Defeating Man City, Arsenal enters FA Cup final to meet Chelsea

Sanchez's decisive goal in the first half of extra time helped Wenger's team come from behind to defeat their rivals 2-1.

Goals: Monreal 72', Sanchez 101' - Aguero 62'.

Man City were denied a goal in the first half, a period in which they dominated the game but failed to score. In the second half, Pep Guardiola's students opened the scoring through Aguero but just 10 minutes later, Nacho Monreal equalized for Arsenal.

In the last 15 minutes of the second half, Yaya Toure and Fernandinho hit the post and the crossbar respectively. Having wasted many opportunities, Man City tasted bitter fruit when Alexis Sanchez took advantage of a messy situation to score the winning goal for Arsenal 2-1.

Arsene Wenger used a three-defender tactic, letting Arsenal play in a 3-4-2-1 formation like in the 1-2 loss to Middlesbrough last weekend. He kept the same starting lineup. But the difference was that the "Gunners" actively played defensively in this match. Faced with the excellent ball control of Man City's midfield, Arsenal only hoped for Sanchez's acceleration when counter-attacking.

Arsenal players celebrate after Sanchez's goal. Photo: Reuters.

But with Toure and Fernandinho in midfield, Man City's blocking ability was very good so Arsenal switched to long balls and hoped to take advantage of Giroud's pressing ability. Meanwhile, Man City suffered a disadvantage when David Silva had to leave the field early due to injury.

Pep Guardiola's plan in the early minutes was to feed the ball to Jesus Navas on the right wing so that he could cross, but this was ineffective because Arsenal often had about five players ready to line up in front of Petr Cech's goal.

Off the pitch, Guardiola was furious with the referee as he watched his players repeatedly go down after fouls from the opposition. There was only one yellow card in the first half for Sanchez. Toure and Aguero both went down in the box but the referee did not award Man City a penalty. However, the situation that made Guardiola the angrier was when Sterling put the ball in the Man City net but the goal was not recognized. The linesman thought the ball had gone out of play after a cross from Leroy Sane.

Fernandinho's header hit the crossbar. Photo: Reuters.

Arsenal were the better side in the second half. They had a few chances to score but that was when the Gunners conceded. Nacho Monreal, too busy attacking, failed to mark Aguero and ran out of breath when the Argentine sprinted to meet Toure's pass. The Spanish defender could only watch as Aguero chipped the ball past Cech to score.

However, Man City's lead only lasted 10 minutes. Monreal made amends with a close-range volley past Claudio Bravo. Sanchez had a good cross and Man City's defence made a mistake when they missed Monreal in the box. Both their centre-backs were attracted by Olivier Giroud, Navas was marking Ramsey and no one was near Monreal when he finished.

After the equaliser, there were a series of tit-for-tat situations between the two teams. Man City came close to scoring twice when Toure volleyed against the post and Fernandinho headed against the crossbar. Meanwhile, Wenger brought Welbeck on for Giroud to take advantage of the striker's runs. Welbeck's best chance was a shot from a tight angle that went just wide of the post after dribbling past Otamendi.

Man City wasted too many opportunities. Photo: Reuters.

Ozil was visibly tired and repeatedly lost possession on the counter-attack, but it was not until the end of the second half of extra time that Wenger replaced him. However, Sanchez's decisive goal came thanks to Ozil and Welbeck. The German midfielder had a good cross for Laurent Koscielny to head the ball to Welbeck. The former Man Utd striker missed but the ball found Sanchez, creating a golden opportunity for him to score.

After Sanchez's goal, Man City had a good chance to equalize, a counter-attack when Arsenal had only two players defending. However, Fabian Delph's shot hit Hector Bellerin's foot and went wide of the post. Three minutes later, Rob Holding almost scored an own goal when he stuck out his left foot to block Sterling's cross. That was the last dangerous chance Man City created in this match.

This victory will temporarily help Wenger reduce the criticism directed at him in recent times. Under the French coach, this is the ninth time Arsenal have reached the FA Cup final. Previously, they won the title in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2014 and 2015. Arsenal will face Chelsea in the final on May 27.

According to VNE