Four quick talking points on today’s big upset, Bradford City over Arsenal

In one of those British headline writer’s dream (England’s Daily Mail called it an “embarrassment of epic proportions”), Arsenal bombed out of the Capital One Cup quarter-finals, losing to … wait for it … fourth-tier Bradford City.

Fabled Gunners fell in penalty kicks to the small club from West Yorkshire.

Getting right into it:

• It really is ashamed that so much of the talk here will be about Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, etc., because it really was a monumental effort, as esteemed NBC colleague Arlo White called it on Twitter. By most accounts, Bradford City was better Tuesday and fully deserving of its first Carling Cup semifinal appearance. Underscoring that sentiment is the fact that …
• Arsenal played a strong side, with only a couple of non-regulars.
• This will add yet another hardy layer to the ongoing debate on whether Wenger remains the right man for the job around the Emirates. On the one hand, he has the Gunners back in their most familiar of spots, in Champions League knockout stage. It really is an impressive run, competing now in the elimination phase of the world’s best club competition for a 13^th consecutive season. On the other hand …
• Wenger’s trophy drought will continue, and that means something to a club like Arsenal. Last hardware for Gunners: the 2005 FA Cup. The Carling Cup may not approach the FA Cup (and certainly isn’t in the same stratosphere as an EPL title or a Champions League crown), but it carried the distinction of being the best route to a title around the Emirates this year.