London: Winning this year's FA Cup would give Arsenal a taste for silverware again and could provide a launching pad for another era of success for the north London club, Czech playmaker Tomas Rosicky said.
Not one of Arsenal's current squad, Rosicky included, has ever won a trophy with the club while many such as Theo Walcott and Jack Wilshere are still waiting for their first honours anywhere in senior club football. A winner of the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund before signing for Arsenal, Rosicky knows just how vital it is that the club take advantage of this year's opportunity to win the FA Cup having seen all the big clubs fall by the wayside.
"It would be a big lift for everyone because you still have a lot of players here who don't know how it feels to win a trophy," the Czech said ahead of Saturday's semi-final against second tier Wigan Athletic, who stunned Manchester City to win the trophy last season.
"Mainly the guys who are coming through like Jack (Wilshere), Aaron (Ramsey) and all these boys. They don't know how success tastes, so it is a massive chance for us to win a trophy this year.
"It would be a building block for these boys." Arsenal, without a trophy since they won the FA Cup in 2005, have suffered an alarming slump in form in recent weeks as their Premier League title challenge evaporated with heavy defeats by Chelsea, Liverpool and Everton.
With their top-four position under threat the players have come in for criticism but striker Olivier Giroud believes Saturday is the perfect opportunity to get back on track. "The Premier League seems to be difficult now but we have the FA Cup, we have a great opportunity to show a strong answer on the pitch this weekend. We want to do it together and to look forward," the Frenchman said.
"We really want to bounce back and concentrate on this FA Cup that we really want to win for our fans and for the club. After that, we know we have five finals in the league.
"It's just we have to come back to something simple and restart to the basics, like more commitment, more determination," he added. With Hull City or third tier Sheffield United awaiting the winners of Saturday's semi-final, Arsenal may never have a better chance to re-stock the trophy cabinet.
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