OVERVIEW: Where Do Arsenal Go From Here?

The bad news for Arsenal is they recently lost the League Cup in painful fashion, and are coming off Tuesday's disappointing effort against Barcelona.

The good news is, with those tournaments out of the way, Arsenal can make a stronger effort at winning the Premier League and FA Cup titles.

At the moment, Arsenal have played one less game than league-leaders Manchester United, and trail the Red Devils by only three points.

The two teams face each other on Saturday in FA Cup action when Arsenal travels north to play a quarter-finals match at Old Trafford.

Manchester United are coming off two road losses, so a match at Old Trafford will be a welcomed relief for Sir Alex Ferguson's side. They will be playing on six days rest, but then will host Marseille in Champions League play in the second leg where the aggregate score is 0-0, and without wing Nani.

Should Manchester United defeat Marseille next week, they will advance to the Champions League quarter-finals, perhaps causing distraction from their Premier League title hopes. They also host much-improved Chelsea one week after facing Arsenal at Emirates Stadium.

Right now, the biggest concern for Arsene Wenger is goalkeeping. Wojciech Szczesny suffered a dislocated finger against Barcelona, and was replaced by Manuel Almunia. There's no word as to how long Szczesny will be out.

With Lukasz Fabianski out for the season, Almunia has no true back up. Wenger may need to call up 18-year-old Argentine Damien Martinez.

Should something happen to Almunia, Arsenal's season may be in serious jeopardy.

Gloom-and-doom goalkeeping scenarios aside, beating Manchester United may have gotten easier. Without a Champions League schedule, Arsenal will be more focused and will receive much-needed rest.

Also, there will be time to recover from injuries. Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie, and Jack Wilshere were not playing at 100 percent against Barcelona, and Alex Song didn't suit up.

Whether Song's knee injury is more serious than thought remains to be seen, but his status for the Barcelona game was possible just days before being declared unfit.

As for the other players, three full days of rest may not seem like much, but after Arsenal's strenuous schedule of eight games in three weeks, a larger gap between match-days awaits after Saturday's FA Cup match.

Furthermore, with 10 Premier League games remaining, Arsenal only face one difficult team on the road when they make the short trip to White Hart Lane to face Tottenham.

The home schedule doesn't pose too many difficult challenges aside from Liverpool, and of course Manchester United on May 1st, but that's a match Arsenal welcomes since a victory may be the difference in winning the Premier League title.

Fatigue and injuries often play major roles in how a team closes out their season.

With Arsenal's outlook appearing better in those departments, Premier League and FA Cup titles seem more plausible.

Arsenal are desperate to win their first Premier League title since 2004.

This season might be as good a time as any to do it.