Ed. Note - Important note of Vieira I forgot to add, but warrants mentioning (especially as many of you know I’ve been a bit of a Vieira basher). So PV4 takes the deciding kick to win the FA Cup. It’s the final kick of a tough season for him. When it hits the back of the net Paddy doesn’t drop to his knees or point to himself or kiss the badge or any other self-congratulatory move. He immediately runs towards Lehmann and beckons the entire team to do so. THAT’S the move of a captain. Well played Patrick!
Both the FA Cup and Arsenal FC have been around for more than 100 years. During that time Arsenal have won the trophy 10 times. Of those 10, four have come under Arsene Wenger.
For Arsenal, the FA Cup truly is a team effort. How many players saw action in the FA Cup? Twenty-five! Over six games, just five players tallied a total of nine goals ? none from Thierry Henry ? and Arsenal still managed to win the Cup! In large part because they only gave up two goals.
Arsenal also needed PK heroics from both Lehmann and Almunia on this run.
Yes, the final match against United was one the Arsenal didn?t deserve to win, but that?s the way it goes sometimes. Bottom line, Arsenal held their nerve in two penalty shoot-outs, that?s impressive.
But here?s the question: How can a team that has been the best Cup team in England for the better part of a decade perform at such a lesser level in a European Cup competition? Yes, playing Bayern Munich is tougher than Stoke City, but it seems like massive success in one competition should at least carry over to mild success in the other. But I digress.
Arsenal won the Cup! They did at times with youngsters, veterans, great goals, great defense and great goalkeeping. Just as importantly they did it with heart, nerve, determination, pride and guts. Well played lads.
17 Responses to “Season Review ? Part II: The FA Cup”
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May 27th, 2005 at 8:03 am
Our record in the FA Cup under Arsene is nothing short of miraculous. This is a knock-out competition that we do well in EVERY season in recent memory. I agree, not sure why we do well in THIS knockout tourney and not the CL, but it does show that we DO have heart, nerve, determination, pride & guts.
Thinking that we have no fighting spirit is just silly.
Another great cup run… that brought us some hardware in a somewhat “down” season. Down in the sense that we didn’t win the league. But, we had a very impressive point total, and made the CL.
(Good Luck in the UEFA Cup Liverpool!)
May 27th, 2005 at 8:25 am
If I recall it right, on both PK shootouts, we needed to take the spot kicks at our oppositions’ end. It took a lot of nerve. We hit them all nonetheless.
Can anyone imagine what was going through Paddy’s mind when he stepped up to take the decisive spotkick Vs Man U? First it was a potential match winning goal against his deadiest rivals. Secondly, he spent the whole season trying to win back our fans’ heart (following the summer transfer saga). He knew the consquence IF he miss.. We got a lot of sticks after we won the FA cup from our own fans here, can’t imagine what would happen had we lost that match..
May 27th, 2005 at 8:37 am
Part of our success in the FA Cup is because we know we can win it. Other teams know it and our history proves it. That we can do so with youngsters is a reflection on the quality of the opposition, whereas in the CL the opposition is that much tougher.
I congratulate Liverpool on their success, I really wanted them to win, but for selfish reasons. As Ashley Cole inferred in his comments reported today, if Liverpool can win it, so can we.
Their squad is no deeper than ours, and their players no more talented. In fact I’d struggle to pick more than one player (Steven Gerrard) from their squad who I would trade for the equivalent player in our squad.
Liverpool qualified for the CL because they finished 4th last season, they finished 5th this season and may not get to defend their trophy (which is wrong in my opinion). But everyone at Arsenal must look at their success and say to themselves if they can do it, so can we. We’re better than Liverpool, and we’ve been better than them for years.
And before anyone starts banging on about Benitez’s tactics (sigh) answer me this: What was so masterful about his tactics in the first half that ended up with his side going 3-0 down at half-time?
And the tactical change at half-time to go three at the back was forced upon him because Finnan got injured otherwise it would have been Traore who’d have come off after the Milan attack had completely taken him apart.
He’s a good manager, potentially a great manager, but not any better than the one we’ve got. As it has transpired the biggest motivation the Liverpool players got was listening to the Milan players celebrating as if they’d won the Cup at half time. It reminded me of a story about our victory over Parma in the Cup Winners Cup where UEFA officials had already pinned Parma’s colours on to the Cup before they game had even started. Adams, Bould, Dixon et al said I’m not having that, lets show them, and the rest is history.
May 27th, 2005 at 9:02 am
Good post!
Although I’d have to say that the fact that we can do well in the FA Cup with our youngsters, is a reflection on the quality of OUR YOUNGSTERS. We have GREAT young talent… the kids played 4th place Everton off the freaking pitch this year!!
May 27th, 2005 at 9:13 am
No disrespect intended to the youngsters, I think they are the best crop at any team in the Premiership and will be the foundation of our team for years to come.
The thing about youngsters coming through together is that they don’t come with big transfer fees, and the wages they get from the club aer earned by their efforts on the pitch not by an agent. I hold Man U as the best example of how suv=ccessful this can be with the group lead by Beckham et al in the early 90s.
BTW, club announced today that they are offering Senderos an extension to his present deal with an increased wage.
May 27th, 2005 at 9:41 am
Yeah, really good post, A_K.
Totally agree that its more a mental thing. Also think that maybe we don’t travel all that well. Going into Russia in the winter or Germany is kind of a drag for our lads. Have you ever seen a happy Henry wearing those ridiculous blue gloves? The best draws for us undoubtedly must be where things are pretty consistent with the whole of England, which, I might add, is no picnic.
