LONDON – Arsenal ambushed FA Cup holders Manchester City as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a goal in each half to secure a 2-0 semi-final victory at an empty Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
Days after Mikel Arteta’s side beat Premier League champions Liverpool, the Spaniard outfoxed his managerial mentor Pep Guardiola as his players executed his plan to perfection.
Predictably, City enjoyed the majority of possession, but Arsenal were gritty and disciplined as well as being lethal on the counter-attack as they reached their 21st FA Cup final.
Standing in the way of Arsenal’s 14th FA Cup triumph and a trophy for Arteta in his first season as a manager will be either Chelsea or Manchester United who play on Sunday.
City dominated the early exchanges, pinning Arsenal back, but were stopped in their tracks when Aubameyang produced a neat finish in the 19th minute following a flowing end-to-end move.
Pep Guardiola’s City side never fully recovered and, just when they were beginning to exert some real pressure after the break, Aubameyang produced another sublime finish, racing through to fire past goalkeeper Ederson in the 71st minute.
Arsenal comfortably soaked up City’s late pressure as they ended a miserable run of seven successive defeats against Guardiola’s City, including a 3-0 away league defeat last month. (Reuters)
