rivals like Manchester City or Chelsea.

This is largely because if you’re a player on the periphery at one of those sides, the likelihood of breaking into the first team proper is pretty low. For instance, even if he scores a bagful in a cup competition, would anyone really buy the possibility of Michy Batshuayi replacing Alvaro Morata as the focal point of Chelsea’s attack? Probably not.

With a good run in the cup competitions, though, could Jack Wilshere perhaps supplant Granit Xhaka in the centre of Arsenal’s midfield? Almost certainly. Could Danny Welbeck or Olivier Giroud find themselves as the Gunners’ first choice striker if they score enough goals in the cup and Alexandre Lacazette finds himself misfiring in the league? Definitely.

And it’s this chance of breaking into the first team that might allow Arsenal’s fringe players to push themselves harder than the players in other sides.

Take last season, for instance – after a disastrous performance early in the season against Liverpool, young defender Rob Holding wasn’t expected to feature much for Arsenal for the rest of the season. But as Arsene Wenger switched to a three-man system at the back, Holding came back into the forefront of his plans, partly due to his impressive showings in the FA Cup.

Indeed, he was arguably Arsenal’s standout player in their FA Cup final win over Chelsea last May. Could someone like Wilshere, or even a youngster like Ashley Maitland-Niles become that player this season? With some good performances in the cup – especially if Arsenal win one - I don’t see why not.