We also play well on nice pitches. Spoiled at Highbury, no doubt. I do a lot of things well in my element that come off rather ordinary out of it.
Yes, like Liverpool, we can win it. I just hope we have the depth and adaptability to do it without hurting our league form. Still wouldn’t trade places with those lads.
May 27th, 2005 at 9:48 am
PK heroics are the new tournament Plan B!
I wonder how Sheffield U would have done against Bayern. Dag, those kids were tough.
The FA Cup may be different than the CL in just the ways that put many of our lads off. Traveling has always forced us to shift things around due to Dennis (aren’t there any hypnotists in the UK???) and the rigors of air travel may weaken the constitution of the more fragile in our squad. But hey, the CL final is in France next season, so that just might turn something on in our French contingent.
May 27th, 2005 at 9:53 am
I thought about the switching places scenario.
Would you have switched places with Liverpool, PRIOR to the Cup Final?
We finish 5th and make the Final, they get 2nd and the automatic bid….???
Well, again, hats off to Liverpool.
And I wish them good luck next year in the UEFA Cup!!!!!!!
May 27th, 2005 at 1:20 pm
Liverpool are a pretty poor side with loads and loads of spirit, plus incredible fans. How they won, I don’t know - especially as Milan are a class act who actually didn’t do anything wrong - but there was something supernatural about it. All those omens - the death of the pope etc. - that I actually began to believe in when it became obvious that they’d had luck on their side throughout - the easy draws, the good goals that were disallowed (Juve’s), the bad goals (theirs) that were given, Dudek coming off his line and getting away with it, etc., etc.. The force was with them all the way. I was rooting for them against Milan but this supernaturally arranged victory makes me vaguely depressed.
May 27th, 2005 at 1:26 pm
He did a Wenger in the first half which did not work but changes things around in the second half.
But you right, Liverpool will be allow in next season CL. It is all politics to start with and we all knows the bigger clubs run the show. Even the G14 are in about how to let them in. Sad but true. Is like the world cup.
May 27th, 2005 at 1:28 pm
The answer to this post is soo simple.
Playing the gaints in Europe is not the same as playing the likes in division 1st or 2nd.
May 27th, 2005 at 1:54 pm
Interesting comments, miranda. So much so that now I’m vaguely depressed. Makes me wonder, had the tournament been open to every top league side in Europe (how long would that take? Six years? Seven?) we could be crowning any of the teams that beat Liverpool or any of the other clubs this season. Its just become that arbitrary outside the gruop stages, apparently. The force? As good an explanation as any, as far as I’m concerned.
After reading all the little things that went their way, some of which you mention here, there was no stopping them. For the sake of keeping the mojo grounded, I’m going to give it to the Kop. Anyone with fans like theirs would have done it when it came down to the split-hairs kind of stuff. Perhaps the power to bend wills resides in the amplified will of the masses.
Except in the league, of course.
May 27th, 2005 at 1:58 pm
True, l_G. But when a team that’s floundered so badly like Liverpool has this year in the league wins the whole thing, I’m not sure that the CL is any harder.
Like I said, I bet Sheffield United, on the form they had against us, could have given any one of those teams a run for their money. Its becoming about sheer will and belief. There is no doubt in my mind that Sheffield U knew they could beat us in the last three halves they played us. And they darn well nearly did.
May 27th, 2005 at 2:21 pm
What I loved about the fans was their irony and sense of theatre. There they were, head in hands at half-time, but still able to sing ‘We’re going to win 4-3′ - and then they burst out laughing at themselves!
May 27th, 2005 at 2:23 pm
Arsene is quoted in the local paper today as saying that Jens will next season’s first-choice keeper, but not in the early games because of his CL suspension. So who - God help us - is going to be our keeper for the first couple of months?
Interesting to see on arseblog that we’re been watching Robinho. It would be an incredible coup, no doubt about it, but wherever would we find that sort of money and isn’t it a terrible risk as the chances of his not adapting are really quite high?
May 28th, 2005 at 4:35 am
There’s the small isue of a work permit too. He’s not yet a full international and he doesn’t hold a European passpart as far as I’m concerned. So he’d have to be loaned out to a club where the country has more relaxed working conditions (Belgium feeder side Beveren, perhaps). But this begs the question, why splash out 15million on a player we can’t use for two seasons at least.
I’ll stick with Alexander Hleb, a keeper and a target man striker, as our transfer targets.
Wenger won’t risk going into the CL with Taylor or Almunia if he can help it. Milan’s Abbiatti is definitely going to move and I’m sure we’ll make a bid for him. The Standard also claims that we’ve enquired about Stuttgart’s Hildebrand, but as an exchange plus cash for Lehmann. Can’t se that happening now, not when we could have got him on a free in January.
May 29th, 2005 at 12:56 pm
I also agree, not sure why we do well in THIS knockout tourney and not the CL, but it does show that we DO have heart, nerve, determination, pride & guts.
Thinking that we have no fighting spirit is just silly.We are one of the best teams on the planet if not the best.One thing for sure, CL is mostly for the ‘uderdogs’ as recent histrory proves.Moreso in football luck plays very important role. For instance;-How many times have we played with much pride(our beatiful football) in the CL and we dont win crucial matches like in PSV and Norway last season? We need to be patient enough coz we can match any best club in world of football. I can highly predict lifting the trophy next season if luck can juz stand on our side. Time and again its said football is crazy game and thats has been proven.With the current squad and may be inclusioon of SWP the team will be definately da best.
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