Arsenal 2 – 1 Chelsea. The Gunners win the FA Cup for the 14th time!!
Who would have thought that Arsenal would beat in succession Sheffield United away, Man City at Wembley and then Chelsea in the FA Cup final? Arteta guided his much criticised squad to victory and has now already a major trophy to his name.
Before the game I stressed the importance for Arsenal to score first, to keep the midfield tight with an extra midfielder and to not allow the Chavs to penetrate us from the wings. Unfortunately, we allowed the Chavs to run straight through our midfield early on and for Giroud to flick the ball in our box to Pulisic. the talented American still had enough to do but he produced a fine finish and we were behind after just five minutes into the game. 0 – 1 to the bad guys.
So we let them score the first goal which is seldom good. However, sometimes scoring a goal that early in the game – especially in a final – can lead to losing focus and allow the opponent to retake the initiative; and that is exactly what happened. We started to win the battles in midfield and exploit the weakness on Chelsea’s right flank through balls over the top and good link-up play between Tierney, AMN and Auba. And soon we were rewarded for our concerted efforts: Auba was fouled in the pen box and he took the penalty with great, great calm. 1-1.
The second half was evenly balanced without Arsenal being threatened much by the West-Londoners. Giroud was wallowing round in Luiz’s pockets and after the young American PulledaSicky and went off with a bad hamstring injury early on in the second half, it felt that we would come out gloriously victoriously eventually.
It was clear from the first half that we needed one or two moments of quality to win the final, and who else than Auba delivered with a Henryesque move involving both his feet and the daftest of finishes. AubaBangBangMeyang does it again!
1 – 2 to the good guys and FA Cup nr14 will be nicely placed at the Home of Football.
Player Ratings:
Martinez – Tears of Joy after the game. So committed and eager to keep the Chavs out: 8.
Tierney – Incredible focus and timing in everything that he does, and what a ball for Auba that led to the pen: 9.
Luiz – Majestic leadership and dominance of our defence: 9.
Holding – Super eager to win every ball. Once or twice out of position or slow to react but full of commitment: 8
AMN – Superb first half and more quiet in second half, but nothing happened on the Chavs right wing from an attacking point of view because of The Tank: 8.
Xhaka – Very busy game and after a sluggish start he commanded the midfield and gave great protection to our defence. Excellent positioning and reading of the game: 9
Ceballos – Great partnership with Granit and he added the creative spark to our midfield: 9
Bellerin – Inspired run that led to our second goal and a very committed performance from Hector despite some defensive lapses at times: 8
Pepe – Inspired performance and is much improving under Arteta in terms of involvement in all areas and aspects of the game. Unlucky to see his superb goal ruled out (Auba offsite) but good, unselfish assist for Auba’s winner: 8
Laca: Worked his socks off to keep defenders on their toes and create space for others – the paddling legs under water of the graciously attacking Arsenal swan: 8
Auba – MOTM Masterclass in attacking football. Beyond Perfect. Two superb goals: 11
By TotalArsenal.
Bergkampesque 
Greetings to all in such a lovely night!
I can relate to the ratings (maybe Pepe could have gotten a 9).
And I enjoyed the phrasing of “the bad guys”. I also call them the ‘evil empire’, driving my wife crazy, especially when I say “we scored”, even though I wasn’t playing literally as she always comments. Does any of you identify yourselves similarly in first-person plural?
The royal ¨we¨ is reserved for my wife who is the Queen of our domain, i am simply a humble jester and servant. I agree with your assessment of Pepe, he was incredible today among almost all the AFC players who shone.
What a great way to end the season. Hopefully we have a good offseason with our limited transfer budget but signing up Auba is a must but I would not begrudge him for leaving if Barca or Madrid came in for him. Ratings are spot on again and Pepe would have got his 9 if that goal stood. I cannot wait too see how he will do next season as Mikel will continue to coax the best out of him. Special mention to Bells, AMN and Emi the academy graduates did well especially Ainsley.
