Nine games, nine cup finals. Every single match the team needs to come away with three points.
Those are some of the comments made by the Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and the players as the English Premier League reaches its business end.
At the end of the day, Arsenal fans would have preferred their club to be fighting for the league; however, the reality is they face yet another battle for that top-four position and with it a place in the Champions League.
Arsenal face Reading in the first of the final nine matches Saturday, with Wenger's men currently four points behind fourth-placed Tottenham, with a game in hand, and five adrift of Chelsea.
Spurs face a tricky visit to Swansea on the same day, while Chelsea are at Southampton, who have claimed a few big scalps this season.
Arsenal found some form and more importantly defensive solidity in their last two games before the international break. The 2-0 wins over Bayern Munich in the Champions League and Swansea in the Premier League were pretty impressive, but will mean nothing if they cannot take it forward into the next game.
Reading will not be easy opposition as Wenger will know well. Having fired Brian McDermott, rather unnecessarily, the Royals recently named Nigel Adkins, who himself was unfortunate to be let go by Southampton in January, as their new manager.
The appointment of a new boss usually has a positive impact in the short run for a side, and the Reading players will be thinking this is as good a time to break their five-match losing streak and keep their hopes of staying in the league alive.
Reading are second bottom, level on points with last-placed Queens Park Rangers, and seven points adrift of safety; so every single game from now on for the Royals is also basically a cup final.
The international weekend usually works to Arsenal's detriment with several players coming in injured; Wenger, though, will be reasonably happy with only Theo Walcott suffering from international action, with the England forward out for the Reading game.
Jack Wilshere is still missing, with Arsenal deciding against taking a risk on the 21-year-old's ankle, which the doctors have advised needs more rest, while Kieran Gibbs is doubtful with a virus.
One man who will definitely not take part in Arsenal's final run-in is Abou Diaby, after the midfielder tore his anterior cruciate ligament on his left knee during training, ruling him out for up to nine months. Bacary Sagna and Lukas Podolski are back in the team, though, after missing the last few games.
Lukasz Fabianski is again expected to be preferred to Wojciech Szczesny in goal, while Wenger is unlikely to tamper with the central defensive pairing of Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny, who did so well in the last two games, which would mean skipper Thomas Vermaelen might have to be satisfied with a place on the bench yet again.
Adkins refused to divulge injury news, saying he wanted to keep Arsenal in the dark in the hope of springing a surprise.
Arsenal need to finish in the top four, not for the financial reward -- they have more than enough money already - but to be able to persuade quality players to come in the summer.
Reading is the latest of the cup finals and it really is three points or bust.
Expected lineups: Arsenal: Fabianski; Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal; Ramsey, Arteta; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Cazorla, Podolski; Giroud.
Reading: Taylor; Kelly, Pearce, Mariappa, Shorey; Karacan, Leigertwood, McAnuff, Robson-Kanu, McCleary; Le Fondre.
Prediction: 4-1 to Arsenal
