Arsene Wenger should start aiming for another Double as Arsenal’s FA Cup campaign kicks off this weekend. Not just as a nice idea, but as a deadly serious target.

In a season in which the league title is clearly within his grasp, the FA Cup also offers him a significant new weight of historic achievements within the English game.

Another Double would also be a superb way for him to wrap-up the season which takes him close to 20 years in charge of his club.

No team has won our beloved old pot three years on the trot since 1886, for example. To match that would be a major feat. He could also equal Sir Alex Ferguson’s three Double triumphs as a manager if the championship arrives, too.

Why, it would even be the perfect way to hand over to Pep Guardiola, who, it must be said, seems as perfect a fit for Arsenal as Manchester City now that he has announced his intentions of entering the Premier League mad-house next season.

Okay, that last suggestion is a bit of fanciful, time-passing conjecture just now because it isn’t known yet what Wenger intends for his future.

But who, in such a debate, could deny that Pep, the super-smooth Catalan with the love of dextrous attacking football and the deep understanding of great club tradition learned at Barcelona wouldn’t see both those things already deeply embedded at the Emirates?

Wenger sets out this weekend in the FA Cup third round against Sunderland to add yet more lustre to that mighty, classy tradition.

The competition has been particularly precious to the Frenchman during the past two seasons because the Gunners successive triumphs ended a trophy drought which lasted from 2005 until 2014.

They reinforced a level of credibility for him while unrest grew in the stands.

In all, he has won it six times.

So the stature of the competition will surely be particularly cherished at Arsenal again this season – even if the championship is the prime target.

Arteta back in training with Arsenal 8 show all Arteta back in training with Arsenal 1/8 Arsenal FC via Getty Images 2/8 Aaron Ramsey, Mikel Arteta and Theo Walcott of Arsenal during a training session at London Colney Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images 3/8 Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger during a training session at London Colney Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images 4/8 Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images 5/8 Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Mathieu Flamini of Arsenal during a training session at London Colney Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images 6/8 Nacho Monreal and Joel Campbell of Arsenal during a training session at London Colney Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images 7/8 Theo Walcott and Krystian Bielik of Arsenal during a training session at London Colney Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images 8/8 Calum Chambers and Aaron Ramsey of Arsenal during a training session at London Colney Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images 1/8 Arsenal FC via Getty Images 2/8 Aaron Ramsey, Mikel Arteta and Theo Walcott of Arsenal during a training session at London Colney Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images 3/8 Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger during a training session at London Colney Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images 4/8 Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images 5/8 Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Mathieu Flamini of Arsenal during a training session at London Colney Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images 6/8 Nacho Monreal and Joel Campbell of Arsenal during a training session at London Colney Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images 7/8 Theo Walcott and Krystian Bielik of Arsenal during a training session at London Colney Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images 8/8 Calum Chambers and Aaron Ramsey of Arsenal during a training session at London Colney Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Those consecutive wins at Wembley also appeared to have laid some sturdy groundwork for this season’s title challenge – in which, thus far, Wenger has been vindicated in his stubborn belief that he did not need to reinforce his squad beyond the master-stroke signing of goalkeeper Petr Cech.

Surely, they have to be fancied now more than the erratic Manchester City, whose players know that their coach, Manuel Pellegrini, will be gone at the end of the campaign. Never a good recipe for consistency, that.

Wenger will not pick a full strength team against Sam Allardyce’s side. But here are the historic statistics he would rack up if he is triumphant again at Wembley this May.

THE RECORDS WENGER COULD BREAK *Arsenal would be the first team since Blackburn Rovers – 1884 to 1886 – to win three successive FA Cups. *They would surpass Manchester United’s record of nine wins at Wembley – old and new *Wenger would become the most successful FA cup boss of all-time by beating the six wins of Aston Villa’s old-style manager/secretary George Ramsay, between 1897 and 1920. *Arsenal would have a fourth Double – more than any other club – if they pull of the old one-two again, which Wenger has done twice before. *Another win would extend Arsenal’s record number of FA Cup triumphs to 13

Wenger managed that feat in his first full season in 1997/98 and again in 2001/02. They also did it in 1970-71 under Bertie Mee. United’s Fergie did it in 1993/94, 1995-96 and 1998-99, when they also won the Champions League.

There is, of course, the matter of the Champions League to be dealt with yet. But Arsenal face Barcelona and are not expected to progress.

If they are knocked out, it would assist their pursuit of domestic trophies. If they pull off a surprise win, who knows what kind of turbo-charge it might put under the season?

By contrast, title rivals City are under pressure to finally make an impression in the competition, with an easier draw against Dynamo Kiev looming. It could distract them.

This brings us back to Guardiola. He, too, is under pressure to succeed in the Champions League with Bayern Munich.

He has won two Bundesliga titles but they were formalities in a nation where there is far less stringent competition than in the Premier League.

He seems destined for City, where his former Barcelona cohorts Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain are in place upstairs and there is a more all-encompassing global project at work – though Chelsea, also, have not given up hope of landing the Spaniard.

What does January hold for Arsenal? 3 show all What does January hold for Arsenal? 1/3 Outlook No Premier League team won more points in 2015 than Arsenal and a continuation of that form would surely see them end the season as champions. But their Boxing Day thrashing at Southampton still prompts questions as to whether they can be consistent enough to stay the course. 2/3 Transfer targets The Gunners are in the midst of finalising a £5million deal for Basle midfielder Mohamed Elneny and although further business this month is possible, the 23-year-old (pictured) could be their only January acquisition. PSG’s Adrien Rabiot and Porto’s Ruben Neves are long-term targets. 3/3 Biggest challenge Arsenal’s aspirations have been perennially undermined by injuries in recent years. Despite a root-and-branch enquiry by Arsene Wenger and his staff last season, the same affliction has struck once again but this time with no significant damage. Yet. 1/3 Outlook No Premier League team won more points in 2015 than Arsenal and a continuation of that form would surely see them end the season as champions. But their Boxing Day thrashing at Southampton still prompts questions as to whether they can be consistent enough to stay the course. 2/3 Transfer targets The Gunners are in the midst of finalising a £5million deal for Basle midfielder Mohamed Elneny and although further business this month is possible, the 23-year-old (pictured) could be their only January acquisition. PSG’s Adrien Rabiot and Porto’s Ruben Neves are long-term targets. 3/3 Biggest challenge Arsenal’s aspirations have been perennially undermined by injuries in recent years. Despite a root-and-branch enquiry by Arsene Wenger and his staff last season, the same affliction has struck once again but this time with no significant damage. Yet.

In theory, though, Arsenal is his kind of club. Historic, wealthy, traditional and with a clear identity built on promoting attractive football and home-grown talent.

When Pep took over in Munich, Bayern had just won a Treble – including the 2013 Champions League – under Jupp Heynckes.

It didn’t deter Guardiola, though he has yet to match it.

Now, among Europe and England’s biggest clubs, Wenger is the hardest act of all to follow because of his longevity.

Elsewhere, a carousel is spinning the big names around the big teams; Carlo Ancelotti to from Chelsea to Real Madrid to Bayern next season and so on.

Will Arsenal pluck from that merry-go-round once Wenger stands down? Or will he have one last surprise master-stroke up his sleeve?