Monday 14 April 2014

Relief and Joy, Arsenal in the FA Cup Final

It was deliberate, writing this a day after our success in qualifying to our first FA Cup final since 2005.



Perhaps it was to be more objective, having let everything sunk in before saying whats on my mind. Furthermore, it would let me know who we will be facing in the final scheduled for May 17.

With us being the highest ranking club left in the competition, it would be hard to ignore the favourite tag despite us on a run of four matches without a win, with two heavy defeats at Chelsea and Everton still fresh on Gooners' mind everywhere.

Thus, Wigan came out of the tunnel without as much pressure despite they were the holders after upsetting Manchester City in last season's final. They repeated the same success over City in the earlier round.

The Latics in my opinion would pose a very serious threat to our trophy ambition this season.

When I saw the name Yaya Sanogo starting for The Gunners, the phrase that immediately came into my mind was 'typical Wenger'. However, the rest of the team was very much the first choice. Perhaps more due to unavailability of many personnels rather than by choice.

We dominated possession but in the end of the first 45 it was still no goals but Sanogo forced Scott Carson into making a few key saves while Lukasz Fabianski was not really forced to work hard at the other end.

Then on the hour mark, in a typical Arsenal self-destructive pattern, the usually reliable Per Mertersacker committed a foul on Callum McManaman inside the box.

The thought of another humiliating defeat immediately came across my mind. We were not playing well but enough to get us through unless a bad turn of event occurred.

And this was the kind of a bad turn of event.

Jordi Gomez who had to wait before taking the resulting spot-kick was not affected and sent it past Fabianski who went the right way but was beaten by sheer pace of the kick.

The introduction of Kieran Gibbs for the injured Nacho Monreal added more pace on the left and when Olivier Giroud came on to partner Sanogo in a 4-4-2 formation Arsenal looked livelier.

It was almost a throwback to the George Graham era with the number of long balls we launched into the Wigan area. However, it helped us to get the ball more into the danger zone and it paid off.

Mertersacker atoned his earlier mistake when he adjusted well to meet Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain shot that was going wide to divert it past Carson.

It was a delayed celebration on my part as I was kind of waiting for something that could ruin it: a linesman's raised flag, a whistle indicating a foul in Wigan's favour.

But nothing of that sort happened. The goal stood and I blurted "Yeah!" but it was more of a relief rather than a full blown joy.

It was after all, still 1-1 and anything could happen in the FA Cup.

No more goal was scored until the end of the ninety minutes and the subsequent thirty though Ox could have clinched it with a shot that came off the bar.

I was wishing for a settlement via a goal rather than a penalty shoot-out but my wish was not His command and at the end of extra-time, the score stood at 1-1, our fifth match without a win.

The two Fabianski saves brought loud cheers from me, as were the strikes by Mikel Arteta and Kim Kallstrom. Jean Beausejour and James McArthur found the back of Fabianski's net but Giroud's low strike past Carson set up Cazorla for his most important contribution in the Arsenal shirt.

The Spaniard did not disappoint and it will be the Hull City Tigers for us on May 17.



There were many negative vibes from non-Gooners but I don't care. We are in the final and we have every right to celebrate. We have yet to end the trophy drought but it is something to look forward to, barring any turn of bad event.


COYG!

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