A jolly good evening to you. Though one of the best (if not the best) evenings in my life happened yesterday, the photos from today's parade keep me smiling even as I'm writing this.
Oh, did I forget to say it? WE WON THE CUP! And won it in the most Arsenal-ish way possible. The game last night was Arsenal in a nutshell: from a horrendous start to a superb goal that became the winner, we had it all. I'm still overwhelmed with emotion (I suspect, I'll be for quite some time), so I'll break my review in paragraphs.
The first 15 minutes
God, these were reminiscent of Chelsea and Liverpool defeats. Two quick-fire goals from set pieces stunned Arsenal and were it not for Gibbs match-saving clearance from a corner, the game would have ended before it even began.
While their first goal was clearly a training ground move, it still had a touch of good fortune about it. Had the effort from Huddlestone not landed at the feet of Chester, I don't think we would have found ourselves 1-0 down.
The situation only got worse in the 8th minute. Quinn sent in a cross, Bruce (Alex) out-jumped both Koscielny and Giroud, but his shot was palmed away by Fabianski. Only to then be hammered in by Davies from a rebound. Fortunately, Gibbs came to the rescue in the 14th minute to ensure we remained in the game.
Cazorla's free-kick
Slowly, but surely, Arsenal started to get the game under control. In the 17th minute, Cazorla was bundled over near the box and Lee Probert, in what would become one of the few adequate decisions in the entire game, called a foul against Hull. From a resulting free-kick Podolski tricked the Tigers' defence into thinking he would be the one to take the shot, instead Cazorla did. He fired a screamer of an effort into the top corner and the game was on.
Half-time talk
The penalties
Yes, you got it right. The penalties. There were several of them (four, to be exact) and they all had one thing in common: all had not been given. Though Arsenal was turning the preesure dial towards the red zone the entire second half, little came off before Sanogo substituted Podolski. Except these penalties.
There was a clear (and deliberate) handball, Cazorla was first tripped and then bundled over and in-between Giroud was held back. Lee Probert either pretended he didn't notice or he's the blindest man I've ever seen. The fact that he's a professional referee (laughable, right?) prompts me to think it's the former option.
A french tandem
When Sanogo came on, the scale of the fight has changed. Hull's defenders were already dead on their feet, the appearance of a 6'5 foot tall machine of a man was what finally cost the Tigers their dreams.
After making his entrance, Sanogo took off some of the load from Giroud shoulders, enabling both of them to create chances by bumping passes off one another. Needless to say, it was the younger Frenchman, who won the corner-that-wasn't for us (poetic justice, Probert).
However, the way these two strikers interchanged got me thinking. Perhaps, Wenger wants to revert to a more traditional 4-4-2 and Sanogo may become that second spearhead. But not next season. He's still a long way from a finished article, so a striker is a must in the summer.
Extra time
We had chances to kill the game in normal time, but Gibbs and Sanogo blasted wide (the former from a killer position), while Giroud saw his two efforts saved by McGregor. The game went into extra time and again we had the upper hand.
Giroud cracked a header against the bar, Ramsey fired a bazillion efforts over and it seemed like Hull was going to see the game out. Luckily, Arsene Wenger and Aaron Ramsey had other ideas.
Our manager brought on Wilshere and Rosicky for tiring Ozil and Cazorla to add some zip and these two played their roles brilliantly, with the Englishman proving his worth in the 108th minute.
Wilshere passed the ball to Ramsey near the box, and a quick interchange involving the Welshman, Rosicky, Sanogo and Giroud saw the latter poke a backheeled pass into Ramsey's path. The first-time effort from the Welsh Jesus explained why he got that nickname.
The dying seconds
We could have made it 4-2, but it would not have been typical Arsenal. Instead, a mess-up from Mertesacker and Fabianski nearly cost us, but Aluko put his effort wide.
THE CUP
We've got it in the end. Our 9-year trophy wait is over, the players got a big boost and already there are reports suggesting Sagna will stay. Winning does funny things to people, eh?
Finally, a word for Wenger. As much as I was happy for the team, I was twice as happy for our manager. He'll get the plaudits he deserves and his relieved and happy face as he took to the pitch after the final whistle was the best reward for me. Arsene guided this team through a dark period, he stuck to the Club and the players and he deserves every bit of credit he can get. See his happy face below.
That's it, my fellow Gooners. Have yourselves a nice week. I know I will.
Cause it's Arsenal
Oh, did I forget to say it? WE WON THE CUP! And won it in the most Arsenal-ish way possible. The game last night was Arsenal in a nutshell: from a horrendous start to a superb goal that became the winner, we had it all. I'm still overwhelmed with emotion (I suspect, I'll be for quite some time), so I'll break my review in paragraphs.
