So much to discuss. So much to be excited about. So many ramifications for this result. Because yes, Arsenal have won their 14th FA Cup - extending their lead as the trophy's winning-most team - thanks to another Man Of The Match performance from their world class Number 14, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
This is going to be a long-ish post, because there are so many things to consider; from the game itself but just as importantly as a result of Arsenal's victory.
Firstly, a word for Chelsea. Gallant losers, for whom little went right and whose Manager, Frank Lampard, went up in my estimation with the frankness of his post-match interview. The match exposed both their strengths and their weaknesses, and the tactical battle between him and Arteta - ultimately won by the latter - was fascinating and revealing.
The match hinged on two moments; firstly the injury to Pulisic, who was by far Chelsea's most dangerous player, and then the sending off of Kovacic. On the latter, I have two comments; firstly, Kovacic and Jorginho, as a pair, are masters of the 'tactical foul' (Manchester City and Liverpool's midfields are good at it too, but it does often work best when your side dominates the ball and you can commit a tactical foul to prevent a breakaway), and it was perhaps unfortunate for Kovacic that he was given the ultimate punishment in the FA Cup Final. Live by the sword and all that...
And secondly, one aspect of there being no crowds that has perhaps been overlooked is the difference it can make if a player who has been fouled makes a sufficiently loud noise as he hits the ground. Shouts and screams that would not be heard in a full stadium are completely audible in an empty one. Xhaka took advantage of that; again, live by the sword etc.
So to the game, and boy did Chelsea start well, with Lampard initially outwitting Arteta by pushing Pulisic and Mount infield and onto Xhaka and Ceballos, thus totally outnumbering them. The goal - beautifully taken (and don't underestimate the skill of Giroud's flicked assist) - came as a result of just one of numerous occasions when the Arsenal duo were robbed or pressured in the early stages, and Chelsea could have been further ahead by the time the drinks break came.
Arteta used the break well, advising his players to miss out the midfield as often as not and hit long balls intended to turn Chelsea's ponderous central defenders. And soon Arsenal were level as a result of that advice, with Tierney's punt from deep in the Arsenal half catching Azpulicueta on the wrong side of Aubameyang, and forcing the defender to foul him as Auba headed for goal. It started outside the penalty box, but ended inside it and a penalty was rightly awarded. And the defender was lucky to stay on the pitch, in my opinion; given the benefit of the doubt as Rudiger was perhaps close enough to prevent a goal-scoring opportunity. In my opinion not; with a clear run Auba would have got his shot off long before Rudiger got round to cover. And if that had been David Luiz?...
No matter; Auba dispatched the penalty with power, skill and aplomb; and not long after 'Dave' pulled one of his suspect hamstrings and had to leave the pitch in any case.
So 1-1 at half-time, and Arsenal in the ascendancy. But whatever Lampard said at half-time had an immediate impact as Chelsea once more shot out of the blocks. And it was whilst bursting past a static Holding and heading for goal that Pulisic pulled his hamstring, meaning his match was also over and thus eliminating Chelsea's main threat. With that, Chelsea's balloon was fatally punctured.
And not long after (67) came the decisive goal. A lung-bursting 30-yard run from Bellerin and the ball broke to Pepe (who chose the right day to have his best game in an Arsenal shirt) on the right, 25 yards from goal. He fed Aubameyang, whose clever shimmy and dummy left Zouma for dead. And at that point there was little doubt as to what was going to happen, as his deft left-footed flick over the helpless Caballero nestled in the onion bag. Make no mistake, Aubameyang is a world-class player and MUST stay at Arsenal.
The final puncture of the Chelsea balloon came with the departure of Kovacic (already discussed above), and from then on the only moment of concern came when Martinez flew out of goal and caught the ball literally right the edge of the penalty area. It didn't look good, and his body was outside the area, but videos showed that the ball was on the line. Phew!
And from then on there was little danger, as Chelsea failed to register a single shot on target in the second half. I must give sympathy to Pedro here, too, as he looked to have badly dislocated his shoulder in injury time.
A quick word about referee Anthony Taylor here. Arsenal have had some luck with him, both in the 2017 Final when Alexis's goal was allowed to stand and this year with the sending-off of Kovacic. Can he ref us every week?
And so Arsenal ribbons were wrapped onto the FA Cup for the 14th time. But this win means so much more than the bare trophy. It means European football, a bigger transfer kitty, more clout with the Board for Mikel Arteta and most importantly extra leverage with Aubameyang.
The latter was naturally coy about whether he is going to re-sign, and I have concerns that Arsenal have got themselves into a similar position as they did with Robin Van Persie; and we know how that played out...
As for Mikel Arteta, I'm not afraid to announce that I have a crush on him. I have high, high hopes for Arsenal with him at the helm. But he needs the support of those around him. We can only wait and see.
I'll be back in a couple of days with a Season Review - and of course, the Premier League campaign was well short of expectations and a lot went on - but finally a quick word about Tottenham Hotspur (I can't help myself, I'm afraid). All the gloating, all the gyp, all the nonsense about whether this season will see a 'St Totteringham's Day' or a 'St Gooners Day', but when it comes down to it Tottenham have won a single League Cup this century (4544 days ago). It's 10,669 days since they won an FA Cup, and a whopping 21, 657 days since they won the League. The bare facts speak for themselves.
And as for Harry Kane; world-class centre-forward for sure, but not a single medal to show for 11 years at Tottenham. Emi Martinez has an FA Cup medal from a mere 11 appearances for Arsenal. Say no more.
Back in a day or two. Stay safe, and COME ON YOU MIGHTY GOONERS!!!!!!
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