Arsenal and Manchester City will battle it out at Wembley Stadium this evening for a place in the showcase finale of the FA Cup.
Both teams have a great history in this competition with the Gunners having won it a record 13 times, whereas the Citizens, who are the defending champions, have lifted the trophy on 6 occasions.
Good day one all.
Arsenal come into this game on the back of a 2-1 victory over Liverpool. And whilst it may not have been pretty it will certainly have given a boost to morale heading into this match, especially after disappointment of defeat in the North London derby.
Mikel Arteta furrowed a few brows with his matchday XI for that Reds clash, but it may well be that he prioritises the FA Cup as it now represents our best route into European football. And should we manage to win the competition it’d be quite a special way to cap off the season, considering everything that has happened throughout this season.
Be that as it may, the odds aren’t exactly in Arsenal’s favor, having lost each of our last seven meetings against City. However, the last time these two teams met in the FA Cup it was the Gunners that came out on top, winning 2-1 at this same stage before beating Chelsea with the same score to lift the trophy in the 2016/17 edition.
So while there will be plenty of crossed fingers to see a repeat of that, getting past the Citizens won’t be easy. We have already lost 3-0 to them in both Premier League matches and may need to try something other than taking them on in their own game. Which seem to be the thinking of our head-coach:
“Like any other team, they have some weaknesses […] and as well, it’s about stopping their strengths, which they have a lot of. This is part of any game plan, it’s not about City or any other opponent that we’re facing, and tomorrow we will do exactly the same.”
On the other hand, Pep Guardiola has not been in a good mood lately. He had quite the rant telling everybody how he feel unfairly victimised at the hands of UEFA and he may need a bit of time, or a rather sizeable transfer kitty to get over it. But for now there’s matters of the day.
Man City come into this match on the back of a 2-1 win over relegation-threatened Bournemouth, that put them on a run now of three-straight wins following a shock defeat to Southampton. In fact, since that loss at Saints they have scored 12 goals and conceded just once in their last three outings.
For that last match Pep, just like his Spanish counterpart, rested a few key players who could come back in as they look to continue their superb run against Arsenal.
That either Chelsea or Man United will be waiting in the final makes this clash even more special, and there is simply no diluting it’s importance for both sides who will look to finish their domestic campaigns on a high.
Team news
Man City are without goalkeeper Claudio Bravo and Sergio Agüero. Whilst Eddie Nketiah will once again miss out for Arsenal through suspension, as well as Cédric Soares, who is cup-tied. Other than that, there are no fresh injury concerns from our last match.
Prediction
The Gunners will feel good about their chances after that victory midweek, but it’s also so hard to ignore the Citizens’ strong record against us. So if we are to get the better of them today… things may need to get a bit agricultural. COYG!
— @LaboGoon
Positively Arsenal 
Fantastic stuff Labo. We have a punchers chance.
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Thanks Labo, going to be very tough, but there is hope.
Think we are due something spectacular from Auba
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Quietly confident
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Jose’s philosophy : ‘for 90 minutes you have to be a c**t to be a winner’
What it means : for every single game you play you have to be a c**t…and every training session is preparation for that, and most of the guidance I give…and every press conference I give.
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This season’s Cazorla would get into this midfield.
Given the carnage left in Raul’s wake George and Shotts’ concerns are not unreasonable.
But Arteta and this group have shown fight after a derby defeat and that was great to see.
a slim chance against City tonight,
Looks like AMN at LWB, with one plan allowing Saka, being well managed (he’s 18 and can’t start all the time) to be unleashed somewhere, wherever required, in the second half.
hopefully Pep has upset the FA more then the Arsenal of late heh just kidding I think.
COYG.
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I can’t see any possible way we can win today fortunately this is the cup and anything can happen COYG.
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WELL this looks nice…
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HT: Arsenal 1-0 Man City
so far so good, Aubameyang getting our goal after good build up play, city well on top, but we have had another couple of chances to extend our lead
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Actually enjoying our play we are calm and not lunching into the player to get the ball; actually winning balls off city… which is refreshing for a change
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7 minutes of added time to be played
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FT: Arsenal 2-0 Man City
Aubameyang with our two goals, we are in the final in two weeks time.
An outstanding performance, the defending was of the highest quality, and PEA took the two goals outstandingly
come on you gooners
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David Luiz Man of the Match….
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Stunning performance, when you consider the opponent , their resources , the ability of their players, and our recent record against them
What a week it’s been, disappointed after Spurs, but beating two of the best teams going, I dont mind admitting I never believed they would win these two.
Everyone in the shirt was absolutely immense, And the needed to be with some of the pressure we were under at times, well done Arteta and the team, absolutely incredible.
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Played really well. Stifled City completely. Well taken goals by Auba.
On to the finals. Deserved winners.
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That was something else.
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Don’t want to single anyone out after that amazing team performance, but As we always thought in here, Xhaka is just a bit decent
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Well what do I know I thought a win was implausible or even impossible but like I said earlier anything is possible in the cup.
The lads played Mikel’s game to perfection after a very shaky start.
Once again COYG.
