Can Arsenal Complete the Quadruple During the 25-26 Season?
Arsenal could be on the verge of making history. No other Premier League team has ever completed a true quadruple in one season. A true quadruple is when a team, specifically a Premier League team, wins the Premier League, the FA Cup, the League Cup, which is also called the Carabao Cup, and the UEFA Champions League. A regular quadruple is when a team wins four trophies in a season. What separates a true quadruple from a plain quadruple is that a true quadruple represents major tournaments, like the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League. A plain quadruple could see a soccer team win three trophies in their domestic league and win the Club World Cup, which is not considered a major tournament for many. Therefore, Arsenal are still competing in all four major tournaments that nominate them for a quadruple: their domestic league, the FA Cup, the final of the Carabao Cup, and the knockout stages of the Champions League. No other team in Europe’s top five leagues has ever won a true quadruple. Many teams have won four or more trophies in one season, but not all of the tournaments were considered major competitions. The big question is, can Arsenal sustain their energy, tactics, and health in order to complete the historic feat?
The Premier League
Arsenal currently sits at the top of the Premier League table. They have a nice buffer of seven points with one more match played than the rest of the field. Arsenal has only eight games to cement its lead against Man City. Mike Arteta, Arsenal’s coach, has something to prove to Man City’s manager, Pep Guardiola. Not only did Arteta work with Pep for a few years at Manchester City, but Arteta has also finished second behind his former team in two previous seasons. The Gunners have finished second for a total of three seasons in a row. Arteta and his team are desperate for this season to be the one where they win the coveted trophy. They have a tendency to bottle the league, which is British slang referring to soccer teams that have a long lead throughout the season but lose their advantage late near the end. As of March 11th, in the Premier League table, they play five teams who are in the bottom half of the table. The other three matches are against second-place Manchester City, eighth-place Everton, and ninth-place Bournemouth. Of those five teams in the bottom half of the table, two of them are in the relegation zone. To ensure they get one of the four trophies, Arsenal have to win most of their matches to fight off City’s last-minute chance to overthrow them from the top.
The FA Cup
Arsenal has easily progressed to the quarterfinals of the FA Cup. In their previous three FA Cup matches, they played against teams outside of the Premier League. The Gunners easily beat Portsmouth, 4-1, and Wigan Athletic, 4-0. They struggled a bit more against Mansfield Town, with the scoreline only being 2-1. Their luck with the FA Cup draw strikes again as they must play Southampton in the quarterfinals. Southampton is a Championship team currently in eighth place. Taking into account the Gunners’ current form, viewers and supporters should expect Arsenal to steamroll over the Championship team and secure a spot in the semifinals played at Wembley. Their luck with the FA Cup draw has a high possibility of running out as more teams are cut, leaving the best in England and Wales. For the semifinals or final, they could face Chelsea, Man City, or Liverpool. Man City and Liverpool drew each other; therefore, this gives Arsenal an advantage as one team will eliminate the other, clearing the field even more for the Gunners. Arsenal has already eliminated Chelsea from the Carabao Cup’s two semifinal legs. The Gunners have one win and one draw against Chelsea in the Premier League. All three teams could prove large obstacles in Arsenal’s pursuit of the quadruple, specifically Man City and Liverpool.
The League Cup
The League Cup, also called the Carabao Cup, already sees Arsenal in the final against Man City. The final takes place on Sunday, March 22nd at 12:30 p.m. EDT. This would be the first trophy they could win that takes them closer to the chance of completing the quadruple. However, they must beat Manchester City, the team that shut them out of winning the Premier League in two previous seasons. So far, Arsenal and Man City have only met once in the Premier League. The game ended in a 1-1 draw. This match could be Arsenal's revenge for the previous two seasons of being second to Man City and making up for the 1-1 draw.
The Champions League
For the first leg of the Round of 16, Arsenal must go up against the German team Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Arsenal have the easier side of the draw compared to the other side, which features five winners in the past 10 years: Real Madrid, Man City, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, and Paris Saint-Germain. For the quarterfinals of the Champions League, Arsenal could play either Bodø/Glimt or Sporting CP. It is more likely that Sporting CP will win the two legs as they have more experience over the smaller Norwegian club Bodø/Glimt. FC Barcelona could pose a challenge to their quadruple for a possible meet-up in the semifinals. Arsenal then have to beat the heavyweights on the other side of the draw. They could have another tournament final against Manchester City, but they will be hoping that Real Madrid is able to knock them out early.
Arsenal’s Overall Chance at the Quadruple
The tournament that is not a safe bet for them is the Champions League. The Gunners are going against the best teams in all of Europe, not just in their domestic tournaments. Therefore, the variety of styles, tactics, and players is wider; this adds more problems for Arteta and his team to find a winning solution. Even if they miss one of the tournaments, they are still in contention for winning a domestic treble, which is winning three trophies in one season. A domestic treble for Arsenal would be winning the Premier League, the FA Cup, and the Carabao Cup. Their first focus would be the Carabao Cup. Arteta must manage his players well in order for them to stay healthy for many crucial matches at the end of the season.
