Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang has only played two games in this edition of the FA Cup: the semifinal and the final. In the semifinal he scored the two goals that eliminated Manchester City and in the final, his double traced Chelsea and gave Arsenal their 14th cup title, the most successful team in England in the oldest competition in the world … and the first trophy for Mikel Arteta as coach.
But the achievements do not end there. With the victory, and despite his 8th place in the Premier League, Arsenal qualifies for the next edition of the Europa League. The ‘gunners’ will once again be in the second European competition, the greatest weapon they have to convince Aubameyang to remain the banner of their project. The Gabonese striker, who has scored 29 goals, has always been linked to other clubs that play the Champions League.
Chelsea went ahead after a very positive start. In a combination within the area, Giroud attended with heel of wonder. The French striker has been key since the return of the competition, including sitting on the bench Tammy Abraham (17 goals), and saw the perfect assistance for Pulisic, with an extra touch, to mark 1-0 in the final.
The reaction was immediate and Arteta's men began to find their offensive trident. First, Pepé sent a ball to the squad but the goal was annulled for offside. A little later, The tie play came, after a penalty that Aubameyang caused and that he himself was in charge of transforming with his first goal of the afternoon.
Azpilicueta's injury did not help Chelsea, who had to be withdrawn in the first half due to injury. Neither did Kovacic's rigorous expulsion after the break, not even Pedro's injury in the discount. In goal, Lampard's choice was Willy Caballero. Despite the fact that the Argentine has been the usual goalkeeper in the FA Cup, there were chances that Kepa would regain his place in a final … and it was not. His future at the club remains an unknown this summer.
Already in the second half, Arsenal saw the light thanks to their leader, their captain at Wembley. In a great counterattack organized by Bellerín, the ball ended in the feet of Aubameyang, who sent Zouma for a walk with a delicious break and poked the ball over Caballero.
With the conquest of the FA Cup, Arsenal will face Premier Champion Liverpool for the Community Shield trophy on Saturday 29 August at Wembley.