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Hope any betting types in here took note of my 10.06 post this morning, and not my posts earlier in the week when I feared a bit of a beating from one or both City and Liverpool
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Arteta switched Tierney with Niles after the drinks break, to exploit Foden coming on, and then switched them back after the goal he was hunting for? I think we all saw it.
Incredible (the nut meg)
Wonderful (the two vintage goals)
Arteta’s Arsenal.
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Both finishes were incredible
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Incredible. Proud. Thankful. The superlatives and emotions were flowing from Mikel Arteta after he masterminded our Emirates FA Cup semi-final victory over Manchester City.
Our head coach expressed his regret that our fans weren’t at Wembley to share the moment, and he lavished praise on our players for their Herculean effort against Pep Guardiola’s side, an effort that showed the chemistry and camaraderie that’s being forged in the squad.
“I am really thankful to the players for the effort they are putting in, the performances they are putting in, the chemistry that they are generating,” Arteta told Arsenal Digital.
“They are trying to play every week, every day. It doesn’t matter, we have players with injections, players that were sick, but they’re willing to play. At the moment I have a feeling that I can pick anybody that is ready to play and perform at that level.
“We made five or six changes the other day, we made the same again today and look at the level of all of the players.
“I’m so happy today. To beat [City] in a semi-final and to beat the best two teams in Europe probably in three or four days is something I am very proud of.
“I am sorry for the fans because we could’ve enjoyed a beautiful moment today with them. They are not here but I just want to tell them that we are thinking about them.”
Arteta sprang a minor surprise by selecting Ainsley Maitland-Niles at left wing-back – but the decision paid dividends.
“Absolutely, [he was magnificent],” said our head coach. “And I was sure about that with the way he’s training, the way he’s changed his mentality and his mindset.
“He has everything, he has great qualities, I believe in him. I had to give him opportunities and today he took it with both arms. He had a really good performance.
“It feels incredible. I’m so proud today. To bring the club back into a final… we’ll see who we will face but now we make sure we finish the league the way we should.”
Copyright 2020 The Arsenal Football Club plc. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to http://www.arsenal.com as the source.
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Arteta on transfers: “We are having a lot of internal conversations. It’s about the conditions we have. If we are in Europe it will help but we have to be patient.”
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Mikel Arteta was all smiles when he sat down for his virtual press conference after Saturday’s fantastic win over Manchester City – and his old friend Pep Guardiola.
Our head coach was asked about a memorable week for the club, experiencing Wembley without fans, the post-match celebrations… and, as usual, the future of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Read on for some of the key quotes:
on trusting the process…
Yes, we are really happy for what happened in the last four or five days, to beat probably the best two teams in Europe is not an easy thing to do. A lot of credit goes to the players for what they are doing and the performances and the level of fight and decision-making they are showing on the pitch.
on if the experience of Wembley is different without fans…
Yes, one of the best things about Wembley is the atmosphere before the game, during the game and all of the protocols that are in place on the day, but we didn’t have them. Obviously we miss our fans a lot, we wanted to have a beautiful day with them but I’m sure they will have enjoyed that from home.
on the need to spend in the summer and whether winning the FA Cup could help with that…
Listen, we have had a lot of conversations and we always agreed with the plan that we have in place, and the current vision is very clear. It’s about the possibilities that we are going to have and at the moment we have some uncertainties. The way we finish the season, if we are in Europe or we win it [the FA Cup], it will obviously help because financially we will be stronger and that’s why we have to be a little bit patient.
on the celebrations in the dressing room…
They are so happy because we had a big task in front of us today against such a big team and we’ve done it, so they are really proud. The chemistry we are generating between them is fantastic and the way they are fighting for each other too. At the moment I have the feeling that I can play any of those players and they are going to respond and they are going to perform. We changed a few players from when we played on Wednesday and when we played today, and look at the way that they are performing.
on whether he would rather face Manchester United or Chelsea…
I’m going to watch the game tomorrow and use that game to get something out of it. I don’t know, it’s not our decision. We’ve done what we had to do today and now we need to prepare for the final against one of those opponents.
on whether nights like this will help convince Aubameyang to stay…
I think it will help everybody. These beautiful moments are always better than the bad ones and when I look at him and speak to him he sounds pretty convinced, but obviously if he can see the success and direction that we’re taking is the right one, I think he will be more positive about it, yes.
on Aubameyang’s tweet about his goalscoring record against big teams…
Yeah, but it’s like it with David [Luiz]. Big players [get criticised] more than any others and even when they do well, people are going to criticise you, but he showed today on the pitch. Not from talking, but on the pitch.
Copyright 2020 The Arsenal Football Club plc. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to http://www.arsenal.com as the source.
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will we see Mesut Ozil play for us again this season, he did not make the squad today, but Matt Smith a young midfielder who has yet to make his first team debut was included. with Cedric and Nketiah available for our next game, that puts even more doubt as to Ozil’s inclusion in our remaining 3 games.
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Arsenal great Bob Wilson has tweeted
#AFCvMCFC goals scored in 19 and 71 minutes! What a good omen #1971Double
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New post is up.
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