Quadruple? Best to Take a Measured View.

Quadruple.

The word will likely not mean very much to you unless you are a follower of football (i.e. soccer).

If you are in the latter group than that word has a very special meaning: it is the number of trophies (4) won in a single season by a football club.

Only six UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) teams have accomplished such a feat: 1966 Celtic F.C., 1994 A.C. Milan, 1999 Galatasaray S.K., 2001 Liverpool F.C., 2008 F.C. Barcelona, and 2009 F.C. Inter Milan. Of those six clubs, both Liverpool and Inter went on to record quintuples, while Barcelona produced an unprecedented sextuple.

This season Arsenal F.C. of the English Premier League is one of the sides eligible to win a quadruple this season. There are various opinions as to whether they are capable of the accomplishment however.

Here is what I think about their chances:

• UEFA Champions League: Arsenal are still on cloud 9, a result of their famous victory over Barcelona at home in the first leg of their two-legged fixture, but they must remember that they are still going up against one of the greatest attacking sides of this generation. To win, they must stifle the Spanish club’s passing and suffocate possession of the ball all around the pitch (field). If they do make it to the quarter-finals the road does not get any easier for them, of the 16 teams in the current round, 10 of them share a total of 52 finals appearances (excluding Arsenal). In the end it boils down to a game of pick-your-poison, and Barcelona look like world beaters right now. Arsenal’s youthful roster and relative inexperience in international club football should see them fall short of booking a third trip to Wembley Stadium.
  

• Premier League: 12 games remain for second place Arsenal, who are 4 points behind league leaders, Manchester United. Though not out of the title race, manager Arsene Wenger‘s squad cannot afford to give up points when they try to make up ground in the points table. With an away game at Tottenham Hotspur (their main rival) and a home game against Manchester United, those two games will inevitably have an impact of the on whether the Gunners take home the trophy in late May. Manchester United’s lackluster quality during the season may catch up to them if Arsenal hit their stride.  
  

• FA (Football Association) Cup : With the results of their forthcoming match with Leyton Orient yet to be decided, Arsenal’s path to Wembley looks quite favorable in terms of sheer talent and quality; there are really only two factors working against the team – the Manchester clubs, and the fact that this tournament is notorious for giant killers (lower league teams that overachieve and defeat wealthier, more talented teams).  
  

• Football League Cup: They are the favorites coming into this final fixture against Birmingham City F.C. on Feb. 27, 2011, and all signs point to Arsenal winning their first trophy in six years as the Gunners have won the past two matches between the Premier League sides. It is unlikely that Wenger is going to field a weak lineup as he seeks to quiet critics of his squad along with his management philosophy.