Blues denied league and cup double

Blues denied League and Cup Double

Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-1 to claim 13th FA Cup

After lifting the Premier League for the fifth time last Sunday, Antonio Conte's Chelsea were looking to seek a league and cup double. However Arsene Wenger and the Gunners had other ideas.  

Star man Alexis Sanchez put the Gunners in the lead inside 4 minutes. There were rumours that would suggest that Chilean may have handled the ball, but referee Anthony Taylor had no hesitation in letting the goal stand after clarifying the decision with his assistant. 

Arsenal were far the better team in the first half and were determined to not let their lead slip, despite having a handful of chances to double their lead. especially when Mesut Ozil's chip over Coutois was cleared of the line by stand-in captain Gary Cahill.

Chelsea on the other hand found it difficult to get themselves into the game.

In the second half,  Chelsea started to improve their game but just before Diego Costa equalised, Victor Moses received a second yellow card for diving.  

This certainly was the turning point of the final and Arsenal took advantage of the situation with a goal in the 79th minute. Aaron Ramsey's bullet header from a cross by Oliver Giroud who had just came on for Danny Welbeck to put the Gunners back in front. 

Costa had the chance to make it 2-2 but Arsenal's 2nd choice keeper David Ospina stood strong and denied the Spaniard with a top class and crucial save in the 76th minute as Arsenal held on to their lead and claimed their record breaking 13th FA cup.

The key man for Arsenal was the captain Per Mertesacker. the way he lead his team in the  match was outstanding, especially on the defensive side.

This may not have been the perfect send off for John Terry, but he has had a terrific career for Chelsea. Being part of a team who have 17 trophies in 12 years is just incredible. What a great ambassador he has been for Chelsea Football Club.

Although Chelsea were disappointed with the result, they should be proud of themselves. It has been a terrific season for them and Antonio conte.

Ever since the Italian arrived at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea have never looked back. It has been a totally different season as opposed to 2015-16. 

As for Arsene Wenger, it seems as if he has his redemption after a frustrating season for the Gunners. On Wednesday, we will find out about his future as to whether  or not he will stay at Arsenal for next season.

If he does decide to go, he would leave behind a legacy of being one of the Premier League's greatest and successful managers of all time. It would be fascinating to see who replaces him.

One of the potential Candidate's could be Louis Enrique who just recently resigned as Barcelona boss.

The fans have mixed feelings about Wenger although the majority of them feel that his time is up and and that the club must move on for the sake of its future.  

There is why Arsene Wenger can't be in contention of becoming the director of the club, especially after all that he has been through over the past 21 years.

The best thing that the club needs to do is to either sack Wenger or sell all their players and bring in some fresh young players who are willing to prove their potential and have the motivation in wanting to achieve success for the club in the future.  

There are rumours about Manchester City being interested in Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez.  If the Chilean does decide to go to the Etihad, this could be a psychological blow to the Gunners. As he has clearly been their best player over the past two seasons.    

As for Chelsea, it would be interesting to see what Conte does in the summer. is he going to buy a new striker to replace Costa? are they looking for another defender? These will be the questions for Conte himself to answer.

At the moment, Everton striker Romelu Lukaku is in pole position to replace the Spaniard but all is yet to be revealed.