At times this season Arsène Wenger has worn the expression of a man tired by the overwrought expectations and perceptions that grip every game. Before Sunday’s FA Cup tie with Watford, the Arsenal manager was in a lighter mood as he mused on how modern managers must cope with an environment in which it generally feels like it is impossible to please everybody. The subject matter even inspired him to return to the biblical story of creation. “Even in paradise, Adam was not happy,” Wenger observed wryly. “We are on earth here so I can understand that people are very demanding.

“I have not created human beings. That is God, if he exists. He didn’t make us perfect, so we have to live with that. We have to live with exaggerations and I can do that. I honestly never believed that I was God and I’m absolutely completely conscious of that. But what can I do? It is a perception of other people. It is judgment. Is it right or wrong? I don’t know. But I know I can only make sure of one thing – I am completely committed to perform and I do my best to make sure this club does well.”

It was an interesting impression at the end of a thought-provoking footballing week which shone a light on the question of what constitutes success for clubs chasing silverware. What is enough for what used to be the old top four cabal, and indeed the group trying to gatecrash?

Is just an FA Cup satisfactory? Where does a top-four finish or a Europa League stand in terms of achievement when the champions have spent most of the season in the bottom half of the table and England’s most decorated clubs have it out in the Europe’s second-tier competition?

Wenger contemplated the notion of whether the FA Cup is today sufficient reward for himself or his club’s supporters. “Look, it’s never enough,” he said. “As long as you don’t win everything it’s never enough. When we didn’t win anything they said ‘You didn’t even win the FA Cup!’ People always want more, which is normal and it’s what we want as well. If you look at the history of Arsenal we are a club that has won the FA Cup more than anybody else. We’ve won it 12 times. And I, with my team, have won it six. It’s not as easy as it looks.”

At the start of a week that brings the spotlight of a return leg against Barcelona in the Champions League and the pressure of a Premier League tussle at Everton, the FA Cup would not necessarily be everybody’s priority. But for Wenger the game has a significance and allure that he won’t take lightly. “The real pressure is playing games without importance. That is terrible when you are at a big club,” he says. “OK, we’re playing a big game on Sunday. The pressure would be if we were not playing the big game on Sunday. Let’s not forget that now we go in the competition we are in the quarter-finals, we cancel a game to play the FA Cup. The teams go for it, don’t worry. Watford will be playing the game of their season as well.”

Watford have the benefit of no midweek game before or after this encounter, unlike their Arsenal counterparts. Wenger has some juggling to do with team selection to attempt to take on an intense series of matches. Per Mertesacker and Gabriel return to contention after the injuries they picked up during the 4-0 win at Hull last Tuesday night.

Arsenal are still stretched in midfield, with Aaron Ramsey’s injury hitting a department of the team which is short of numbers.

Wenger confirmed Jack Wilshere is close to a first team return in the coming weeks. “He is doing well. He was out running on Friday and he is very positive personally. I saw him run and he looked quite impressive, his power is back and he doesn’t have any holding back and that is good news if he can continue that. I believe that he is out of the tunnel.”