In only his 25th match as a manager, Arteta masterminded a 2-0 victory — secured by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's double — that ended
It was a cup won as part of a treble last season when Arteta was assistant to Guardiola at City and fans were still allowed to pack into the national stadium.
Just a few hundred key personnel were allowed into Wembley for Saturday's semifinal as the 90,000-capacity was largely empty for the first time for a top-level game due to ongoing pandemic restrictions. The north
“It’s very sad we cannot enjoy this moment with our fans and enjoy watching the team and achieving the final,” said Arteta, who replaced Unai Emery as Arsenal manager in December. “We have great chemistry. They really believe in what we are trying to do and you can sense that."
Just a month ago, when the
But Arsenal soaked up the pressure and hit City on the counterattack to end a run of seven successive losses when it had been outscored 20-2 by City.
“We did it because we were humble and we understood the way we have to play and we took the opportunities to score," Arsenal defender
Unlike at the Etihad last month, Luiz was a formidable barrier in central defence, rather than giving away a goal and being sent off.
“What he needs is that we trust him," Arteta said. “He’s had some difficult moments and then he has some incredible moments.”
City managed only one shot on target — the lowest in a game since
“We had two kind of good chances in the beginning when we won the ball in front of the Arsenal goal," City midfielder Ilkay Gündogan said. "But after that, our game was sloppy and slow and there was a lack of energy.”
Arsenal's opener was the product of an 18-pass move involving 10 players — straight from the Guardiola playbook. Aubameyang, who had just squandered a chance to score, slid in ahead of
Sterling had chances to level at the start of the second half, striking wide and over in the opening minutes. But Aubameyang secured Arsenal's passage into the final in the 71st. Played in by
The FA Cup is the second trophy surrendered by City this season after losing the
But City has already successfully defended the
“We wanted to play the (FA Cup) final one week before the
Second in the
But winning a record-extending 14th FA Cup could be Arsenal's only route into the
“If we are in Europe,” Arteta said, “it will help, obviously, because financially we will be stronger.”
While
The League Championship title was clinched on Saturday after third-place Brentford lost 1-0 at Stoke. It is the first trophy for Leeds since 1992 when it won the last edition of the First Division before it became the
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