It has been a rotten season for Arsenal, their manager, their players and – most of all – their fans. Having started promisingly, the Gunners were well and truly in the title race as the season matured, however, as if the date was set in the calendar, they began to fall apart in their annual Christmas meltdown.
Following a huge dip in league form the Gunners then had to face Bayern Munich in the Champions League round of 16, the less said about that the better.
Just when Gooners thought it couldn’t get any worse, along came losses to Watford, Cheslea, West Brom and Crystal Palace. With his side well a drift in the Premier League, sitting sixth with under a month to go in the domestic calendar, Arsene Wenger had one remaining beacon of hope in the FA Cup.
The former Monaco boss, who last year celebrated his 20th anniversary as Arsenal manager, has the best managerial record in the famous competition, with six FA Cup wins to his name, accounting for half of all won by the north Londoners.
Amidst a season of heavy criticism and uncertainty the Gunners boss will have been desperate to keep his chances of improving such a fine record going with a win over Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side over the weekend and, in doing so, for the first time perhaps this season finally united the club again.
Having opted to go with a back three and the same starting XI that was, in all honesty, far from convincing in their win over Middlesbrough, there was plenty of doubt over whether or not the likes of Rob Holding or Gabriel Paulista would be able to hold off City’s potent attacking force.
However, from kick-off to the end of extra time the pair were simply faultless, and the same can be said for the majority of Wenger’s side. Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain, in particular, put in a performance that should go more than far enough to silence any doubters and have a contract worthy of a star on the table within days.
There was a sense that, under the arch at Wembley, from the fans down to the players and staff, it would be Arsenal’s day, after months of poisonous division at the club they wanted something to celebrate, and they were going to get it.
The sheer look of relief and joy on Wenger’s face as the final whistle blew after 120 minutes showed just how much the result meant to him, his club and his future.
Whilst the speculation around the Frenchman’s future will continue and the final against Chelsea is yet to come, the win at the national stadium on Sunday is something that was needed by all at Arsenal, and something to be savoured.