Arsenal retained the FA Cup in majestic style as their 4-0 demolition of
Aston Villa in Saturday’s final made history for the Gunners and their
manager Arsene Wenger.Wenger’s side swept Villa aside with a
swashbuckling display sparked by Theo Walcott’s first half opener and
illuminated by a sublime strike from Alexis Sanchez to double their lead
after the interval.
Per Mertesacker and substitute Olivier Giroud also got on the scoresheet
for the rampant north Londoners to seal Arsenal’s second trophy in 12
months with the biggest margin of victory in an FA Cup final since 1994.
It was a suitably memorable performance on a historic day which saw
Wenger become the first manager in the post-War period to win the
competition six times, a tally matched by only George Ramsey, who won
the last of his with Villa in 1920.
There was another significant slice of history for Arsenal as they
lifted the famous old trophy for the 12th time, moving them ahead of
Manchester United as the most successful club in the competition.
Wenger insisted this week that he doesn’t know where he keeps his
medals, but he now has a ninth major honour of his 19-year reign at
Arsenal to add to the collection.
“I am very proud. Our club is doing well and if I can personally do well
then it’s even better,” Wenger said of his historic landmark.
“We have shown that we are a real team and can deal with pressure. I
congratulate the players, the staff and the fans. We are so happy.”
Arsenal had conceded twice in a disastrous opening eight minutes against Hull in last year’s final.
But there was no sign of such a fraught start this time as Arsenal
quickly established their smooth passing rhythm to pen Villa deep inside
their own half.
Sanchez was at the heart of all their best moments and he worked space
to clip a cross towards Laurent Koscielny, whose header forced a fine
one-handed save from Shay Given.
Aaron Ramsey should have scored when a fortunate deflection presented
him with a clear sight of goal just inside the penalty area, yet the
Arsenal midfielder couldn’t hit the target with a rushed effort.
Villa, appearing in their first FA Cup final since 2000, seemed
completely bewildered by the speed and movement of Arsenal’s attacks.
They were prised open when Mesut Ozil’s ball in the six-yard box was met
by Walcott with a lunging volley that looked goalbound until Kieran
Richardson threw himself into a last-ditch block.
source:Vanguard
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