Arsenal’s sojourns in the FA Cup ended rather prematurely this season, with the Gunners losing to Liverpool in that period when the lads were passing through a patchy run of form. The lads went to Dubai not long after to recharge their batteries and enjoy some warm weather training, and since then, the lads have been on fire, winning nine of the last 10 games, with the only blip being that narrow loss to FC Porto in Portugal.
Since then, the FA Cup has passed through several rounds, with the quarterfinal stages taking center stage over the weekend. The first FA Cup quarterfinal fixture between Wolves and Coventry City was supposed to be a walk in the park, but we were in for a shocker, with the visitors from the lower division scoring two late goals that put their higher tier Premier League opposition to the sword.
The late FA Cup quarterfinal fixture on Saturday night saw Manchester City host Newcastle with an opportunity to get their pound of flesh after the Magpies eliminated them in the early stages of the EFL Cup. Bernardo Silva and the Newcastle Deflection Defenders Association members took center stage, as Martin Dubravka was visibly livid, seeing his teammates deflect Silva’s strikes past him.
The early Sunday FA Cup fixture saw Chelsea host high flying Leicester City, and it was an evenly matched contest, before the Championship side fazed out towards the tail end of the game. I hope Raheem Sterling never steps up to take another spot kick in the foreseeable future, as his penalty against Leicester was downright shocking. It’s more surprising because the usual penalty taker, Cole Palmer, with a 100 percent record by the way, was on the pitch. It took a late rally for the Blues to clinch the contest, but kudos to Leicester for coming to the party all guns blazing.
Which takes us to the tasty encounter of the FA Cup, Manchester United vs Liverpool. The selections had a Premier League feel with both sides fielding their strongest XIs. Scott McTominay drew first blood early on, but two quickfire goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Mo Salah before the half time break but Manchester United on the backfoot. Just when it seemed like Liverpool was set to book a place in the semis, Antony, yes, that Antony, used his right foot to place the ball that took forever to creep past Kelleher, as he seemed to be in slow motion.
Right at the death, Marcus Rashford, who’s a clone of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after receiving that fat payout, had a glorious chance to win the game for Manchester United, but he fluffed it in typical Manchester United fashion. Extra time beckoned and I was hoping for some penalty shootouts but Harvey Elliot had other plans, firing a shot that fizzled past Andre Onana, albeit a deflection from Christian Eriksen, I think, to make it 3-2. Rashford finally made amends seven minutes later to make it 3-3, and penalties seemed imminent.
Enter Amad Diallo, who came on as a sub for Rafael Varane in the 85th minute, picked up a booking with four minutes to spare, and scored the slowest side footed effort you’d ever see after receiving carefully threaded pass from Alejandro Garnacho. Kelleher would have nightmares of this game for years to come, but me, an Arsenal neutral fan, was loving every moment of it.
Don’t you just love the drama of the FA Cup?
Sayonara.
Follow Gooner Daily on Twitter @goonerdaily.
Visit Gooner Daily’s Facebook page.
Click on the “Follow button” to join Gooner Daily’s Mailing List
