Asenal won a record-extending 14th FA Cup title after beating Chelsea 2-1 in the final at the Wembley Stadium. Captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice to help them fight back from 1-0 down after Christian Pulisic put Chelsea in the lead in the fifth minute.
Arsenal rallied to win their record-extending 14th FA Cup title after Pierre-Emerick Aubamyang scored a brace to help the Gunners beat Chelsea in the final on Saturday at the Wembley. Christian Pulisic had put the Blues ahead in the fifth minute of the contest.
It was Chelsea who had started the match on the front foot. Even after taking the lead, they kept Arsenal at bay and commendably avoided the little threats that Mikel Arteta’s team threw at them.
However, the balance shifted after the drinks break in the opening half. Arsenal upped their ante and unsettled Chelsea with more possession and greater intent on their attacks. Their efforts paid dividends within five minutes when Aubamyang was put down by Cesar Azpilicueta in Chelsea’s box.
The Gabonese striker converted the resulting penalty with an ease to bring parity into the contest. From then onwards, Arsenal took the momentum away from Chelsea and emerged as the better team.
Also, bad refereeing added more miseries to Chelsea’s cause. Among the many poor decision from the on-field official Anthony Taylor, the most controversial ones were showing Mateo Kovacic two yellow cards and eventually sending him off after his tackled with Xhaka. However, replays showed that in the second challenge the latter was in offeence.
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s woes continued as Frank Lampard’s men saw three injured players leaving the ground in the course of 90 minutes. Azpilicueta was the first to pull his hamstring in the first half, followed by Pulisic minutes later. The last one to leave the field was Pedro, who was the replacement for the American.
Arsenal capitalised against the injury-cladded and 10-man Chelsea side when the scored the winner in the 67th minute. A lackadaisical display in the midfield had left Xhaka with space to move in before Pepe found him and fed the delivery to Aubameyang. The latter then chipped the delivery over Chelsea keeper Willy Caballero to produce a calm and composed finish.
Arsenal remain the most successful side in the competition with Manchester United being closest to them with 12 titles. This is the fourth time in seven seasons they have won the FA Cup and this means that they qualify for the Europa League next season.