Arsenal made it two FA Cup trophies in as many years, as Wenger’s men comfortably saw off a resilient but not a good enough Aston Villa side in a 4-0 victory at Wembley.
The Gunners enjoyed major share of the possession throughout the final and rightfully deserved the trophy at the end. The win also made Arsenal the most successful English club in the tournaments history, with 12 FA Cups to their name. Fans will no doubt be ecstatic after seeing their team win back-to-back FA Cups after going a surprisingly long time trophyless. Theo Walcott, Alexis Sanchez, Per Mertesacker and Olivier Giroud were all on the scoresheet, as the Londoners ended their season in fantastic style.
Determined Villa defence
Arsenal piled on the pressure right from the get-go, forcing the Villa defense to make some crucial last ditch blocks to prevent going behind. Kieran Richardson and Shay Given in particular were responsible for stopping the Gunners from scoring early on. The former Manchester United youngster, who seems reinvigorated under Tim Sherwood, was Villas best defender on the night, throwing his body to block what would have been sure fire shot on goal. Although Arsenal did score four, it is fair to say that Villa were undeserving of that score line.
Walcott’s form
Maybe a little too late for Walcott, as he ended an injury plagued season in fine form, scoring four in his final two games of the season. The England international opened the scoring with a brilliant volley on his weaker foot. Walcott had a lot of chances throughout the game, but was denied on numerous occasions by incredible stops and saves from Given and his back four. His hat-trick against West Brom in the season’s final league game was rewarded with a place in the starting XI, ahead of Giroud. Walcott will look to carry on his form into next season, hoping to get more game time.
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Sanchez ends the season on a high
When you think of Premier League players who have enjoyed great first seasons, Sanchez could well be on the top of that list. The extremely talented Chilean scored an absolute thunderbolt to double the Gunners lead, a goal well worth of summing-up his season. Sanchez ended his first campaign in English football with 25 goals in his 52 appearances in all competitions for the club, a remarkable record for any newcomer to the Premier League.
Shay Given still has it
Despite his side still managing to concede four against a dominant Arsenal, Given put in one of the best performances of his long career. The Republic of Ireland veteran pulled off some impossible saves to help keep the Villans in the game, a denial of a close-range Laurent Koscielny header was particularly impressive. Given will feel hard done by the score line, but will be more disappointed that he could not add a FA Cup medal, in what might as well be his last FA Cup final. Overall a great cup run from the Irish stopper that included some noteworthy performances.
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Penalty/Free kick claims
Villa were denied a clear free kick as well as a penalty in the final ten minutes of the game. While the score was at 3-0 to the Gunners, Gabby Agbonlahor was brought down right in the edge of the box by the poor challenge of Francis Coquelin, but the referee waved play on. In the final few minutes, Sherwood’s team were once again on the wrong end of the referees decision as young Jack Grealish was clearly brought down inside the box, in what should have been a penalty. The referee again waved play to continue. Villa will feel rather hard done by these two decisions, yet even if the calls had gone their way, it would have taken a miracle for them to come back from three goals down.
Wenger managed to add to his trophy collection at Arsenal with a memorable performance from his team. Villa on the other hand will have to take pride in their Cup run, with much of the credit going towards Tim Sherwood. With a confident manager at the helm, the Villans will fight on in the Premier League next season, after they did well to avoid the drop.
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