Arsenal won a record 14th FA Cup on Saturday, grinding to a 2-1 win over Chelsea at an empty Wembley. Arteta and Aubameyang were able to lead the Gunners to their most frequently won trophy, which qualified them for Europe and put some gloss on what could have been a truly awful campaign.
It looked like it would be Chelsea’s day early on in the game. Mount’s pass deflected to Giroud, and the ex-Arsenal player was able to play a back-heel to Christian Pulisic, and the American showed his class with some nifty footwork and a dinked finish past Martinez in the 5th minute of the game.
However, after 20 minutes of domination from Lampard’s men, Arsenal found their rhythm. Nicolas Pépé hit a shot right into the top corner, but it was disallowed for offside, but it certainly gave the Gunners that much-needed boost in confidence. This confidence was shown when Kieran Tierney played a stunning ball over the blues’ defence, and Aubameyang was given the chance to run in behind. This is a prospect that no defender in the world wants, and so Chelsea captain Azpilicueta was forced to bring down the Arsenal captain in the box. As we have seen so many times before, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang doesn’t pass up opportunities like that, smashing the penalty into the bottom-right corner to level the game.
Arsenal’s control of the game continued, and was helped by two injuries to key Chelsea players. In the first half, captain Azpilicueta was forced off through what seemed to be a hamstring problem. Yet it was the injury to Pulisic near the start of the second half which really killed the Blues’ momentum. He had been Chelsea’s one shining light in attack, and he pulled his hamstring after running past Holding before hitting a shot that was off target. With both of those players having to be replaced, it left Lampard with just one more occasion to make any substitutes.
Arsenal, after a long period of defending, showed their prowess in counter-attacking football. Hector Bellerín ran past two Chelsea players before being tackled by Christensen, with the ball falling to Pépé. The Ivorian was given time to find Aubameyang, and the Gunners’ star man finished the chance in sublime fashion; he scooped the ball round Kurt Zouma, and chipped the onrushing Caballero with his weaker left foot. It truly was one of the all-time great FA Cup winning goals.
Any hope Lampard had of getting back into the game was destroyed just 6 minutes later, when Mateo Kovacic was given a harsh second yellow card, giving the Gunners a man advantage too.
The team in red never really looked like giving up the lead, and Chelsea’s misery was compounded when Pedro was stretchered off in added time on his last ever appearance for the club.
Despite how well Lampard has done this season, there are still some gaping holes in that Chelsea backline that were visible for all to see. they may have been on the wrong end of a few dodgy refereeing decisions, but they never really looked on top after the first 20 minutes. However, they will still have Champions League football next season, and that should be seen as a huge bonus for the club.
Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta’s unbelievable transformation of Arsenal was clear to see yet again. He was able to bring the fans a trophy just 8 months into his tenure, and that will mean a lot not just to the fans, but to the transfer budget as well. They have qualified for European football for the 25th season in a row, a massive achievement when you look back to where they were under Unai Emery – a stage of the season that seems so far away now.
And so much of that has been down to the world-class striker they have up front. All three of the Gunners’ forwards were impeccable today, but this final will forever be remembered as the Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang final. What a player the Gabonese international is proving to be. He scored two in the semi-final against Man City, and he followed it up by leading from the front in the final, with another two goals on Saturday. No matter how badly he did it, Aubameyang was able to lift a trophy as Arsenal captain, and that could be the turning point in his contract negotiations.
Arsenal fans will certainly hope so.
Player Ratings
Arsenal
Emiliano Martinez – 8
Rob Holding – 7
David Luiz – 7.5
Kieran Tierney – 8
Hector Bellerín – 7.5
Granit Xhaka – 8
Dani Ceballos – 8
Ainsley Maitland-Niles – 7
Nicolas Pépé – 9
Alexandre Lacazette – 7.5
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 9.5 (MOTM)
Subs:
Eddie Nketiah – 7
Sokratis – N/A
Sead Kolašinac – N/A
Chelsea
Willy Caballero – 6
Cesar Azpilicueta – 4
Kurt Zouma – 5
Antonio Rüdiger – 4.5
Reece James – 6.5
Jorginho – 6
Mateo Kovacic – 5
Marcos Alonso – 5.5
Mason Mount – 6.5
Olivier Giroud – 6.5
Christian Pulisic – 7.5
Subs:
Andreas Christensen – 6
Pedro – 5.5
Tammy Abraham – 6
Callum Hudson-Odoi – 5.5
Ross Barkley – 5
