Arsenal moved a step closer to ending their six-year trophy drought when they beat Bolton Wanderers 2-1 to move into the Carling Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Park Chu-Young celebrates firing Arsenal into the Carling Cup last eight.
While Arsenal have rarely taken this competition seriously in the past, the level of disappointment they suffered after losing last season’s final suggests they put a lot of stock in the event nowadays.
In the present scenario winning a trophy, any trophy at all will lift some pressure on Arsene Wenger. It is already unlikely that the Gunners will challenge for the league title, and the dominance of FC Barcelona makes the UEFA Champions League a long shot.
This means Wenger would be wise to take the domestic knockout competitions seriously so his team can achieve a tangible sign of progress and success.
Arsenal started this last 16 tie on the front foot, and South Korea captain Park Chu-Young forced Bolton goalkeeper Adam Bogdan into two good saves during the early exchanges.
Bolton spent long periods defending during the first half but were unable to prevent the Gunners carving out any more obvious goal scoring chances.
Things got even better for Bolton two minutes into the second half when they took a 1-0 lead against the run of play. Fabrice Muamba robbed Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong 35 yards from goal and advanced towards the penalty area. The England Under-21 international exchanged passes with Darren Pratley before rifling a shot high into the net. - http://www.livesoccertv.com
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