Football Food For Thought / Nik Wardle / 21 January 2008 /

"Knowledgeable" Nik Wardle looks at Betfair's Team Trophies market and wonders how many new ones will be in Arsenal's cabinet come May

On Tuesday, Arsenal begin in earnest their battle to win all four major trophies. They go to the home of their arch-rivals Tottenham in the Carling Cup to try and book themselves a place at Wembley. As has been much discussed recently, The Gunners haven't lost against Spurs since 1999. Rather like the semi-final of the same competition in 2001, where Spurs broke their duck against Chelsea, I think they'll do the same to Arsenal - perhaps not 5-1 though.

And even if Arsenal's youngsters are victorious against Tottenham, the chances are they'll face a full-strength Chelsea side in the final - and we know what the result was last season. Arsenal are currently trading at [5.0] to win the competition.

At the weekend, Arsenal are at home to Kevin Keegan's Newcastle in the FA Cup. A home tie against anyone except a fellow member of the Big Four is a good draw and I expect Arsenal to go through. I imagine Arsenal will play a strong side in this game and seeing as none of the Newcastle players would get in Arsenals' first eleven, even resting three or four players shouldn't cost Arsenal. The Gunners are at [5.0] to win the FA Cup and [9.0] to win both domestic trophies. Much of their success in this competition could depend on how far they go in the Champions League.

Holders AC Milan await Arsenal in the next round of Europe's premier competition. The Italian giants have had a poor start to the season and had to wait until after the winter break to pick up their first league win at home. They'll have to have an incredible second half of the season to secure a Champions League slot via a league placing for next season - this puts even more pressure on them in this competition. The bad news for Arsenal is that Ronaldo is back from injury and is in goal scoring form and they do still have Kaka. Arsenal, of course, have in-form players of their own and are at [10.0] to win this trophy for the first time. Betfairians have set the odds of 30 for Arsenal to win all three cups.

Victory at Fulham last weekend sees Arsenal remain tied at the top of the Premier League with Man Utd. With fifteen games remaining, there's enough time left for many twists and turns. The availability of Adebayor, following Toga's failure to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations, is a huge boost to their chances. The Gunners are at just [3.0] to make it a hat-trick of league triumphs for Arsene Wenger and at [15.0] to win the domestic treble.

Arsenal are currently at [20.0] to lift all four trophies. My reservations about their chances of lifting the Carling Cup mean I wouldn't back this bet. Due to their excellent manager and strength-in-depth, you'd expect them to win something this season - and I'd favour a bet on them winning the FA Cup.

To read Nik's views on how many trophies Chelsea will win go to:

https://betting.betfair.com/football/premiership/how-many-trophies-will-chelsea-win-140108.html

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