Arsenal must push on for title after enjoying their FA Cup cruise

  

Arsène Wenger’s side dazzled in the Wembley sunshine against Aston Villa but the test now is to mount a serious Premier League title challenge 
• Santi Cazorla grabbed my camera … and this is what I found

As Arsenal’s players took turns to lift the FA Cup in watery late-evening sunshine at Wembley the in-house PA avoided the temptation to serenade the trophy winners with We Are the Champions or some other cheese‑encrusted hymn to ultimate sporting triumph. Instead Arsenal lifted the Cup to Curtis Mayfield’s Move on Up, a familiar Gunners anthem but also a suitably halfway-there song about hopeful starts, aspiration and, basically, going on somewhere better after this.

Arsenal were excellent, pressing Aston Villa high up the pitch, feeling their opponents buckle under the pressure and earning the space to exert their greater class and movement in attack.

The end result was among the more one-sided FA Cup finals, a 4-0 victory that was never at any stage in the slightest doubt. Not only were Villa outclassed in midfield by the A-list craft of Santi Cazorla and Mesut Özil, frankly they looked dazzled by the occasion from the first whistle. Those of a more sceptical bent will point out that, as last year, Arsenal beat a Premier League back-marker at Wembley, the culmination of a cup run in which they also edged past Reading, Middlesbrough, Manchester United, Brighton and Hull. And yet, watching Alexis Sánchez – signing of the season and scorer here of a truly memorable Wembley Cup final goal – hoist the trophy, it felt entirely correct that Arsenal’s rare run of form from New Year’s Day into spring should result in some tangible end-of-season reward.

Which is where attention must focus now. After last year’s final, Arsène Wenger came swaying a little giddily into his press conference in a borrowed shirt, having stripped to his champagne-drenched waist on the Wembley turf. Here Wenger was not only fully dressed but quietly reflective in the face of questions that were all about what next and what now. “I think, of course, we can push on. Why not?” Wenger said, as indeed he must.

And, really, this time there is no excuse for anything less. Arsenal are in a good place. Money has been spent. The squad is well-stocked but also glitzy in many of the right places. A Champions League play-off has been avoided. It will instead be Manchester United steeling themselves for an early-season pinch point Arsenal have often dropped points either side of in the past.

For Arsenal it is time, as Curtis himself might have put it, to take nothing less than the supreme best. Which in this case means a gear change up into a genuine Premier League title challenge, with the conviction that coming third or second next season should be seen as a falling short of this team’s potential. The Manchester clubs will spend big this summer but really only Chelsea can claim to be in a more settled state. For Wenger’s stable, painstakingly refined Arsenal 2.0, it really does feel like now or never.

Victory at Wembley provided plenty of evidence of the qualities already there, and also of where Arsenal may look to strengthen and focus even further.

As they have since the midfield was rejigged following Francis Coquelin’s emergence, Arsenal pressed high up the pitch and looked a more gristly, physically robust team than at times in the recent past. With Theo Walcott starting in place of Olivier Giroud, there was real pace throughout, with a player such as Héctor Bellerín able to use his energy as a defensive weapon too, a way of hustling and pushing back his opposite number. In the first half Villa were simply unable to settle, with Tom Cleverley, Fabian Delph and Jack Grealish all hustled into giving the ball away.

The opening goal on 40 minutes was an extension of what had gone before, only this time with a finish, Walcott producing a supreme first-time shot on the run that whiffled the corner of the net. Villa will no doubt regret their unusual timidity. Perhaps Tim Sherwood had looked at the stats, as some suggested he should, that indicated the way to beat Arsenal is to be compact in the first half and make them sweat as the game goes on. If so, this was a mistake. A better approach was always to consider their own strengths first of all, which are to start quickly and to play with risk-taking aggression.

Sánchez’s goal seemed to capture Villa’s sleepiness. The defence failed to attack a loose ball. Sánchez picked it up, looked up to check his spot and whipped the most beautifully executed right-foot shot over Shay Given, the ball zinging in off the underside of the bar. After which there was time for Per Mertesacker to add a Sunday League-ish third, shouldered in from an unmarked position direct from a corner, and then for Giroud to tap in the fourth in stoppage time.

For Villa there is still the basis of a fine, energetic team here if Christian Benteke, who was morose and a little isolated at Wembley, can be retained and if Grealish, who fought gamely in the second half, can maintain his fine progress. For Arsenal, meanwhile, the question is whether the team’s strengths can be sharpened into title-winning weapons. At Wembley their two most notable players were Walcott and Cazorla, but these two positions – striker and central midfield – are still among those they need to strengthen. Giroud has some fine qualities but in a title-challenging team he looks more like an excellent variation than a spearhead at the level of Diego Costa, Sergio Agüero or the Robin van Persie of two years ago.

In preferring Walcott, Wenger acknowledged the allure of a fast, genuinely mobile centre-forward in this pass-and-move team, but Walcott is more the right style than the right man, with more precision required, and more natural striking presence. Against Villa Walcott had six shots at goal but he also attempted just eight passes in 76 minutes on the pitch.

Similarly Cazorla must and should be retained this summer. His ball-playing take on central midfield has been wonderful to watch. But his success also points to an area of weaknesses that would still benefit from further strengthening and Wenger is in the market for a another powerful, disciplined central midfielder.

At the end of which, and with all due apologies to the old trophy, it is hard not to conclude that for Arsenal a truly successful summer will involve not just winning the FA Cup but managing to recruit, say, Alexandre Lacazette, Geoffrey Kondogbia and Petr Cech. Either way, Wenger’s record sixth FA Cup victory provides both a moment of release and a building of necessary expectation. It has been a quiet, carefully costed, ultimately successful revolution. But from here Arsenal must now surely move to the next stage.