Last but not least Arteta gets a 12 from me. Got a trophy in his first job at a big club coming in the middle of not only a disastrous season, but what turned out to be a disastrous year with the pandemic (thankfully he survived the disease without suffering too much). Like what he did pushing Ainsley into midfield which gave our midfield more balance.
Indeed, PB, it it We scored just as much as it is We lost… Victory through harmony. 🙂
Pepe a 9… I can live with that.
A 12 for Arteta is spot on, makayah. The man is incredible.
Good to see you here OMG and for once we are in agreement haha 🙂
perfect, ta
i have a very special thought for emi, who has been phenomenal since he took over
his story should be placarded on the walls of every football academy; if ever parents have been entitled to being immensely proud of their boy, it’s certainly his
i spare a thought for the “bad boys” too: if we had been on the wrong side of the kind of refereeing taylor pulled tonight; i’d have gone insane, hulkishly insane
on a personal level, it was an emotional day too; i saw arsenal win the cup for the first time in 1971, on the recently-bought black-and-white tv set of my parents, sixteen months after i saw the team play in rouen; each of our fa cup wins has been as exhilarating as it was this very first time – but tonight images of my old man and i watching the game side by side on the dining-room couch just popped up, when the final whistle was blown
now, to quote from the who’s “tommy “:
‘Got a feeling ’21/Is going to be a good year’ … this great club’s back on track!!!
The ‘flat track bully’ did it again…
The media can basically do one!
14 FACups, unbelievable…
Ok, my train is coming in. 👍🏻
Cheers LeG, agreed re refereeing – that sending off killed the game and Xhaka may have overreacted there, But then Cesar Azpilicueta could have been given a red card too. The number of Chavs’ injuries was telling though. They really seemed to struggle physically.
We can all look forward to the journey of the 20-21 season,as long as C19 doesn’t get much more in the way.
That is a lot of cups, Kev. Safe journey back.
GN5, you dont need to respond to this. But I hope you get a chance to watch the game this weekend and enjoy it. I hope the funeral was not too sad and you have been able to give your sister a good farewell.
Brilliant day and win. Ratings are spot on but I agree Pepe should be a 9; AMN too, if you ask me, just on his first half performance and overall resilience. He was crucial to the way Arteta wanted to play.
For a change, the Ref decisions went our way. Stranger things have happened. However, the only questionable one was the second yellow to Kovacic but with VAR upholding the call, I’d think it was seen as a reckless lunge and I was willing to take anything that weakens Lampard’s men. Poor Giroud, had only one touch (a telling Assist it was, though) in our box; Luis and Holding gave him no change. On reflection, Lampard may be wishing he’d started with the more fleet footed Abrahams. Not that it would have been much help with the eventual result. Arsenal were the better team, overall.
Emi was emotional and I guess it had to do with his (impossible) wish that his parents could travel to see him play in the cup final. Surely, the national team has to consider him as No.1 now.
Happy for the lads and more so, for Arteta. A clash of two young coaches seeking a first trophy and he’s won it. Portends only good things for the club going into the next season; can only hope the hierarchy backs the manager in the window. Let’s enjoy the moment.
TA, I know I haven’t been as regular in the past weeks, but I haven’t seen Pony Eye post anything in the last three weeks. Are you in touch (via email or otherwise)? Hope he is fine. Need to reach out; to think I am in the same country as he but know nothing about his state.
Hey Eris, good shouts for AMN and Pepe.
I contacted Pony a couple of months ago and he emailed back to say he is fine. He said he was working on a personal project that had him completely occupied.
So I think he is fine.
Well then. Happy to hear that. Always good to check on one another in the present circumstances. Cheers, TA and thanks.
