3. CUP CAMPAIGNS AND BRITISH CORE

UEFA Champions League
Arsène, your remarkable record of qualifying for the Champions League is also important in terms of Club prestige, recruitment and the financial rewards?
The somewhat unlucky Champions League Cup Final defeat to Barcelona, in 2006, was the closest you have come to winning the competition. And Arsenal were unbeaten in the 12 matches before the final, only conceded 2 goals, and went a record 10 successive matches without conceding, including the triumphs over Real Madrid and Juventus which had Eboue, Flamini and Senderos in defence! Even The Invincibles only got as far as the quarter-finals!

How did you manage to keep it so remarkably tight in Europe that season Arsène?
Since the 2006 Final you made the semi-final once and quarter finals twice – all during the stadium build difficult period. But, unfortunately, you don't seem to be getting any closer – you have been eliminated in the first knockout round for six straight seasons. And in those seasons Arsenal have lost away to Dinamo Zagreb, Olympiacos twice, Shaktar Donosesk, Braga; and for good measure Olympiacos again at home and also Monaco and Shalke.

A far cry from the exploits of 2006 – why have you done so badly?
In the 2013 - 14 season, you selected Yaya Sanogo as your starting striker against Bayern Munich for whom Thomas Muller, ranked fifth-best footballer in the world by The Guardian, came off the bench to score their second. It was a successive round of 16 exit at the hands of Bayern Munich.

Sanogo vs Muller seems to rather sum up the footballing mismatch between the clubs?
In the 2014 - 15 season you received a favourable draw, avoiding Bayern and Barcelona at last and playing Monaco at home in the first leg. But you went out on away goals after tactical naivety and ill-discipline in the 1-3 home defeat. It was hardly the first time Arsenal have been exposed by bombing forward and being picked off was it?

Why do players keep making the same mistakes Arsène?
This season, remarkably, Arsenal made the last 16 stage despite poor opening defeats at Dinamo Zagreb and at home 2-3 to Olympiacosn – assisted by a terrible mistake from your No 2 goalkeeper David Ospina.

Why did you prefer David to Petr Cech?
You faced familiar foes, Barcelona, in the knockout stages and Arsenal played really well for over an hour and a 0-0 home draw, and no away goals, would have been a very positive result. Yet Arsenal bombed forward as if desperately needing a goal, and were mercilessly picked off by Luis Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi and lost 0-2 – indeed, their players later said they had expected it.
People often remember you for saying you never saw it or blaming something else.

This was a good example of your honesty and humility these days?
Apart from saying Arsenal were “technically very average”, which seemed a little harsh, you admitted that Arsenal were “naïve” and “gave it away” in getting caught similarly as against Monaco.

Why don’t your players listen to you Arsène?
We will look at recruitment in some depth later Arsène, but for now if we may just pick out one player from the Monaco match, Geoffrey Kondogbia, their athletic young, French, technically gifted, defensive midfield player, who scored their second goal. He subsequently moved to Internationale, who didn't have Champions League status, at the end of the season – for €31, less than you recently paid for Granit Xhaka, the same age and position.

With an eye to the following season - once the contracts of Mikel Arteta, Mathieu Flamini and Tomas Rosicky duly expired - did you not believe he would be an improvement, or add cover to, Arsenal's incumbent's?
Or simply ‘no vacancies’ until they departed?
After losing his second Euopean Champions League Final in less than 5 years as manager of Atletico Madrid, on penalties to Real Madrid, Diego Simeone said he will start thinking about his future with club – “Losing two finals is a failure”. Despite a massive lack of resources compared to Real and Barcalona, and indeed Arsenal, he also won La Liga, the domestic cup, Copa del Rey, and the Europa League.

Have you ever contemplated resigning or not renewing your contract Arsène?

F.A. Cup & League Cup
The 4-0 previous seasons Cup Final thrashing of Tim Sherwood’s Aston Villa gave you personally a record equalling sixth triumph and made the Club the most successful in FA Cup history.

You must be very proud of your great FA Cup record Arsène?
The previous FA Cup Final victory, over Hull City, was a rather more rollercoaster affair! You went on to renew your contract and must be grateful to Kieron Gibbs for his headed goal line clearance that stopped it becoming 0-3.

Had you lost, would you have gone then?
You have this great record in the FA Cup and you said you always take the competition seriously. However, that isn’t strictly true is it Arsène? There was a period where you prioritised the Champions League, despite the repeated failures, and fielded weakened teams in the more winnable FA Cup. For example, the 4-0 defeat at Manchester United in 2008 when you rotated heavily and had Justin Hoyte and Armand Traore as full-backs!

In recent seasons, you have seemed to marry sensible squad rotation with putting out competitive teams?
This season your remarkable 15 consecutive round victories ended when you went out at home to promoted Watford.

You rotated a little, primarily defensively, but fielded a strong team and it was the familiar failings of not turning possession and chances into success?
You used to use the League Cup to give valuable experience to young players on the fringes.

Was the remarkable 6-3 win at Anfield in the 2007 quarter-final, which also featured Hoyte and Traore, one of the highlights?
This season in the Carling Cup, at League One Sheffied Wednesday, you started with Cech, Debuchy, Gibbs, Chambers, Mertesacker, Flamini, Campbell, Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Giroud. The only Academy players that started were Glen Kamara and Alex Iwobi.

Was the 3-0 defeat when the team was bullied by the League one side Arsenal’s poorest performance of the season Arsène?

British Core
The Englishmen Calum Chambers, Kieron Gibbs, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain and Theo Walcott played against Sheffied Wednesday. Back in February 2005 (beating Crystal Palace 5-1) you became the first English top flight manager to field an entire match day squad without a single player from the United Kingdom (Ashley Cole and Sol Campbell were ill and injured). More recently Arsène, you had become chastened by foreign successes leaving the Club and, in December 2012, you tied down a British core of players to long-term contracts with the hope that they would be both the future of the club and loyal to it.

How do you think that has gone Arsène?
Theo started 15 matches and managed 5 goals and 2 assists for the season in his ill-fated attempt of being a centre forward and then moving back to the wing. Since the defeat at Old Trafford 28 February 2016 you recently said “on the day he didn’t perform well” and you didn't start him in a single Premier League match. Rather, he returned to the bench just where he was when you preferred right-back Emmanuel Eboue at right-wing – until after Theo’s hat-trick for England against Croatia in September 2008. You now seem to think of him as a centre forward because he is a defensive liability? “He is not a great defender … On the flank, today there is much defensive work asked from the players that you lose a lot of his qualities when you put him there. For me in my head I will use him more up front.”
After 10 years at the Club, many supporters and commentators argue that Theo has not realised his potential and was not deserving of a long £140,000 contract.