The first 15 minutes
God, these were reminiscent of Chelsea and Liverpool defeats. Two quick-fire goals from set pieces stunned Arsenal and were it not for Gibbs match-saving clearance from a corner, the game would have ended before it even began.
While their first goal was clearly a training ground move, it still had a touch of good fortune about it. Had the effort from Huddlestone not landed at the feet of Chester, I don't think we would have found ourselves 1-0 down.
The situation only got worse in the 8th minute. Quinn sent in a cross, Bruce (Alex) out-jumped both Koscielny and Giroud, but his shot was palmed away by Fabianski. Only to then be hammered in by Davies from a rebound. Fortunately, Gibbs came to the rescue in the 14th minute to ensure we remained in the game.
Cazorla's free-kick
Slowly, but surely, Arsenal started to get the game under control. In the 17th minute, Cazorla was bundled over near the box and Lee Probert, in what would become one of the few adequate decisions in the entire game, called a foul against Hull. From a resulting free-kick Podolski tricked the Tigers' defence into thinking he would be the one to take the shot, instead Cazorla did. He fired a screamer of an effort into the top corner and the game was on.
Half-time talk
"The manager's speech at half-time was brilliant. [He told us] to keep believing in how we should do it and keep performing.
"He told us to stay calm. We had done the most difficult thing, which was to score the first one [after going two down] so now the game was open, we had plenty of time to do it, we could not rush it."This is what Arteta said post-match and to me this looks like the turning point in how the game unfolded. We had chances to equalise before half-time, but Ozil, Giroud and Podolski all saw their respective shots blocked. Admittedly, those were good moments, but they were far from clear-cut chances we had created in the second half.
The penalties
Yes, you got it right. The penalties. There were several of them (four, to be exact) and they all had one thing in common: all had not been given. Though Arsenal was turning the preesure dial towards the red zone the entire second half, little came off before Sanogo substituted Podolski. Except these penalties.
There was a clear (and deliberate) handball, Cazorla was first tripped and then bundled over and in-between Giroud was held back. Lee Probert either pretended he didn't notice or he's the blindest man I've ever seen. The fact that he's a professional referee (laughable, right?) prompts me to think it's the former option.
A french tandem
When Sanogo came on, the scale of the fight has changed. Hull's defenders were already dead on their feet, the appearance of a 6'5 foot tall machine of a man was what finally cost the Tigers their dreams.
After making his entrance, Sanogo took off some of the load from Giroud shoulders, enabling both of them to create chances by bumping passes off one another. Needless to say, it was the younger Frenchman, who won the corner-that-wasn't for us (poetic justice, Probert).
However, the way these two strikers interchanged got me thinking. Perhaps, Wenger wants to revert to a more traditional 4-4-2 and Sanogo may become that second spearhead. But not next season. He's still a long way from a finished article, so a striker is a must in the summer.
Extra time
We had chances to kill the game in normal time, but Gibbs and Sanogo blasted wide (the former from a killer position), while Giroud saw his two efforts saved by McGregor. The game went into extra time and again we had the upper hand.
Giroud cracked a header against the bar, Ramsey fired a bazillion efforts over and it seemed like Hull was going to see the game out. Luckily, Arsene Wenger and Aaron Ramsey had other ideas.
Our manager brought on Wilshere and Rosicky for tiring Ozil and Cazorla to add some zip and these two played their roles brilliantly, with the Englishman proving his worth in the 108th minute.
Wilshere passed the ball to Ramsey near the box, and a quick interchange involving the Welshman, Rosicky, Sanogo and Giroud saw the latter poke a backheeled pass into Ramsey's path. The first-time effort from the Welsh Jesus explained why he got that nickname.
The dying seconds
We could have made it 4-2, but it would not have been typical Arsenal. Instead, a mess-up from Mertesacker and Fabianski nearly cost us, but Aluko put his effort wide.
THE CUP
We've got it in the end. Our 9-year trophy wait is over, the players got a big boost and already there are reports suggesting Sagna will stay. Winning does funny things to people, eh?
Finally, a word for Wenger. As much as I was happy for the team, I was twice as happy for our manager. He'll get the plaudits he deserves and his relieved and happy face as he took to the pitch after the final whistle was the best reward for me. Arsene guided this team through a dark period, he stuck to the Club and the players and he deserves every bit of credit he can get. See his happy face below.
That's it, my fellow Gooners. Have yourselves a nice week. I know I will.
Cause it's Arsenal