I write at a time of relative unimportance for Arsenal and their supporters. The league season has been completed and hope of glory in the cup competitions vanished weeks ago. It is with this in mind that I pragmatically look forward to next season with the hope that Le Boss attempts to win all of the competitions that Arsenal compete in. I am not naïve enough to predict we will complete a quadruple, but rather pray that we treat each tournament with a serious respect and at least try to win it.

For the past decade Arsenal have come mighty close to triumphing in the League Cup, always falling short before the final hurdle. There has been an overriding sense of indifference from the Gunners when assessing the value of this ‘minor’ cup competition. The League and Champions League, followed by the FA Cup have taken precedence, with key players, sometimes entire starting elevens, being rested. I believe, however, that Arsene Wenger may have got his priorities slightly blurred and that the two domestic cups currently represent our best chances of success.

This campaign Arsenal have been patently below the likes of Man United, Liverpool and Chelsea in terms of player quality, squad strength and tactical nous and the league table reflects that. What should not have been beyond them though was glory (although admittedly minor) in one of the cups. This would surely have relieved some of the gloom from E******s stadium and given Wenger valuable breathing time from the increasingly impatient fans.

I am not, by any means, suggesting that the League or Champions League be put on the back-burner. I recognise the importance of finishing in the top four and competing in Europe in order to boost the club’s UEFA coefficient ranking and attract better players to the club. What I do find frustrating is that Wenger rarely plays a strong team in either of the domestic cups and in so doing forgoes a realistic chance of success.

It is no coincidence that Chelsea, Liverpool and Man United have all won either the League Cup or FA Cup (or both) more recently than Arsenal. There is no talk of five barren years without a trophy at any of these clubs. Granted they take certain key individuals out of the firing line and save them for greater battles, but they do not treat these competitions lightly by any means.

In the 2007 Carling Cup Final, Chelsea’s starting line up included Cech, Terry, Lampard, Ballack and Drogba. Arsenal selected Justin Hoyte, Traore, Denilson, Diaby and Aliadiere, none of whom have since forged a successful career at the club. This was in a season when Arsenal only came fourth in the League, and crashed out of Europe in the last sixteen. How sweetly a League Cup trophy would have softened those blows.

This year’s League Cup followed a similar pattern, with Arsenal fielding a shadow side in the dismal December defeat to Burnley, and Manchester United adding the trophy to their ever growing collection by playing Ferdinand, Evra, Ronaldo and Tevez in the final. Admittedly, this was relatively small fry in terms of the Mancs’ season, but they all add up… except for Arsenal, they simply don’t.

A look around Europe will reveal that other leading clubs also place greater emphasis on domestic cup competitions than Arsenal. The Coppa Italia was won by Serie A winners Inter in 2005 and 2006, and then by league runners-up Roma in 2007 and 2008. The Copa Del Rey was won by Barcelona this year and by regular Champions League competitors Valencia and Sevilla in 2007 and 2008 respectively. German heavyweights, Bayern Munich, have also won three out of their last four domestic cups.

The frightening fact for Gooners is that small clubs such as Leicester, Blackburn, Middlesbrough and even Tottenham have all won the League cup in the sixteen years since Arsenal last won it. This surely is not acceptable, especially when we are rarely putting out competitive sides in the vain hope of nurturing hordes of talented youngsters.

I accept that the likes of Vela, Wilshire and Gibbs could turn out to be stars of the future and that their grounding in the cups could prove to be invaluable experience. I also can understand that Fabregas, Clichy and RVP all learnt their trade in the domestic cups before they became first team regulars. What I cannot comprehend is that dozens of players fielded by Arsenal in these competitions have fallen by the way-side, never to be seen again at the club. The likes of Tavlaridis, Karbassiyoon and Quincy were never going to make it at a top four club, so why not pluck the best from the youthful crop each season and include a sprinkling of senior players each round?

This is a question only Monsieur Wenger can answer, and whilst I do still support the great man, I feel he has not done himself any favours in the cups. It is without doubt that success in domestic cups has helped to strengthen the positions of our rivals’ managers. I, like thousands of others, hope that with the addition of two top drawer players over the summer, Arsenal really can be a force in the League and in Europe next season. But I hope we do not put all our eggs in these rather challenging baskets and pray that next season Arsene really is up for the cup.