Arsenal’s relatively flawless run to Wembley Maybe you’ve heard this by now – Arsenal are going to Wembley. A season that started with a lot of question marks is getting increasingly interesting as Arsenal continue their trek to trying to shed the 9 year weight (and wait) of winning silverware. The hopes that came with signing Mesut Özil at the start of the season combined with an impressive start to the season are close to being realized. Arsenal dispatched Everton in affair that after further look wasn’t really as close as it seemed at first. During the match I felt it was always a close match. The rationale I think was linked to the normal negative thought process that has filled Gooners through the barren years. Mainly, if there is a way we will find a way to cock it up. And when Everton went to draw the match at 1-1, you would be forgiven if you sighed and said to yourself (or out loud) “here we go again.” But this season has been bathed in moments when “here we go again” never really happened. Yes, there have been some, but they have been infrequent. This time, instead of “here we go again” Arsenal turned it up when they had to and through their own actions and hunger created opportunities to advance in the tournament. Oxlade-Chamberlain fighting into the box and drawing the penalty a prime example of this. Arsenal were prying away at Everton. The Ox as is his style directly attacked the box and Barry took him down. Martinez would later call it a soft penalty but if he really looks at it, Barry never gets the ball and he clearly clangs Ox’s leg instead. The ensuing double-penalty was another example of the continuing evolution to this Arsenal side. Arteta rifled home his first chance only to find that Clattenburg had called it back due to Giroud’s encroachment. Arteta instead of going for the low hard shot again, goes upper corner which was more skill but done with the same kind of cool steely determination needed to make those shots. Again, I am often worried that we’ll find a way to mess this up. But in this match I wasn’t. Arsenal have been solid not only in the league at home but during the FA Cup as well. In the 4 FA Cup matches they have scored 12 goals and conceded 2. 3 of the 4 opponents in their cup run are top 4 challengers. It’s a run that as impressive as it is, also needed a little luck. Who knows what would’ve happened had Webb called the second Suarez penalty. But title and cup winning runs are littered with moments of luck. Arsenal managed to go up 2-0 on Liverpool before the Scousers decided to try and make a show of it. Arsenal will undoubtedly be favorites for the cup. But as our own history shows us, it is littered with moments where we were favorites and failed to achieve anything – and before you say those were down to Wenger – our history goes well beyond Wenger. I’ve seen people on social media and on this blog argue that if Arsenal don’t beat Wigan and beat the winner of Hull v Sheffield United, that Wenger should be fired. First, we should all once again remember that anything can happen in football. Ask Manchester City. At the Etihad the’ve been nearly unbeatable. And even after going down 2-0, many still felt that City would turn it up and win or at least force a replay. But for the second year in a row, it was Wigan – who would be relegated after beating City in the final last season and Championship side Wigan who would take 2 from 2 against City in the FA Cup. I would warn anyone about thinking that beating Wigan is a forgone conclusion. It is for sure maybe an “easier” task than the struggle with City would’ve been but it won’t be easy. Still, given the focus and intent of this club in these matches it’s been an impressive run. Part of it is likely due to the level of opposition they’ve played. With the exception of Coventry, Arsenal have squared off against familiar opponents. Starting against Spurds, gave some people cause for concern but in the end they were barely tested and looked clearly above their opponents in class. We mentioned our luck against Liverpool but we were also much better then we were in the league against them. And against Everton it was a 50/50 game but in hindsight we looked quite composed and assured of taking the match. The run is also impressive given the commotion everyone seems to be making game in and game out about Wenger’s team selections. I don’t think I can remember one match where anyone hasn’t been critical of Wenger’s chosen lineups. The furor against Liverpool was amazingly vociferous but in all cases – especially that one, he has gotten it right. Wenger gets more criticism then praise and as a manager of a club like Arsenal that’s par for the course. If he manages to get Arsenal FA Cup, the question you have to ask are both Arsenal and Arsene Wenger back? The better question is – were they ever really gone? That’s for another time maybe. You also need to take a good hard look at the players who have stepped up in every FA Cup match. Lukasz Fabianski is off this summer but he is putting his heart and soul into this cup run and if we win it will have played a big part in that. Mesut Özil has endured criticism after criticism of late but yesterday was another example of how good he can be. He was doing everything he needed to do to win this match. His hustle when the counter broke for the first goal and the coolness with which he took the shot and scored reflect a player with ice in their veins. And then his assist for Giroud’s second looked simple in the way that a Fabrege Egg looks but we know it isn’t. The one touch pass from Özil to Giroud was perfectly place and perfectly weighted and the whole combination was a thing of beauty but the assist was just class. Özil will only get better – you only need look at his growth arc at Madrid to know this. Like Fabianski, if we win the FA Cup you can bet Özil will have a lot to say about it. Focusing on two player seems unjust and unfair to the rest and the fact is it’s been a whole team effort to get us to the Semis. On this blog we have talked about Arsenal’s title winning credentials. We’ve mentioned that Arsenal can win the title but the question is will they? Some aren’t clear on what that means. Suffice it to say Arsenal based on where they are can surely contend for the title but given the lean squad, it’s still a big question mark if they will. That’s why the FA Cup still looks their best bet for silverware this year. Given the impressive nature of their run – maybe it’s time we all started to believe.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 18:29:09 +0000
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