Hi TA, all is well with me. It was an extremely sad day for the GN5 family in both the US and Canada but we were all connected through Zoom and being the patriarch of the family I spoke an off the cuff eulogy which I felt was appropriate. It showed how connected we are as a family when one on my sisters children asked if I would be watching the FA Cup Final. I haven’t watched the game yet but I know the score and I couldn’t be happier.
What a superb job Arteta has done in such a short time under such difficult circumstances,
Not much more to say today as my emotions are running high.
14 FA Cups is unbelievable…………………..Roll on 2020/21………………
I read the following and thought to share:
Managers in their First seasons:
Guardiola at Man City: 0 trophies
Klopp at Liverpool: 0 trophies
Lampard at Chelsea: 0 trophies
Ole at Man United: 0 trophies
Mourinho at Tottenham: 0 trophies
Mikel Arteta at Arsenal: 1 trophy
Congrats and Respect to Arteta. What seemed a season to forget just days ago, ends as a huge success for Arsenal: FA Cup winners, Europa Leg qualification, beaten Liverpool and Holders Man City, extremely pleased for Arteta, who wins the FA as player & coach for Arsenal.
Trust the Process
http://www.facebook.com/arsenalsince1886
Nice to know you are good, GN5, you top man. Clearly, your family bond is very strong; it is crucial to keep this going and passing on the torch to the next generation so as to sustain the flavour over time.
Arteta has, truly, been fantastic for us, as my post above shows. It is incredible and something Lampard really did want, family tradition and all…..
Hi GN5, a funeral through Zoom must have been a new and other worldly experience for you and family. I bet you did a wonderful eulogy and I would not be surprised if you had put some historical facts and key statistics in it!!
The boys really did you and Gloria proud yesterday, especially once we got it together. Enjoy the viewing. 🤗🤗
🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆
Howdy everyone, yesterday was quite an amazing day from a football perspective, I didn’t have the stamina to watch the whole game when I got home just 40 minutes but we were more in control of proceedings than even I imagined at the time, Chelsea had a good 15 minutes dominance in the opening 20 and that was pretty much that, in fact Martinez had a pretty comfortable first 40 minutes except for the goal.
Luiz pretty much nullified the super motivated Giroud and even the very dangerous Pulisic was kept in check and by golly he looks a great player I must say.
Arteta has built in little over 8 months a fabulous togetherness at the club, there are no favourites, everyone is given an equal chance and if you don’t buy into the group then it’s see ya later!
I saw a few videos of the squad celebrating in the dressing room, it was brilliant, Arteta coming into the locker room with the cup and he boogied away in the centre of the group and that all danced and sung. Then there was another vid of Aubameyang and Lacazette singing to and at Saliba and him sitting there smiling and looking embarrassed but it was all in great fun and was a part of the group accepting him as one of them. What were they singing to Saliba LG..?
Arteta saw to it that all the players that had bought into the non negotiable’s, the new culture, were a part of the group yesterday and those that wouldn’t accept it were away from the group on holiday or somewhere else. Time will tell I guess if their attitude was beneficial to their careers or not?
Just look at Sokratis, he’s not really a part of the long term future devised by Arteta but he’s been totally professional, handled himself excellently, been an example to the young players and that shows great credit to him.
The media can interpret whatever they like from Aubameyang’s post match interview but I reckon it was more a case that he was just sick of the same old unimaginative questions.
Ok now I’ve got the 2nd half to enjoy again, have a great day everyone.
And GN5, well done mate in difficult circumstances, respect.
Morning everybody, I watched the game this morning and was extremely pleased at our performance. There was not one player who cannot hold his head high this morning they all gave their all and kept Chelsea at bay.
It’s quite incredible that Arsenal have appeared in 8 finals in the 2000’s wining their last and winning 4 in the last 7 years.
What an accomplishment by Arteta taking over a team that was broken and left disjointed by Emery and turning them into a together and cohesive force – he left those who did not adhere to his needs aside and kept them away from the 1st team. He has proved that although he may be young and under experienced as a manager but his man management has been superb.
