Our record is skewed by the opposition though. There are two legged knock outs and we’re often competing in at least one of them, it’s just we get have lapses and get punished by teams with serious quality and there’s no way back.
But there’s no way that a first leg semi final against Ajax is going to have us 5-1 down. Even if we’re 2-0 down, we’re capable of overturning a deficit like that whereas we’d have no chance against Bayern. I think we’ll make it difficult for ourselves on a few occasions but I’d hope we can at least reach the semis of this.
I think the only barrier will be Wenger not prioritising it like Pochettino didn’t, which I’m still not sure if he’ll do or not.
Don’t think we’ve ever won it with Wenger so the LC isn’t that important. Would be nice to win it but Community Shield is 1 game and a similar level of trophy, both not important but saves the wait and playing Chelsea/City to win it was decent.
Some Mickey Mouse cup tottenham won a few years back. Basically a glorified friendly, I can’t find any good source confirming it’s actually a competitive match. I mean, most sides play their b team or youth…basically tells you all you need to know right there.
Community Shield is just less stressful to win. 1 game with a trophy on the line v decent opposition like we’ve faced in the past. Never seen Wenger or any of our players in recent years take the League Cup seriously… FA Cup is much better trophy than LC. It actually has history and tradition. So I wouldn’t bad mouth it
Tbf that’s also to a huge extent due to our own failings in the group stage. It’s not always just the KO stage record that counts when you ask for the more difficult opponent more often than not.
Personally, I’d love to win the League Cup. Who wouldn’t want to win the first piece of silverware of the season? The last 3 winners have been Man United, Chelsea and Man City - so it clearly has more prestige that it is being given. Certainly more prestige and importance than the 1 match Community Shield.
Can somebody who has placed Liverpool 6th or lower explain why? Not only does it seems they have strengthen the starting eleven with Salah (and possibly with another centre back), but also the depth with the signing of Solanke. They will be able to always rest at least one of Firmino, Coutinho, Mane and Salah without being weaker. They might not be a genuine title contender yet, but I think they will be a lot more capable to repeat what they did last season than Spurs f.e.
I just don’t feel Liverpool have strengthened enough. They might get a CB but so far they haven’t. They bought Andrew Robertson in to play LB but is he good enough? Their attack is strong but behind that it’s not so impressive, they need another midfielder as well as a stronger defence. They also have the Champions League to contend with - they’ll be in pot 3 I believe, which means even in the group stage they’ll be pushed to the limit.
This, mixed with blind loyalty for Arsenal, is why I predicted their 6th place finish.