Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger accepts Monday night's FA Cup quarter-final showdown at Manchester United could either make or break his side's ambitions for the rest of the season.
Wenger's go to Old Trafford on a fine run in the Premier League, with seven wins in the past eight games putting them third, now a point ahead of United and four behind Manchester City.
With their Champions League dreams over, unless they can overturn a 3-1 deficit when they travel to AS Monaco next week, Wenger is targeting continued progress in the FA Cup to maintain momentum in the fight to secure a top-four finish once again.
“Monday night is a big game, and every big win in a big game has an impact subconsciously in the belief of the team,” he said.
He added winning the FA Cup last season, “gave us energy because we had a few years without winning a trophy and on that front it was vital.
“This team has a good mentality because we had a slow start this season and every time when we lose a big game, you see how much the players are touched.
“I think the mentality is very healthy; they want to do well and we will be focused on Monday night. Once you get to the quarter-final you think that is a good opportunity to win a trophy.”
Wenger accepts there had been times in the past when he “sacrificed” the FA Cup with hopes of further progress in Europe, the 4-0 fifth-round defeat at United in 2008 one painful example ahead of a crunch tie with AC Milan.
“The FA Cup was always badly positioned before the Champions League games, so you always had decisions to make,” he said.
“A player who was a bit on the edge. What do you sacrifice? It was always the FA Cup in the end.
“Sometimes, as well, I did not sacrifice the FA Cup years before and we paid the price because we lost one or two important players two or three days before an important game.”
Arsenal have a poor record at Old Trafford, where they have not won since September 2006 and suffered an 8-2 defeat in August 2011.
Wenger, though, will pay no heed to that history.
“When the team is not as good, they lose. It doesn’t matter what shirt they wear, or what stadium they play in; it is down to quality,” the Arsenal manager said.
“If I have learnt something in my life it is that the performance on the day decides the outcome of the day, not where you play.”
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