Arsenal season review: 2014/15

Arsenal's season ended in silverware once more, as the Gunner secured a second successive FA Cup for the first time since 2003. A poor Champions League campaign saw the North London outfit dumped out to Monaco but a terrific end to the Premier League season saw the club finish in a respectable third.

Buoyed by winning the FA Cup trophy and ending a nine year drought, Arsenal and their fans were optimistic by what the 2014/15 season might bring in terms of success.

There was a decent amount of transfer activity in summer which saw the arrival of Alexis Sanchez, Mathieu Debuchy, Calum Chambers, David Ospina and finally Danny Welbeck on deadline day. Those signings were all desperately needed and have providedArsenal with the necessary boost they needed, even if it did take a few months for the team to adapt to the new players. 

The first few months of the season were tough, Arsenal did not have the impetus that was expected of them straight away and it seemed like they were reverting back to the days of struggling to finish games when losing. The Gunners opened the season with a win againCrystal Palace and played well for a few games and then by September the form had slipped. Losing games to Swansea,Manchester United and Stoke, it appeared they were struggling tactically and nothing was being done about it as the same mistakes were made in each game after. 

The defining game that instigated improvement was the loss againstSouthampton on New Year's day, it was an especially bad game from beginning to end. Everyone looked frustrated and angry. Szczesnywas accused of smoking in the shower, Mertesacker was furious with just about everyone one the pitch and Sanchez just looked beat. It was the moment the season could have gone one way or the other but the team bounced back with victories against Stoke andManchester City. They were on their way to an much improved run of games. 

The introduction of David Ospina and the return of Francis Coquelin were definite factors that enhanced the strength within the team and they instantly settled into their roles and earned their places in the team. As a result the London outfit have finished the season with Coquelin quite possibly their most valued hidden treasure, if only they had utilised his talent many seasons ago.

One man on everyone's lips however, is Alexis Sanchez. Since arriving from Barcelona for a fee believed to be in excess of £30m, he has been consistently the best player for Arsenal for the entirety of his debut season. When everyone else in the team were underachieving, he was the person that kept them going on the pitch. He has incredible talent and energy, he has worked tirelessly all season and given the fans plenty of goals to cheer about too. Even when he was injured and told to rest he was caught by staff halfway up a climbing wall with weights on and refused to get down until he reached the top, that's dedication for you.

His sumptous goal against Aston Villa in the FA Cup final typified his campaign, striking it from outside the box with enough power to beatShay Given in the net. This brought his total up to 25 goals in all competitions, with his knock down to Theo Walcott meaning he finished his season with 13 assists to his famous name.

From the Gunners' Player of the Season to arguably their greatest young player of the campaign, Hector Bellerin. A dream season for the Spanish youngster as he secured a promotion to the first team squad and then earned himself a regular spot in the back four. The defender was also signed from the Catalans, coming with Jon Toral when he was just 16. After making an impression in the youth set up, the Spanish U21 international was sent on loan to promotion hopefuls Watford in 2013. Proving popular with former Chelseastar Gianfranco Zola, Bellerin made an abundance of apperances at Championship level before a change in manager saw him frozen out of the team.

Since his return, Bellerin's stunning individual performances at the annual Emirates Cup made his name known with the fans and, after an injury to Debuchy, his chance in the spotlight had been bestowed upon him. The 20-year-old been Arsenal's best defender by a wide mile and he has improved with every game. His age belies him as his talent is that of a defender at his peak, if he is this good this young he will on thrive further and dismount Debuchy as first choice right-back. 

Arsenal finished the season strongly despite crashing out of the Champions League to underdogs Monaco in the knock out stages of the competition. A mixed season in UEFA's most prestigious tournament saw convincing wins against the likes of Borussia Dortmund and Galatasaray in the group stages. However, defeat against the former away from home and a disappointing draw toAnderlecht saw the 2006 finalists finish second in their group once more. A further below par performance in the first leg against Monaco saw Arsene Wenger's men drop out of the Champions League, barring a miriacle against the Ligue 1 side. Goals fromOlivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey were not enough to see them through, going out on away goals.

After defeat to North London rivals Spurs in the league, the squad kicked on to ensure Champions League qualification for another season. A 10 game unbeaten run was the highlight of the club's Premier League campaign, beating Liverpool 4-1 and drawing against champions Chelsea in the process. A defeat to Swansea ended that run and a scoreless draw with Sunderland followed, as the Black Cats ensured their Premier League survival, subsequently squandering a second place finish. However, given how they started not many expected Arsenal to finish in the top four so third was a very good position overall.

Following a Theo Walcott inspired thrashing of West Brom on the last day of the league season, fans turned their attentions to the FA Cup final at Wembley. Arsenal had beaten Hull City, Brighton and Hove Albion, Manchester United and Reading to reach a second successive final, ending a nine year trophy drought against Hull a year previous. Tim Sherwood's Aston Villa were the opponents this time around, and the game panned out to be more comfortable than the year before. On top form the first whistle to the last, Arsenal retained their trophy courtesy of goals from Theo Walcott, Alexis Sanchez, Per Mertesacker and Olivier Giroud.

Overall a good season, still plenty of flaws and weaknesses to be ironed out in regards to tactics, especially from the earlier parts of the season. Arsenal improved their results against the other top four teams and managed to beat Manchester United at Old Trafford for the first time in a decade. With three, maybe four signings this summer including a goalkeeper, centre-back, defensive midfielder and a striker, it could give Arsenal the momentum to mount a decent challenge for the title next season.