Alan Shearer: Arsene Wenger gets it right for awesome Arsenal

  

BBC pundit Alan Shearer explains why Arsenal's defensive display played as big a part as their attacking power in securing their one-sided FA Cup final win over Aston Villa.

Arsenal's players put in an outstanding performance towin Saturday's FA Cup final but Gunners boss Arsene Wenger deserves just as much credit.

Just about every tactical decision that Wenger made for the final came off, starting with him picking Theo Walcott up front instead of Olivier Giroud.

He also got his team playing at the right tempo. They put their stamp on the game from the start, unlike the way they started against Reading in their semi-final.

That day, they struggled to impose themselves against Championship opponents. Against Aston Villa I never thought they were in any danger of losing, right from the first minute.

In the past, Arsenal have not always performed under pressure and people have asked whether they can cope when they are expected to win.

On Saturday they answered that question and better than ever before.

Arsenal were outstanding. They were by far the better team and thoroughly deserved their victory.

'Arsenal were awesome in attack and defence'

Starting with Walcott, not Giroud, was a big call - and Wenger would have got a lot of stick if he had got it wrong.

After seeing Walcott score a hat-trick against West Brom on the final day of the season, I said on Match of the Day that I thought Wenger should - and would - stick with him. He did and it proved to be the right decision.

My only worry about the way Arsenal had started the game was the fact they could not find a finish, but Walcott showed with his goal why he can be an out-and-out striker with his movement into the box and then his ruthless finish.

Arsenal could have been two or three goals up by the time Walcott scored and they were great to watch when they came forward.

But they were also exceptional without the ball, in the way they stopped Villa from posing any threat whatsoever. They did not even manage a shot that reached the Arsenal goal.

'Sherwood will be devastated by that defeat'

None of the things that Tim Sherwood has changed and improved in Villa's attack since he took charge in February were evident at Wembley.

Villa were brilliant going forward in their semi-final win over Liverpoolbut Liverpool allowed them to play like that. Arsenal's defensive discipline did not let it happen.

This time we did not see anything of Tom Cleverley, Fabian Delph or Jack Grealish on the ball and that meant Christian Benteke could not do any damage. Villa were totally outplayed.

I have twice felt the pain of losing an FA Cup final. It will be worse for Villa after a performance like that.

The fact Arsenal were so good will not be any consolation to Sherwood because his team did not turn up.

I know him well from our days playing in the Blackburn team that won the Premier League title in 1995 and he will be devastated and angry at the way his team performed.

He was proud to have reached the final and also of the fact he kept Villa up, which was his main aim, but he will be hurting after that defeat.

Could he have done anything differently? I don't think so.

There was a gulf in class between the two teams and Sherwood could only play with what he had. He clearly did not have enough to live with Arsenal - sometimes it is as simple as that.

Sanchez shows he is a superstar

Arsenal were by far the better team but they had some brilliant individual displays too.

I know Santi Cazorla was fantastic but my man of the match was Alexis Sanchez and not just because of his magnificent goal.

I am always a bit biased towards forward players but Sanchez's energy has lifted his team all season and it was no different at Wembley.

He jinked past players as if they were not there and also leapt above Villa's defence to set up Walcott for his side's opener.

It seems he can do just about everything and he is one of the big reasons why Arsenal can look forward to next season with real optimism.

Alan Shearer was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan

Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini denies Angel Di Maria comment

Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini has claimed he was misquoted in saying that team-mate Angel di Maria could be joining Paris St Germain this summer.

French television programme Telefoot had tweeted a quote from Fellaini in which the United midfielder said: "Angel di Maria would be a good signing for PSG. He is a world class player."

But the Belgian hit back claiming that was not an accurate reflection of what he had said.

"Seems I have been misquoted from @telefoot--TF1 interview !!!!" Fellaini said on Twitter.

"I said that Di Maria would be a good signing for any club as he is a great player. I also said if I were him I would STAY at @ManUtd".

United broke the British transfer record when they signed Di Maria from Real Madrid last summer for £59.7m, but the Argentinian struggled badly in his first season in the Premier League 

The 27-year-old's form dipped significantly in the second half of the season and he lost his place in the side, leading to speculation that he could be leaving Old Trafford.

The former Real Madrid forward has been linked with a number of top clubs, with PSG and Bayern Munich both reported to be interested in signing him.

Bruma`s Warning for Chelsea Youngsters

There`s no doubting that Chelsea Football Club has an exciting batch of youngsters on their books.

All of the recent talk has been of how some of them can succeed John Terry at coming through the ranks and making themselves regular members of not only the first-team squad but also the starting eleven.

But the path some of those are hoping to tread is a path that many have trod before but who have also slipped off of it before completing the journey.

One such player is Jeffrey Bruma

Many pundits thought that the Dutch international would become a mainstay of the side but that didn`t prove to be the case and after six years at Chelsea Bruma left to find regular football but not as a loan player.

Talking to the media, Bruma has spoken about the difficult path, remarking,

"Every pre-season, players come back from loans with the hope of being in the first team squad, but you have to realise that we are maybe in fifth spot for your position. You have to play every week to progress - maybe in a different league, or a different country.

"The players who come in for £20 million obviously have more chances to play than a young player. But if you go on loan you have to make goals you need to achieve. At Chelsea I`ve seen players go to League Two clubs and even there they stay on the bench."

A stark reality check as we prepare squad places for our current batch of youngsters.