Wembley: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored in either half as Arsenal defeated 10-man Chelsea 2-1 to clinch the FA in the FA Cup final at the Wembley Stadium on Saturday. The opener from Christian Pulisic in the fifth minute woke Arsenal’s slumber as they equalised just before the half-an-hour mark, courtesy Aubameyang converting from the spot. It was the Gunners 14th FA Cup title.
The Gabonese international doubled Arsenal’s lead in the 67th minute to hand Mikel Arteta his first trophy with the club as a coach. Saturday’s FA Cup was the third time Arsenal and Chelsea have faced off in finals in as many years with Arsenal beating Chelsea taking the crown in the 2017 FA Cup and the Blues coming out on top in the 2019 Europa League final.
Pulisic also became just the second United States international to score in an FA Cup final after Carli Lloyd who scored for Manchester City in 2017. The defeat ruined Frank Lampard’s hopes of ending his debut season at Stamford Bridge on a high but Chelsea’s Champions League place was already secure and he can still look back on what he has achieved with great satisfaction.
However, Lampard has lashed out at the VAR, after a controversial red card on Mateo Kovacic in the 67th minute. The 26-year-old was given a second yellow card after challenging Arsenal’s Granik Xhaka, but replays clearly stated that there was barely contact made on his opponent.
Referee Anthony Taylor handed Kovacic his marching orders regardless, leaving the visibly frustrated Lampard to rue the bizarre rule that prevents VAR from reviewing yellow card offences. Chelsea never recovered from that setback and it was a perfect opportunity for Arteta’s boys to take advantage of the situation.
“What kind of rule is that? There’s always been this one that you couldn’t challenge two yellows. Someone’s sitting there really stubbornly sticking to their guns on that one,” Lampard told beIN Sports after the game. “If we have VAR, that’s great, let’s use it as much as we can to get the right decision. That’s nowhere near, it changes the game.
“We pushed them a bit at the end, I can’t fault the lads’ effort for pushing. But it was never a red card,” Lampard said before adding, “Again, I always try and come back to us and we didn’t do enough to win the final.”
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the first African captain in the competition’s history to lift the FA Cup trophy.
Arsenal’s No.14 secures Arsenal’s 14th. 🇬🇦🏆 pic.twitter.com/5qmK7HQGiO
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) August 1, 2020
The Gunners have won the world’s oldest football competition trophy more times than any other English club. Mikel Arteta became the only Arsenal manager to lift FA Cup both as a team captain and coach. The Spaniard led the team to glory in 2014 final winning 3-2 against Hull City and now as a manager. He is also the first Arsenal boss to win a major trophy in his debut season since George Graham in 1986-87.
With the two goals in the final, Aubameyang became the joint second-most top scorer in the tournament with three goals and also the first African captain in history to lift the coveted trophy.