With an FA Cup victory in his first eight months, it gives me the impression that we have a lot of good times ahead of us.
Should have read…………..
It’s quite incredible that Arsenal have appeared in 8 finals in the 2000’s winning their last 7 and 4 in the last 7 years.
kev, they were telling him “c’est pas saint-étienne, ici!” (“this is not saint-étienne here”), “on sait gagner des titres ici, fra” (“here we have the knowhow for winning titles, bro!”).
as you may well know, laca was lyon born and bred, pure product of the renowned lyon academy, and there has always been a bitter rivalry between saint-étienne and lyon – at least as bitter as the one between us and you-know-who.
of course, there was an allusion to the fact that lyon and saint-étienne destinies have “crisscrossed”; traditionally saint-étienne were the strongest team, but ever since the 1990s lyon have become – by far – the most successful (as though we stopped winning anything and by 2035 you-know-who had won 15 fa cups), but laca’s banter (for anyone even remotely familiar with what dressing-room “camaraderie” is about) can actually be seen as a very warm welcome indeed.
i’m pretty sure many lyon fans would rather he had just given the young lad the silent treatment, or looked down on him in contempt. as for saliba, i liked his attitude very much too – there’s a touch of shyness/respect in it, but you can tell from his wry smile that it will not take long for the boy to make room for himself in the pack. these are very privileged moments that we are made to share – something i definitely thank modern technology for.
I agree with you, kev, these images are made to warm the heart of any fan; a clear sign we might well be on the right path. as different as graham’s and wenger’s teams may have been – stylewise – what was great about them, from a fan’s pov, was that bond you could feel between the players. in 6 months, not only has mikel already won a title, but he has also made that bond tight again – a tremendous achievement for such a young coach.
today, our future looks very bright to me, provided we keep a cool head and turn a deaf ear to the media “overhaul” sirens. in the past month, we’ve beaten four of the 7 teams ranked above us in the league, and would have beaten another one, had it not been for kavanagh’s horror show at the emirates on july 7th.
we have a bunch of remarkable experienced professionals, ideal role models for the best generation of youngsters this club has had in decades, all of them under the supervision of an amazing young coach.
let’s just buy dani, not sell balogun/osei-tutu, keep trust in mikel (he’ll make a few mistakes, he’s bound to, but he’s a very fast learner obviously) and sky’ll be the limit for this great club.
Article about Arteta
https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11670/12040509/arsenals-fa-cup-win-over-chelsea-highlights-mikel-artetas-impact
Hi LE GAll
One of the most pleasant surprises to me has been the manner in which Mikel has melded both our youth and our older players together. He is quite obviously a truly “gifted football man” and the way he has turned Emery losers into Arteta winners is quite amazing – he has also exposed Emery favorites as underachieving misfits and banished them.
I’m particularly happy to see the improvement in Pepe, he is extremely gifted with the ball at his feet but Arteta has made him far more discplined – it would have been deserving if his goal had stood – it would have become a part of future Wembley highlight reels. The same applies to Ceballos he has made a superb transformation under Arteta’s tutelage.
I must admit that I was one of the supporters who felt we needed a more “experienced manager – but now I think “sod that” I’m thrilled we have Arteta as our manager and he could well break Wengers longevity record.
Perhaps the very best side event from us winning the FA Cup is that our win has demoted Spurs to the Europa League qualifiers and they have to play 3 extra games – hopefully in the middle of nowhere!!
Merci LG, yeah, I could see that there was a gentle ribbing going on between our senior French speakers and young Saliba although I didn’t know of the rivalry between St Etienne and Lyonnaise.
Due to Arsene Wenger and his history at Monaco we’ve heard many times of their competition with Marseilles although I think in latter years Monaco have been replaced by PSG in that regard.
