Why Arsenal will have a better time against Manchester United in the final
Arsenal will face either Manchester United or Chelsea in the FA Cup final.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given their history in the competition, Arsenal have secured a place in this year’s FA Cup final. It was not an easy route, though, as they had to take on the current champions Manchester City at Wembley Stadium last night, who had a fair share of the possession and chances. However, the Gunners capitalised on their limited chances and won by a scoreline of 2-0.
Now they will face either Manchester United or Chelsea in the final. Both sides are above Arsenal in the Premier League, but I do believe tactically Arsenal are more suited to beating Chelsea, however, in this competition, the Gunners should always be seen as the favourite.
The reason why I think Manchester United would be a better match for Arsenal is that United’s weaknesses play into Arsenal’s strengths. Southampton proved recently that you could interrogate Solskjaer’s men by simply sitting back and playing rough at times, preventing the attackers any real opportunity at goal.
This is exactly the philosophy that has got us through our previous two games against Liverpool and Manchester City which, let’s face it, are lightyears above both United and Chelsea anyway.
Arsenal have had to remain defensively resilient and allow the other team to have the possession while being efficient enough in the attack to make the most of chances. Usually, in the past, would not have relied on Shkodran Mustafi and David Luiz at all, but in a back three with Kieran Tierney, they look absolutely immense.
Granit Xhaka has also proven that he can put his body on the line to prevent any midfielder taking a pop-shot, which would prevent Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba from having a sniff at goal.
Solskjaer, while I respect him for turning United around, strikes me as a one-trick pony. He has been exploited for this many times in the past and he doesn’t seem to adapt his philosophy in any way. This is why I believe that the Gunners can beat the Red Devils by sticking to their philosophy.
Who do you think Arsenal will face in the FA Cup final?
