It is here, another FA Cup final for the mighty Arsenal. We’re going for number 14. Mikel Arteta is going for his first as a coach. The young players are going for their first-ever trophy. We have Europe on the line.
It’s different this year and it’s a shame. I’ve never missed an Arsenal FA Cup final. I usually go with my football family, we meet up, get drunk, celebrate or commiserate together, and then it’s a beautiful memory forever locked (even the losses can be fun after).
My Uncle, who is a Leeds fan said to me a few years ago that trophies were about parties. If you’re having a lot of parties, life is good, but if you’re not, then what’s the point?
Arsenal fans might not have had a lot of major-trophy parties of late, but we’re certainly advanced in FA Cup shindigs. This is our trophy, no one has won it as often as us. You feel something in the air whenever we head to Wembley. Wenger took these games very seriously, he loved the FA Cup, and I expect some of that has rubbed off on Arteta, who played as his captain in a winning side. Let’s hope Mikel has a similar relationship with the trophy.
Today is going to be tough, we’re not favourites which is unusual, and the squad of players we have available can be a little bit like that box of chocolates Forest Gump always bangs on about. You don’t know what you’re going to get. However, after thinking about it, under Mikel Arteta, it is more likely than ever that we’ll be picking out a chocolate that doesn’t have a sour liqueur hiding inside.
We’ve beaten United, Liverpool, and City this season. Both our Chelsea games, whilst not optimal, saw solid performances. We’ve had some very good away wins in 2020 as well. Arteta tailors a game plan to the match, the players understand it, and if there are no mistakes, we usually have a pretty good chance of making it very difficult for the other side.
I think we’ll see more of that today. There are rumours that Kieran Tierney is being considered as a centre back today, Ainsley is apparently getting the nod, then it’s with the gods how we set the team up from there.
This isn’t the same game as City or Liverpool. Chelsea has a pretty exciting collection of players that can move the ball through midfield. They play very attractive football at their peak, they are quick on the counter, and they can also pick apart a deep block. They have Olivier Giroud, say what you will about him, but he’ll be motivated, he’s a brilliant link-up striker, and he can score outrageous goals. Willian is in blistering form and along with Kante, is in the squad today.
Their weak spot is in defence. Frank Lampard teams often have a soft underbelly through the middle of the park, and this particular team has struggled with the goalkeeping position. Chelsea actually conceded more goals in the league than Arsenal this season, clocking in at a whopping 54. That is a massive opportunity if you can deal with them going forward. Tough to see how we bring exciting football to unlock their defence after bumming around without a #10 for so long, but we have seen glimpses of good play, particularly the first half against Leicester.
Our challenge is defence, individual errors, and in-game management. We don’t have Mustafi and in this squad, that’s a problem. He’s been huge for us under Mikel, bar a couple of games I think he was fatigued in. There aren’t many good options for us, but nor was there in 2017 when Per Mertesacker and Rob Holding put in a BEASTLY performance for us. The individual errors issue always lurks, our xG has been shocking this season in part because of that, the players know this, and they have to be at their best today to avoid being ‘that guy’ in a final. I also think Lampard has been adept at times at changing things up during the game. Arteta needs to make good decisions when that happens today because Chelsea has more from the bench than we do.
In Arteta’s first run out in the league, a game I attended, we were really unlucky. Callum Chambers picked up a nasty injury, then Frank made some smart changes from the bench and got quite lucky with Jorginho staying on the pitch. The second game we managed to rescue the game with Xhaka and Mustafi sitting on the bench. This is our third crack at Chelsea, arguably the most important on, we have to deliver. Lampard will come with something interesting tactically and we have to counter it, and then move fast to deal with whatever he does in the second phase of the game.
Moments like today define managers and projects. A trophy in your first season, whatever it is, can be absolutely huge. It builds trust from the players, it bonds squads, it builds rapport with the fans, creates forward momentum, and it’s just a beautiful feeling to know you’re on the right path.
This is massive.
