Wenger’s future in balance
london — Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was in the dark about his future even after steering his side to a magnificent 2-1 victory over Chelsea in the FA Cup final.
Chelsea were chasing a Premier League and FA Cup Double, but instead the double was Arsenal’s: a record 13th FA Cup success and an unprecedented seventh triumph in the competition for Wenger.
Wenger’s future, which has been up in the air for months, will be settled at a board meeting on Tuesday, but the 67-year-old said he could not say for certain whether or not the club’s decision-makers will back him.
“I don’t think I can answer that question at the moment,” he told reporters at Wembley after Saturday’s game.
Wenger is reported to have been offered a new contract, but when asked if he knows what will happen, he replied: “No. I know my mind. Let’s enjoy the win tonight and not worry about the future.”
The Gunners coach was also dismissive of the notion that his recordbreaking FA Cup success, after previous wins in 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2014 and 2015, might have an impact on the talks about his position. While Wenger won his seventh FA Cup at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal captured the trophy for a record 13 times
“I believe that it’s a positive trend, but it would be ridiculous if 20 years depends on one game or the future of the club depends on one game,” he said.
In the final, Chelsea made a woeful start and were behind after four minutes to Alexis Sanchez’s hugely controversial opener but when Diego Costa levelled in the 76th minute it seemed the fates were with the Blues despite playing with 10 men.
Conte’s side had to play the last 20 minutes a man down after Victor Moses was dismissed following a second yellow card awarded for diving. They responded to that setback but Ramsey’s 79th minute header knocked the stuffing out of Chelsea and Arsenal could have extended their lead when Mesut Ozil hit the post.
Wenger, who failed to finish in the top four in the Premier League for the first time since taking charge in 1996, celebrated with his players in front of the massed red ranks of Arsenal fans at the end.
“We had an outstanding performance from the first minute onwards,” the out-of-contract 67-yearold, who said his future will become clearer next week, said.
“This team has suffered. They’ve united and responded. I said last week this team will be in the championship with one or two good buys. They showed strength and unity and played spectacular football today.”
Conte said the game swung on Sanchez’s goal being allowed and the Moses red card but admitted his side had started slowly.
“The start was not good enough,” the Italian said. “They started better than us. The goal after four minutes was clear handball by Sanchez. But our start wasn’t good.” Sanchez’s goal was a confusing affair.
First he appeared to block the ball back into the danger area with his hands before running on to shoot past Thibaut Courtois with Chelsea’s defence frozen.
Referee Anthony Taylor initially disallowed it but after consulting with assistant Gary Bewsick, who had raised his flag, he signalled a goal to spark Arsenal celebrations.
As well as handball, there was a suspicion that Ramsey, standing metres offside but deemed not to be interfering, had made a move towards the ball.
When Moses was dismissed for a theatrical dive, Chelsea’s hopes looked shot but a few minutes later they levelled when Costa’s weaklyhit shot brushed off the excellent Mertesacker and past the flat-footed Ospina.
Arsenal did not buckle though and went back in front when Chelsea’s defence went AWOL, allowing Ramsey the freedom of the box to head substitute Olivier Giroud’s cut-back past Courtois. —