I think that Saliba is going to be a massive addition to our team next season, his English is impeccable so communication is a given, Luiz speaks French and English, then there’s Tierney, Holding and Bellerin speaking Glaswegian, Northern Soul and Cockney in that order so no problems there. It’s gonna be cool…
I’m with you to a degree I’m not sure that the squad need major surgery as two or three players of the required quality, drive and ambition could make a major impact, I’ve read about 6 departures and numerous new signings but how do these media outlets know? Agents, Twitter, click bait websites, the usual suspects just recycle the same old rubbish.
Let’s see what Arteta can get from Mari and Chambers and Martinelli when they’re fit and what more he can get from Mustafi, not least Smith Rowe, although I did find it odd that Willian seemed to be frozen out yesterday so that could be a player we’re close to signing.
Let’s complete a deal for Ceballos and keep Aubameyang, those deals are foremost in my mind.
As for Balogun, I guess it’s not over until it’s over but I think that he could be leaving, not because we want rid of him but because he wants to try elsewhere. If Brentford beat Fulham on Tuesday then we could see Foloran on his way to West London?
Yes GN5, if I look into my crystal ball I can see Jose going on a long journey, a journey far away to the exotic east, a journey hopefully to Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. Bless him…
Good comments tonight, guys. A great day to be a Gooner and what a game it was yesterday. The European football is a nice bonus but all our players can say that they are FA Cup winners for the rest of their lives, and a few can say they are double FA Cup winners and that is even nicer. It is a great cup to win and we did not do it by fluke either. And in less than four weeks we can win another price albeit a token one: the Community Shield. What an incredible end to a difficult and very weird season.
Thanks for the interpretation, LE GALL, that explains the embarrassed look on Saliba’s face. Obviously, had his mind on his St.Etienne fans watching that scene, being an Arsenal player now.
One other consequence of our win is Wolves being out of Europe, unless they go on to win the Europa league, something I won’t put past them really.
I am with you there, GN5, on the magic Arteta appears to have worked on our erstwhile “misfits”. Bellerin, AMN and Pepe for one, have raised their games, as we knew it. I was frustrated with Pepe’s lack of defensive nous and penchant for losing the ball at crucial moments, then trotting back as he points to others to do the defending. Now, he is ever willing to help out, manfully. He still has to be more composed on the ball, have his wits about him and improve his awareness of what’s going on around him. He will come good next season, big time. For those who still throw envious glances at Wilf Zaha, the stats show Pepe was, by far, the more effective/productive player (goals and Assists).
Arteta and the boys have made us fans as proud as we’ve ever been in a while. He has a steely look in his eyes and I had no doubt he was going to do well; he also speaks to Arsene, which can only bode well for a young manager. All he needs now is for the board to back him this transfer window and there’s no telling what we can achieve next season. I do think we need to make additions in defence and midfield. We also require a creative player; one who is slippery but assured on the ball. About time we had more than one player who will be feared by rivals. So, if we bring in Coutinho, Partey and one defender; then retain Auba’s services, while selling some of the surplus (Ozil, Elneny, Chambers/Holding, Sokratis), we will be a different proposition in the seasons to come,
Looking forward to whatever new additions there might be in the team come the community shield in just 4wks time – crazy short break that is 😅
The icing on the cake is Spuds now having to play qualifiers to get into Europe – payback :-]
Eris, to your last comment, regarding Zaha and Pepe, Pepe would be in a defender of the mid table team’s pocket. Against Chavs, they gave us so much time and space and it seemed like an invitation to blast more goals past them. That’s why Pepe had such a great impact on the game. And the dirty work that Laca did to draw defenders away from Pepe had a great effect too.
I am still for Ozil to come back into the team, but the formation that we are playing currently (apparently the position in the hole was created just for Ozil) does not allow him to slot in just in front of the midfield and right behind the attackers. He is also not great in wide areas; thus he can only play in the centre attacking midfield.
The fans will want to see their idol play again, but I am unsure how to reintegrate him into the squad.