Enjoy the game, have fun with your friends and families, let’s make some memories of a different kind today.
Big love from everyone at Le Grove, COME ON YOU GUNNERS xx
“Hope he doesn’t get tempted to sub in Nkettiah”
Don’t tempt fate.
Yeah comparing Tierney with Bellerin is night and day
Game after game we’re on here saying what a player Tierney is. Who says FBs can’t be really influential?
The only one to watch out from their team is the american. Cant back off when he runs at you.
Dissenter
Tbh , runs behind their backline is creating chances for us. And Eddie is better at that than Nketiah.
Arteta has realised that we were outnumbered in midfield so AMN has been brought and tucked in to help in midfield.
Was it Tierney again who provided that ball to Auba?
Eddie is better at that than Nketiah
————————-
Definitely………
London Gunner
Bellend must be a goner for next season.
His injury has killed off his only asset: speed.
We now get to see how crap a defender he is.
Need to make our pressure count.
Nketiah had a decent cameo coming on against Watford.
If Lacazette continues not to show throwing in Eddie for him is not the worst idea
Val
That was the gameplan from the start.
No nketiah please god
Ian Wright loves us see him celebrate
Ashley Cole was annoyed the Judas
Than Lacazette *
😂
And Eddie is better at that than Nketiah.
Lool save the drinks for if we win
The thing I’m happiest to see about Pepe today isn’t just that he looks so dangerous but that he’s been throwing himself about and really heavily involved. Working extremely hard on top of the quality on the ball.
He’s laying down a marker if he can do this for us against Chelsea now, he needs to be doing this on the regular and we’ll have a really really good player on our hands
I would personally take off Bellend , put Amn rwb and Saka Lwb.
Pulisic and Kovacic giving their team a platform to launch their attacks from.
China
Pepe is causing problems but again he is so extremely rough around the edges.
He has to improve his overall game and application for him to be a success at Arsenal.
Lacazette is possibly doing a good job for the manager with his off the ball movement to make space for Aubamayang and AMN to utilise the space.
DB10
Funny thing with bellerin was that even with the pace he was still shit because pace with no end product is still no end product.
Can probably count the amount of good crosses in one hand he has done in his arsenal career.
He also has a habit of pausing with the ball not knowing quite what to do and so just doing a simple side pass or back pass to pepe.
Pepe has Bellerin on his side who instead of providing makes a point to move the ball elsewhere.
By the way what is Xhaka our passenger of the day doing ?
Valentin
“Bastituta,Pepe has technique, but outside of his second post cross he never release his teammates in space.
The only other Arsenal players who have been off colour are Bellerin and Lacazette”.
You mean like the through ball to AMN where AMN tried to dribble Azpi that went for goalkick… Shocker.
Pepe looks a better player when he receives the ball higher up.
Get him a proper midfield.
Cebalous has won me over
Lacazette is possibly doing a good job for the manager with his off the ball movement
That’s a stretch. He looks goosed
Ishola
Pepe is rough around the edges sure.
But he is a diamond in the rough.
Hope Arteta can work his magic on him just like Sterling and Sane.
Yep Pepe has been making a nuisance of himself and getting involved, he is causing Chelsea problems. Fantastic strike for the disallowed goal, hope he has another one like that in him today. Someone here commented he is one dimensional and predictable, on the evidence of today he can be quite the opposite, where he brought the ball down and killed it dead and then did a trick to deceive the Chelsea defender, he is perhaps the only player we have capable of pulling off moves like that. I do think we will see much more good things from him… Read more »
Hardly a shock that Cole prefers Chelsea is it?
WengerEagle
Prediction?
Ishola
The problem is Nketiah is pretty shite.
Ishola in general sure, yeah today Pepe has been excellent.
They lost their best defender. They also have a few yellow cards. Pepe can force them to take another yellow.
Pepe’s erratic and a turnover machine.
He’s definitely a threat though and gives us some spark.
I want to see better character from Pepe overall though going forward.
