ARTETA GUNNERS BLITZ WITH AUBA
HOW do you outwit the great wizard of modern football? The answer for Arsenal has been to put the sorcerer’s apprentice in charge of their team – and last night it won them a place in the FA Cup Final. Mikel Arteta learned so much sitting beside Pep Guardiola as his apprentice in the past few years, and he learned the lessons so well that his Arsenal team subdued and then outwitted favourites Manchester City in this intriguing semi-final at desertedwembley.
Victory for Arteta’s team was no fluke. It was the result of an intelligently and diligently applied game plan that tamed the talents of City.
And it came courtesy of two superbly taken goals by striker Pierre-emerick Aubameyang, who showed far more composure with his chances than City’s players did with their few clear-cut opportunities.
There was a goal in each half, and with this sharpness he will be feared by whichever opponent Arsenal face in the final next month, whether Chelsea or Manchester United.
Victory for Arsenal was forged at the back, though, as they sat deep, setting up road blocks on the road to their goal.
Their defence was narrow, with five players in a line on the edge of their penalty area, and the rest in a tight semi-circle ahead of that.
The effect was to deny any space to City, frustrating the dancing feet of Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez.
For a few minutes it looked a risky and even desperate tactic. In fact, it was perfect, with the added bonus that it seemed to lull Guardiola’s team into a false sense of security.
City’s own defenders looked like sleepwalkers, thinking the match would be a cakewalk for them.the mood was set, and it helped the Gunners.
Suddenly, one pass forward in the 16th minute put Aubameyang running clear on the City goal, but the striker fired his shot straight at goalkeeper Ederson. The warning wasn’t heeded.
Three minutes later the Gunners were ahead with a neatly worked move out from the back that involved 18 passes and 10 different players.
The final cross from the right by Nicolas Pepe found Aubameyang free at the far post and he deftly guided the ball into the net. City’s defence were also culpable, Kyle Walker failing to appreciate the danger of Aubameyang behind him.
At the drinks break Guardiola was fiercely animated. His anger was plain and justified; his side were lacking their usual zip and accurate passing. Only a good save from Ederson prevented another goal for Arsenal just before half-time when Shkodran Mustafi’s header from a corner was tipped over by the City keeper.
In contrast, a harsh and hard truth for City, there had been no save for Arsenal keeper Emi Martinez to make in the first half. Ilkay Gundogan had been anonymous in midfield and Kevin De Bruyne unusually subdued.
The Belgian picked up the pace after the break, setting up Sterling, who shot wide, and then drove a free-kick a whisker past the post.as the pressure from City intensified, David Silva went close and Guardiola introduced Phil Foden from the bench in place of the struggling Mahrez.
A City goal seemed inevitable – but it came for Arsenal instead on another intelligent and swift counter-attack in the 70th minute led by English youngster Ainsley Maitland-niles.
The final pass once again sent Aubameyang racing clear of a sleepy City defence and he scored with cool precision.arteta jumped in delight on the touchline, and no wonder. His strategy for the game had worked brilliantly.
It meant pain for his former boss Guardiola, who was trying to create some more history for City. If the holders could have won the trophy this season they would have become only the fifth team in 130 years to win the FA Cup in consecutive seasons. Newcastle, Tottenham, Arsenal and Chelsea are those clubs; it is a feat that has eluded Manchester United and even the mighty Sir Alex Ferguson. Thanks to Arteta it has also proved too much even for Pep’s wizardry.