She wore a yellow ribbon

Arsenal 2-1 Reading

When it comes to playing at the new Wembley, Arsenal never do things the easy way and so it proved yet again on Saturday as the Gunners defeated Reading 2-1 after extra time.

The FA Cup is a unique competition in itself, one in which league form and positions stand for nothing; it’s all about the team’s performance on the day.

In any knock out competition any team is only ever one poor display or one mistake away from having their place in the next round taken away from them and therefore to reach the final of any such competition is always special. On paper, Saturday’s semi-final against Reading, a Championship team lying 19th in the table and struggling for form, should have been a straight forward affair for the Gunners. But this is the FA Cup, a competition renowned the World over for its shocks, surprises and romance and Reading were in no mood to roll over.

Steve Clarke set his side up to be physical, imposing, organised and disciplined in an attempt to stifle the Gunners and so nearly got rewarded as his team took the Gunners into extra time and were only 15 minutes away from the lottery of penalties.

Arsenal on the other hand enjoyed plenty of possession throughout the entire game but seemed to lack sharpness in their combination play in the final third and as a result appeared to struggle to break down a stubborn Reading side. Whenever they did get through, the Gunners found Adam Federici in inspired form, with the Australian pulling off a number of fine saves and interceptions to deny the likes of Welbeck, Sanchez, Mertesacker and most impressively, Gabriel in the second half. The fact this tie was ultimately decided by an error from Federici, as he somehow allowed Sanchez’s tame shot to squirm under his body and over the line in the 105^th minute, only served to highlight the old adage that football can be a cruel, cruel game.

In the build up to the match Wenger declared that he had no intention to make wholesale changes to his side and the common consensus was that the manager would only replace Ospina in goal with Szczesny as he had confirmed in the pre match press conference. However when the starting line ups were revealed, Wenger had made a number of decisions which seemed to be to the detriment of his team once the game began. The most striking of these changes was the decision to replace Hector Bellerin at right back with Mathieu Debuchy. It was the Frenchman’s first game back following a three month spell on the side lines and it really showed. Although Wenger later explained that Bellerin needed a rest due to having recently played through the pain barrier, Debuchy was clearly rusty and to give him his first start in such a high intensity game was unwise. Given the match also went into extra time, the fact Debuchy made it through says much about his mental toughness, with the manager admitting he had started suffering from cramps just before the end of normal time.

At left back, the decision to rest Monreal and replace him with Kieran Gibbs was less controversial. Although Monreal has played well during the last few weeks and has started every game of the impressive 8 league wins in a row, Wenger has to give opportunities to those not featuring regularly in the first team. Unfortunately Gibbs had a game to forget, constantly appearing to be caught in two minds, offering very little going forward and getting caught in possession far too often. Maybe his time away from the starting line-up has affected his confidence and this is something Wenger will have to be mindful of as he seeks to manage his squad as best he can.

Ultimately both full backs and the goalkeeper were at fault for the Reading equaliser, which arrived in the 54^th minute.  Pavel Pogrebnyak was allowed to get to the by-line, with Debuchy nowhere near him; the Russian crossed the ball to the back post towards Gareth McCleary, who was not closed down by Gibbs, allowing the Reading man time and space to take a shot, which really should have been saved by Szczesny, but wasn’t. The Polish goalkeeper did his best to retrieve the situation but his starting position was all wrong and the ball had crossed the line before he could catch it.

One lapse in concentration had cost Arsenal dear, as Reading rarely threatened before or after the goal. The Gunners should have been in control, having taken the lead just before half time, following a wonderful clipped ball over the Reading back line from Ozil, to Sanchez, with the Chilean showing great awareness to dummy a shot, creating space for himself, before slotting the ball home, through Federici’s legs. After such a fine first season with the club it was fitting that Sanchez should be Arsenal’s semi-final hero.

However Ramsey should have ensured Arsenal’s passage to the final before the 90 minutes were up, as the Welshman had the goal at his mercy, but somehow contrived to hit the post rather than the back of the net, which would have spared a few nerves.

They may not have been at their best and they may have done it the hard way, but ultimately Arsenal got the job done and in a semi-final or a final, that is all that matters. The Gunners will now face the tough challenge of a rejuvenated Aston Villa in the final in May as they seek to retain the trophy they won last season, while next up in the league is a home match against Chelsea. It will be extremely difficult for Arsenal to secure a victory over Mourinho’s side as Chelsea do not need to win the game, a point will do and therefore it is just the kind of game Mourinho loves. The Portuguese will most likely set his team up to defend deep and hit Arsenal on the break; it’s just the Mourinho way, entertainment comes second.

Still, no matter what happens in the league between now and the end of the season, the Gunners have a final to look forward to in May and it doesn’t get much better than that!