Tag Archives: FA Cup Final

Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea: Vote for Player Ratings/MotM!

12 FA Cups, and I'm still thirsty. Should've had one more pint…

While last season’s FA Cup was a bum-clenching, nail-biting spectacle that took every ounce of belief, determination, and, yes, time that we could find, this one felt altogether different. For long, long stretches, it seemed that it was all Aston Villa could do to hold us at bay as we tested Shay Given time and time again only for him to turn in vital saves or get bailed out by last-ditch blocks from his defenders. Still, there was an electricity in the air, an anticipation—we were not going to struggle to find chances, nor would the keeper turn in a blinder. At some point, the flood walls would break. And break they did.

When Theo, playing through the middle for the second match in a row, found the back of the net in the 40th minute, leaping over a sprawling, desperate defender to blast home on a leaping half-volley, inevitability kicked in. This was going to be a romp. We didn’t have to wait long for the second goal. Or the third. Yes, we did have to wait until stoppage-time for the fourth, but by then the party was in full swing. That second goal came five minutes after half-time as Alexis collected the ball about 30 yards out. Özil ran past on the wing, dragging two defenders away with him. Someone forgot to remind the Villans that Alexis cuts to the right, which he did and unleashed as scorching shot that flew in, glancing under the crossbar in a manner reminiscent of Cazorla’s goal against Hull. For the third, because we always score from corners, Cazorla sent it in and Mertesacker lost Benteke to head it home. Not to be outdone, Giroud came on and, after Ox offered his customary I’m-in-the-box-and-got-fouled, routine, he collected the ball and found Giroud at the near-post. Game, set, and match.

For the second week in a row, we’ve seen a swash-buckling performance that led to four goals. Whether this “proves” that Theo can play through the middle on a regular basis is another question for another day. For now, exult in the fact that, after a trophy-drought that lasted almost a decade, we’ve now won three of them in 12 months. We even had a sniff of second place in a season in which we suffered so many early injuries that it seemed like we were performing a Monty Python-esque parody of an Arsenal season. The emergence of Coquelin might stand as the story of the season; all but forced into the starting lineup after injuries to Arteta, Flamini, and Wilshere, among others, le Coq blocked more attempts at penetration than anyone else, averaging 3.7 interceptions per game. Whether this proves that he is a long-term answer to our needs in defensive midfield is, again, another question for another time.

Set aside the questions and banish the doubts for now. We’ve gone to Wembley in the merry month of May, and we’ve won the world’s oldest footballing competition for a record twelfth time, so many times in fact that it seems they’ll be renaming the FA Cup itself after our own stadium. I’m only half-kidding. Corporate sponsors be damned, at least it’s no longer sponsored by an abomination of a beverage that dares to call itself ‘beer’—the liquid I wrung out of my jersey, a tepid, lukewarm swill consisting of my own sweat, that of other Gooners, beer (my own and that of other Gooners), and champagne—was (and always will be) far-more refreshing.

We’ve won the FA Cup. Congratulations, Southampton. You’ll go into Europa League play, and we owe you some gratitude for the services of Theo, Ox, and Chambers. We’ve booked an appearance in next season’s Community Shield against Chelsea, not to mention our own Champions League spot for the 18th consecutive season. Above all, though, we’ve won the FA Cup. Again. Savour it. A question more-pertinent than the previous two: can we go for three in a row?

Arsenal 4-0 Aston Villa: Vote for Player Ratings and MotM!

Arsenal look to make history against Aston Villa…

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Nineteen appearances. Eleven victories. No other club can boast of such a record. If we win on Saturday, we’ll stand alone atop all other clubs in England in the oldest football competition in the world. Between us and history stands Aston Villa, against whom we’ve administered some embarrassing hidings but against whom we’ve also suffered some humbling defeats. Although we’ve drubbed the Villans in recent outings, we still have a score to settle—in my mind, at least.

Yes, we’ve thrashed them in our last two meetings, scoring eight and conceding none. However, something in me still craves justice (or is it revenge?) for the 1-3 loss we suffered a 18 months ago. Ignore the fact that Villa have limped through the last legs of the Prem season, suffering an embarrassing 6-1 defeat to Southampton followed by an even-more ignominious 0-1 loss to long-since relegated Burnley. This is a squad that we had better pummel.

“What about Benteke?” you might ask. Fair question. Aston Villa will likely rely on lumping it forward and lobbing cross after cross after cross (after cross), hoping that Benteke will latch onto at least one of them. However, the last time they tried this, sending in 26 crosses, they could only claim three “accurate” crosses en route to a 5-0 defeat. The real battle, though, will be fought in the midfield, where our defensive midfield will try to shut down the service ahead to Benteke in the first place. If the man can’t win the ball in the air, he’s little more than a friendlier Fellaini. If our midfield, with Coquelin and Ramsey shielding the back-four, can shut down Villa’s Delph, Westwood, and Cleverley, well, we won’t have to worry very much about Benteke.

However.