Playing those EL pre-qualifiers is never fun, but doing so during the C-19 era is a different ball game altogether. UeFA should have scrapped these to be honest, but the thought of grumpy Moanrinho travelling with Kane & Co to the extremities of Europe is entertaining.
Morning all 🌞
TA
Just a quick hello! Watched slightly delayed. Mainly, we played equally but with better tactics.
Regarding comments. I think Pepe would be fine on the counter or sly thru ball against mid table sitting back. Equally there, Laça is the stronger and will do more. Win, win. I however, loved Ozil, but don’t see him back. He no longer fits and his attitude doesn’t seem to have helped. Auba has the look of someone with longevity, so a longer deal would suit.
I think the foundation is there for a strong year if we can keep Auba, and perhaps do little more than stay healthy.
Cheers from NZ – wildly busy too as medical tech and ICU are big deals – jgc
Add on… we played well and smart, taking what they gave us… jgc
Hey Geoff, really good to hear from you again. I was wondering how you were doing only a week ago. Not surprised you are busy with your background and the current challenges for health institutions! I bet you are happy you and your family are currently based in a sane, well-led country.
Agreed we have options up-front and a very expensive front-three and Arteta will get more out of them the longer he can work with them.
I know it is not yet the post on analyzing the FA Cup final, but I fuly agree with TA’s comment ‘we did not do it by fluke either’.
I also felt that Chelsea just didn’t have a second goal in the barrel, while we were a constant threat, even if we didn’t apply constant pressure on them. Pepe’s disallowed goal was unlucky (albeit correct decision).
I went to see a few Chelsea blogs too. Not for plain masochism, I was genuinely interested in their view on the final. As you would have expected, they were complaining the worst refereeing on modern times:
– Aubameyang dived before the penalty (he didn’t)
– Arteta wanted to have Azpilicueta sent off (well, we made a fault as the last defender, so it was clearly an option, and Arteta claiming this is part of his job)
– a fault leading to Pulisic’s injury (WTF?)
– Bellerin fauled Christensen before our 2nd goal (well, Hector indeed bumped into Andreas, so it could have been a free kick for Chelsea, but I think 7 referees out of 10 would have waved play on)
– the second yellow card for Kovacic was a harsh one (yes, this is true, it was a clearly wrong decision from Taylor; yet a player should do everything to avoid the first booking, as there is a slight chance that the referee will commit an honest mistake later and send him off – it’s part of the game – like Eddie’s red card against Leicester)
– Martinez made a deliberate handball outside the penalty box (he didn’t), so he should have been sent off (pictures and videos proved this claim wrong, yet the narrative didn’t disappear.
The way we played on Saturday we were clearly better than Chelsea. Which is good news. But let’s not forget, that with Pulisic available for 90 minutes as well as with Werner and a potentially nightmare signing of Kai Havertz they could very well be in pursuit of silverware next season, while we are fighting not to be weaker in the 20/21 campaign…
Good comment, PB. I think the pivotal moment was when Pulisic pulled his hamstring just as he was preparing to shoot: had that one gone it it might have finished differently. We were vulnerable to those runs from midfield early on in both halves. As soon as our midfielders were facing our goal rather than their goal we got into trouble.
I think we should focus on ourselves rather than the strength of the Chavs next season. Big signings need to be fitted in (think of Pepe) and it remains to be seen whether they will make it in the PL.
New Post 🙂
morning :-]
Njk – when Pepe shows flashes….. I remember he was the only one at the time near the beginning of the season who’d dribbled past Van Dyke, so I think he’s coming on pretty nicely for his adaptation to the prem league and will continue to be a handful for all types of defenders
I’d strongly guess that Ozil’s off this summer though, so I’d be really surprised if ever seen in an arsenal shirt again. Interesting that he congratulated the team in contrast to Guen being nonchalant on his insta profile to just write ‘holidays’. Classy again from Mikel to have mentioned them both positively.
Great quote PB – “we’re fighting not to be weaker for next season”!