Whisper it, but Tottenham fans now truly believe their improving team are ready to cement their growth with some silverware.
The north London giants continue to progress under Mauricio Pochettino but they are without a trophy since their League Cup win of 2008.
There are three ties standing between Spurs and a ninth FA Cup success, with Swansea providing the opposition in the quarter finals on Saturday.
And Arni Arnason, The Vaccines’ Tottenham-mad bassist, reckons the Lilywhites are ready for glory on a regular basis.
“We’ve definitely got a chance of winning The FA Cup this year,” he said.
“And I wasn’t expecting to feel like this – no Spurs fan ever does! But we seem to be stronger and more consistent this season.
“I’m more and more confident in Spurs’ ability to compete at the elite level. The idea of beating Chelsea or [Manchester] United in The FA Cup Final doesn’t scare me.
“Like many Spurs fans, I was excited about this season. We’ve been making good progress over the last few years and winning The FA Cup would be a great reward for us. It would be incredible.”
Arnason, who hails from Iceland, was late to take an interest in the beautiful game. It wasn’t until he moved to England a decade ago that his love for Spurs began.
His first live match was Tottenham’s goalless draw with Manchester City on the opening day of the 2010-11 season.
And he says there is no comparison between the atmosphere inside a sold-out concert venue and a packed White Hart Lane.
He explained: “Even though my first game ended 0-0 I was hooked immediately. There is something so primal and visceral about being in a football stadium.
“I’ve obviously played many, many live gigs over the years but there’s an atmosphere and a feeling inside a football stadium that you just don’t get with any other large congregation of people. It’s really special.”
Arnason is confident that by the time his band’s new album, ‘Combat Sports’, is released on Friday 30 March, Spurs will have booked their place in the last four of the Emirates FA Cup.
“I feel relatively confident about the Swansea game,” he said. “That is a game we should be winning.
“Now we are out of the Champions League we have to give The FA Cup a really good go.
“I was at the semi-final against Chelsea last year and that was disastrous. I took my former tour manager. He’s a very jumpy north Londoner and the journey back afterwards was horrible.
“At that time, it was scaring the life out of me that we were going to be playing a full season at Wembley.
“But we seem to have got over that now and are playing well again.
“Hopefully we can end the season with a trophy.”
Although Arnason’s fondness for all things Spurs has only lasted about 10 years, he is fully aware of the high esteem in which the Emirates FA Cup is held across the globe.
He added: “Everyone loves The FA Cup. It’s more of an anarchic competition than the Premier League because it’s so unpredictable.
“Knockout competitions are special and The FA Cup is the most respected knockout competition of them all.
“Every team wants to win it.”
Pre-order ‘Combat Sports’ from The Vaccines’ official website
