SOCCER/Liverpool v Arsenal:Outsiders form the FA Cup's most zealous bodyguard. Arsene Wenger, foremost among the foreign managers in England, has kept it in Arsenal's custody for a total of four years yet he was annoyed not to have spent even longer in the company of the trophy.
He has been known to mutter that his club should have won it three times in a row.
Arsenal won in 2002 and 2003, leaving Wenger to lament that there ought to have been a victory in 2001 as well, against the club they face today. Then Arsenal dominated and led 1-0 until Michael Owen, still a mercurial figure in those days, cut loose to score twice for Liverpool.
Wenger appreciated that no club had raised the trophy in three consecutive years since the 19th century. The FA Cup has occasionally been belittled by some English people but is an object of exotic fascination in countries that have no equivalent.
Pundits have, for instance, suggested that flatline attendances prove the Coppa Italia is dead. There have been times when no broadcaster was willing to buy television rights to the early rounds. Internazionale were taunted by rival fans for demeaning themselves when their one item of silverware was the Coppa Italia.
Its counterparts around the continent suffer, to some degree, from the same problem. A penchant for laborious, two-legged ties carries some of the blame for that and the FA Cup can draw upon a greater heritage of shock and drama.
Rafael Benitez is certainly in earnest, calling the FA Cup "the most famous competition around the world". He surely noticed, too, Steven Gerrard's almost unfeasible equaliser in last year's final is as rich a memory for the country at large as it is for the Liverpool manager. There is no risk of him mistaking the FA Cup for the League Cup. Scott Carson, on loan at Charlton, has featured in the latter competition but Benitez will not let him become Cup-tied for the former.
He has refused permission for the goalkeeper to turn out at Nottingham Forest this afternoon. When someone surplus to immediate requirements still has to be kept available for the FA Cup there is no better proof of the priority Benitez has given to retaining the trophy. It has to be agreed, too, this tournament's value leaps for those whose other options are dwindling.
The two clubs who meet at Anfield are in similar situations. Neither will take the Premiership this season and the Champions League could well be beyond both of them as well. Each has a condescending attitude towards the League Cup, despite their being pitted against one another in the semi-finals.
A spirited victory at Luton last season, where Liverpool were 3-1 down, showed Benitez would not write off any FA Cup fixture. He and Wenger know it must hold a high priority so long as their teams are short of the standard set by Manchester United and Chelsea. Indeed success in the Cup would be seen as part of a valuable bedding-down process for clubs who will expect to be more potent forces in the Premiership next season.
Liverpool do seem now to be assimilating the signings they made in 2006, from centre half Daniel Agger to forwards like Dirk Kuyt and Craig Bellamy, who now need mainly to convert more chances. There have been alterations in Wenger's squad as well. He might envy Liverpool's solidity, just as Benitez should yearn for Arsenal's more prolific scoring.
No club entertains with quite the style of the London club but flakiness is part of the fun. Last month's rollicking 6-2 success over Blackburn Rovers actually saw Mark Hughes' team in contention until the closing minutes. Arsenal captivate, in part, because the beauty is so brittle and with Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie suspended, their FA Cup campaign is likely to shatter at Anfield.
Wenger's team went out at the same stage a year ago to Bolton's well-executed pragmatism. Benitez has the budget to be more refined but Arsenal will have to muster a durability they could not find at the Reebok.
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