If he improves character with the talent he has then he will be of very good benefit
Sticking to my pre-match 2-1 pick Leeds, as ambitious as it may be haha.
We cannot start poorly in 2H like we often do.
C’mon boys.
Arteta coaching them up all the way out to the pitch.. Let’s go.. make the Gothic Jersey font count. Love that look.
I hope we don’t start laboured in this half as we have a habit of doing
Pulisic hamstring gone!!! Yes
Pulisic is Off
China
Pepe has done some poor things today as well as being a threat.
He needs to improve overall and that includes today’s game.
That’s if we want to see an undoubted top player
Hopefully Pulisic is done for the day (speedy recovery tho)
Pulisic has done his hamstring.
Hate to see it
Good another one injured.
Yes another hammy!
it went before he shot. What a legend rate him for that
Pulisic’s weakness. is he gets injured easily.. Hammy done
Pulisic hammy?
Pulisic doing a Michael owen
See another brain farting defending? Holding and Luiz chasing shadows playing high line
thank you whomever made the Pulisic voodoo doll….
Feel for the lad.
Good for us though.
Bellerin and Holidng need to sort themselves out. Bumping into each other’s quite often. Same again in the 2H.
Honestly. Another Chelsea hammy is good result wise. God bless his hammy though.
Pulisic going off will be a real blessing for us.
The good thing is Pepe definitely looks hungry today
Both Holding and Xhaka are so slow.
Fuck the yank
Tierney ankle in trouble it seems.
Saka. Warm up.
Feel for the lad.Good for us though
Was about to say the same.
Pedro loves to play in Finals.
Holding showing exactly why we’ll sell him this summer btw, not at it again.
Pulisic out with a hammy!!! Yes!!!
Fuck off Chelski!!!
Thoughts and prayers!
Chelsea’s technical level drops a pretty hefty percentage now.
We’re even more in this now. Thank god Willian is injured because he is the other half-space baller they had.
If we cannot win now, then I dont know
The intangibles are with us today.
Keep tearing those hammies you chavs
Holding spared blushes. Pulisic out?
Nelson
Add Luiz , Ceballos to that list too.
well Pulisic has been logging heavy minutes lately
too bad
Holding is so so slow. OMG. Beat by a 33yo Pedro ffs.
Holding is just a fool, a little different from kola
Holding is getting ripped apart .
Well that’s a result Pulisic out.
Fuck. Every ball to Bellerin it’s heading toward Martinez next.
Rudiger and Zouma have a major gaffe in them, you can smell it.
Holding needs some help.It seems they want to run at him all of the second half.
Pedro is still very dangerous if he is in the mood
We need to push further up. They look shit-scared at the back.
Pepe should do more of this run.
Pepe is taking over center mid… good
Pepe is having a balance problem, he’s not just balanced on the ball,
Chelsea’s defense is afraid of Pepe.
Middle and left side
Caballero isn’t top notch. Let’s test him more. C’mon.
Really concerned about Holding.
Our right side is ripe for the picking.
A rusty Holding and an out of form Bellerin are being skinned.
Maybe shift AMN to the right and bring Saka on the left ?
Yeah Pulisic represented a triple threat
Pace
Technical/dribbling
Finishing
Pedro has a good longer range shot though.
Dunno what’s up with Lacazette today. Looks like he has cement boots on
We are making same mistake we made in d first few minutes of first half again
Laca weighed down by that beard. Shave it if off lad.
Need a change.
Arteta’s got to do something before it costs us
Taking a biy casually now..need to focus
Laca really stinking it out
Pepe doing well. Keep going and take shots. You can score man.
Nelson for Laca ….
Need better pressing and crossing
Come on Laca you podgy little dwarf shut us all up and smash in a winner now.
Love Luiz shit housing giroud. You can’t let the biggerman bully the game
We are allowing them in
Need to get Lacca off
Chelsea being shitter may actually work against us.
Puts the onus on us and we just expose our shitness when we have the ball too much.