FA CUP Semi-Final Match Preview: She Said It’s For The Arsenal And We’re Going To Wembley

This FA Cup tie – this semi-final may be the answer to so many lingering questions that have crystalized this season. Should Arsenal win, then they are one step away from ending our 9 year trophy drought. Should they lose you can make a case that Arsene Wenger’s tenure will end in a matter of weeks.

The importance of this tie on so many things can’t be missed.  After a pitiful excuse of a performance last weekend against Everton, Arsenal need to reestablish a “feel good” sentiment within the club, the management and the fan base.  They need momentum to carry them forward for the remainder of the season.  Something has to give. Sure, we’ve been riddled by injuries but the talent on hand surely should be enough to not be THIS bad.

And if we’re honest, it’s been bad. But for tomorrow, for now, we can put that all behind us we can focus on the pageantry that is Wembley-based semi-final tie against last year’s cup holders and Championship side, Wigan Athletic.

Last year it was a last minute gasping-header that won Wigan, then managed by Roberto Martinez the vaunted FA Cup (only to be relegated by Arsenal a week later) by beating favorites Manchester City. And as if to defy the odds they went and did it again, this time at the Etihad of all places.  The question isn’t so much were Wigan that good, it was were City that bad. Truthfully, the answer lies between the tie points.

Arsenal are going to have to be prepared for another high amount of pressing. Wigan took away City’s biggest strength and choked out Yaya Toure’s ability to influence a game.  They clogged the middle, put high pressure on Toure and the result was them advancing to another day in the sun at Wembley.

The lineup is going to dictate how we handle that. Against Everton the starting XI were lethargic and without impetus. There was no directness to play and no one making runs to try and open up the midfield or around the 18 yard box. In that same match when Aaron Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were introduced Arsenal suddenly found an engine to go forward. Unfortunately for Arsenal it was too late, the fate was already sealed.

Ramsey, according to Wenger is set to start tomorrow’s match. He’s using Flamini’s two match suspension as the reason but on the evidence even if Flamini wasn’t suspended, you’d find it hard to not start the Welshman. Oxlade-Chamberlain is a late fitness test but there were images of him training with the squad on Friday.  The two together pose a big enough threat going forward that we can only hope that we won’t be as stagnant as we were last week.

The concern for me still is lack of options out wide. One of the reasons I thought we did so poor last week (besides the lack of desire) was the fact that we kept mostly everything in the middle. Everton’s midfield two and CBS very rarely venture forward and were able to take away our play in the middle. The good chances we got came from when we dared to go outside and stretch the middle.

If Oxlade-Chamberlain plays, in my opinion he has to play to out wide on the right. He is smart in attacking the corner and if left unpressured has no fear in attacking the end line and looking for options in the middle. This isn’t to say we have to keep it always wide. No, we have to use the width to open up the middle and force Wigan into adjustments outside of their plan to clog the middle up.

If Wenger were really daring – he might consider even putting Podolski up top, Ox on the left and either Rosicky or Gnabry on the right.  Podolski isn’t many people’s cup of tea but I love the guy for his forward energy, his clinical shooting and his “eboue-like” charm. He lacks in the defensive skills category and maybe he’d be better up top just getting the ball around the box and shooting on goal. Given the  inability of Giroud to find the net often enough, it’s certainly something I’d hope he’d entertain (but I know he won’t.) At a minimum it would probably open up the middle of the pitch with Ox and Rosicky/Gnabry out wide. Okay, it’s not going to happen but a guy can dream can’t he?

Where we all worry is more along the psychological makeup of this squad right now. If you’ve ever played any sport you know that form like this is like a cancer. It can seep in just take over a room. Arsenal’s egos are battered and bruised and there is enough blame right now to go around. No one in the managerial/coaching staff and player staff should say they have done their part. They haven’t.

It seems odd to be talking in this tenor when we are at Wembley and for a day (possibly more) we can revel in our return to the big stage of one best domestic cup competitions in Europe.  It’s also odd to have the specter of Arsene Wenger’s fate so close at hand. He himself must feel the pressure surely to do something to arrest the negativity we are mired in. If he can’t as we said before – it’s hard to see him here next season. It’s a sad statement to make. A man so ingrained in this club could be gone. Some will rejoice. Most would be sad.

Even if they win there is no guarantee. You could also see a scenario where he wins the tournament, is drained from this season and takes a seat in the boardroom.  Either way, the man deserves to go out on his own accord. This cup competition will allow him to decide which way to go.

I am hopeful that we will see Wenger get his next triumph. We’re not as bad as people have made out. Nor are we as outstandingly good as we had hoped as the season turned into its downward swing.

The glory of the FA Cup and Arsenal are intertwined. Next to Manchester United no other team has won this competition more.  I’ve been saying all season long I thought this was our best bet for a trophy and that it would signal the launching pad for a successful future.  Win it, through the injuries and adversity and this club will know what it takes to win. It’s so important. And so my friends, we’ve been downcast, and downtrodden but we now march on to Wembley and like the chant says:

She wore! She wore! She wore a yellow ribbon!
She wore a yellow ribbon in the merry month of May,
And when I asked her why she wore that ribbon,
She said, “It’s for the Arsenal and we’re going to Wembley!”
Wembley! Wembley! We’re the famous Arsenal and we’re going to Wembley!

Potential Arsenal Squad
Fabianski; Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs; Arteta, Ramsey, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Cazorla, Podolski; Giroud

Bench: Szczesny, Monreal, Kallstrom, Rosicky, Gnabry, Sanogo

Match Officials
Referee: Michael Oliver
Assistant Referees: Stuart Burt & Darren England
Fourth Official: Craig Pawson
Reserve Assistant Referee John Brooks

Broadcast Information:
UK: ITV 1 17.07 GMT
US: FS 2 12:07 PM EST

YAMA Prediction:
Arsenal 3 – 1 Wigan