All it takes is one goal. If Villa can find just onegoal, well, then, that changes everything. They can then hunker down and defend with all ten players and dare us to score. That would pose a problem, wouldn’t it? In recent weeks, after all, Villa have shown that they can be giant-slayers, beating Liverpool 2-1 to get to the final and almost escaping the Etihad only to lose 3-2. They’ve shown that they can hang tough against the best that the Prem can offer.

While it would be all sunshine and lollipops to suggest that we’ll build on this season’s Prem results, coasting to another comfortable win, we should know from a year ago that form goes out the window when it comes to the FA Cup. We’re the cup-holders, it’s true, but that is not necessarily an advantage. The Villans have to feel like knocking us off would do more than just crown them champions an eighth time—overtaking Chelsea and Liverpool along the way—it would vault them towards the top of the Prem table next season.

However (yes, again), we are on a mission. Having let a second-place finish slip through our fingers, we have to feel like we have some unfinished business to attend to. Villa might feel happy to be at Wembley, or they might feel like they have a chance at something bigger. Shouldn’t matter. Whether it be another nail-biting, last-gasp 3-2 win or a smashing, anticlimactic 5-0 cakewalk, we have to go in with a single, obsessive purpose: win the cup.

LAST 3

Arsenal 5-0 Aston Villa (01.02.2015)

Aston Villa 0-3 Arsenal (20.09.2014)

Aston Villa 1-2 Arsenal (13.01.2014)

FACTFILE

The two clubs first clashed on 8 October 1904, a 1-0 win for Woolwich Arsenal.

The two clubs have only met one other time in the FA Cup—a 3-2 win for Arsenal on 29 January 2012.

Aston Villa have beaten Arsenal just once in nine tries, a record of 1-1-7.

INJURIES

Danny Welbeck has been ruled out. That might be all. Seriously.

POSSIBLE STARTING XI

Sczcesny; Monreal, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Bellerin; Coquelin, Cazorla; Alexis, Özil, Walcott; Giroud.

We should pounce all over Villa and put this one to bed early. That’s not idle boasting, by the way.

PREDICTION

Arsenal 3-1 Aston Villa

19 appearances, a 12th FA Cup, and a 49-mile walk.

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Come Saturday, the lucky few among the Gooner diaspora will make their way towards Wembley and take their seats. Some 25,000 strong will represent the rest of us by virtue of their dedication and passion for the club—but what of the hundreds of thousands of us who shout and scream our support from miles and time zones away? Without further ado, I introduce you to Rich Balabuszko, a Chicago Gooner, who has set out on a 49-mile walking in order to arrive at The Globe, Chicago’s best pub for watching Arsenal action, in time to see our lads take on the Villans. Please read on—Rich’s march is raising money for the Starlight Children’s Foundation, and we have a chance at making a meaningful difference in the lives of chronically ill children around the world.

If you want to cut to the chase and make a donation, here’s a link you can use. It offers a brief summary of what Rich is up to and why it matters. The Starlight Foundation strives to make the hospital experiences of chronically ill children more tolerable, more comfortable, and, yes, more enjoyable. More than 60 million children around the world have benefitted from the Foundation’s programs. Gooners who have contributed so far are doing so in amounts relevant to Arsenal’s achievements—$/£49, $/£18.86, $/£19.89, etc. For those of you with a longer attention-span or deeper desire to know where your money is going, read on…

Rich’s connection to Arsenal dates back to some point in the late 1990s when he started watching matches at The Abbey and Ginger’s Ale House. In his words, the other Arsenal fans were not just a bunch of d-bags. Plus, there was the Romford Pele. Pressed for details, Rich would call himself a Gooner from ’round about 1999.

He can therefore count himself as one of the original Chicago Gooners, who were at the time just a bunch of guys who were willing to rebrand their unhealthy, early-morning alcoholism under the guise of supporting a sports team whose matches aired at 7am. I kid. More seriously, Rich has made it a mission of his to proselytize, visiting Gooner-groups in Atlanta, Georgia; Washington, D.C.; Madison, Wisconsin; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Orange County and Fresno, California; Austin, Texas; St. Louis, Missouri; and New Orleans, Louisiana. In short, he already suffers from wanderlust, but he at least has the good sense to wander with purpose.

At some hazy, sourmash-addled point in the recent past, Rich boasted that he “will walk to the Highbury Pub in Milwaukee” if Arsenal make it to the FA Cup final. That’s a trek of some 80 miles (129 kilometers), and that boast was wisely whittled down to a more symbolic 49 miles (79 kilometers). If he walks those 49 miles, in his own words, “Arsenal simply have to win. That is not superstition. It is just a fact.” If Rich has that kind of power over the outcome of Arsenal’s matches, well, he’d better invest in some good walkin’ boots.

It’s rare that we get to combine a distraction with such a valuable mission. Consider how many hours of enjoyment Arsenal has given you over the years. Contrast that against the discomfort, anxiety, and agony of being bed-ridden with a chronic illness, unable to relax or unwind. The Starlight Foundation seeks to make life a little easier for children with life-threatening illnesses by renovating or updating hospital room and providing access to entertainment options that can alleviate the stress, anxiety, and depression that accompany those illnesses.

Whether Arsenal win or lose on Saturday, all of us have a chance to make the most of the moment by donating. Here’s the link again. Click through and make a contribution!