Arsene Wenger Smiles

There's a popular book on golf written by Harvey Penick called "And If You Play Golf, You're My Friend."  After taking in the FA Cup Final at Wallace's Sports Bar in Lyon Saturday night, I could write a book entitled "And If You Follow English Football, You're My Friend."  A crowd of maybe 30 or so gathered on the second floor; the first floor was taken over by an international rugby match - talk about rabid fans, hoo boy!  Upstairs we were a curious mix of ex-patriot English, French fans, and American tourists but we all spoke the same language - football.

The crowd was overwhelmingly pro-Arsenal.  The two exceptions were a true Hull City fan with a well-worn Hull scarf and a Tottenham fan who was rooting against Arsenal as a matter of principle.  As the match proceeded, our comfort level grew and soon we were interacting with those around us - mostly about the EPL but also the epic clash between Atletico and Barca that we could sort of see on one of the other TVs and soccer more generally. The Tottenham fan (coincidentally named Mike - a bloke with a Cockney accent) asked how I came to be a Newcastle fan, suggesting that it was rare to find a Magpie supporter who wasn't from Newcastle; he also questioned the depth of my support when I could not pinpoint the exact year the team was formed.

Could we have asked for a more compelling match?  As a neutral I was not sure of my loyalties for this game but I definitely liked the fast start by Hull, thinking it would force Arsenal to step up their game.  Both of the goals required a bit of luck but they were not exactly unearned given the pressure that the Tigers were applying.  I felt a little bad for the Hull supporter, who arrived about 10 minutes into the match, thrilled that his side was up 2-0 but crestfallen that he had missed the two tallies.  Carzola's free kick was well-taken but if you watch the replay, MacGregor took a few steps to his right before realizing the ball was heading to his left; he recovered but only enough to slightly deflect the shot, which skidded under the bar.  Three goals in 17 minutes and the crowd was engaged.  Can't forget to mention that Oxlade-Chamberlain Kieran Gibbs headed another certain Hull goal off the line to keep the score at 2-1.

A brief aside here.  I did see many of Arsenal's matches this year and a common thread that I noticed was that, especially against weaker sides, they could be very slow off the mark.  Most of the time this played out as scoreless match well into the second half before the Gunners would tally a few goals to safely put away the three points.  The key to this was that they would never panic, seemingly assured that they had the quality to win.  This characteristic served them well yesterday.

And sure enough, Arsenal owned the second half.  Finishing was a bit off though.  Koscielny finally got the equalizer in the 72nd minute.  I saw one report that called it a tap-in; I guess, but that understates how much pressure he was under from the keeper as he put it away.  The Frenchman sitting next to me was more worried about whether Koscielny was hurt on the play - clearly an FA Cup goal is not worth missing the World Cup.  Did anybody notice that the corner that set up the goal should have been a goalkick?  Tough play to see so I'm not faulting referee Lee Probert and there was no way the AR could help.

Kieran Gibbs could have sealed the win in regular time but badly missed a wide open shot from the six; probably why he is a defender not a striker.  The Gunners pressed diligently through five minutes of stoppage time but could not find a winner.  The consensus at Wallace's was Hull were tiring and Arsenal would dominate the added extra time and save us all from the dreaded PKs.  Plenty of pressure but Ramsey taking multiple shots from 20-30 yards was not the formula for a goal.  Then Giroud drops a nifty backheel pass right in Ramsey's path and the Welshman does not miss from 14 yards out.  A quality goal worthy of an FA Cup winner.

Except wait, it's not over.  Fabianski inexplicably tries to beat Aluko to a loose ball 20 yards out but does not get there; Aluko's shot is barely wide.  A few minutes later Aluko tests Fabianski again; he sees it late but makes a diving stop.  Arsenal fans are looking for the AEDs (Automatic External Defibrillators) but they're going to be okay.

Ramsey got the Man of the Match but it feels a bit like me missing 10 straight three-pointers at Monday night basketball, then sinking a game winning three; is that really MOTM worthy?  But it's hard to come up with alternatives - Gibbs' defensive header was key but he also missed the potential game winner.  What about Koscielny?

And over on the other screen we can see that Atletico and Barca have drawn, which means the title goes to the Mattress Makers.  Those around us seem pleased by this, something about "breaking the monopoly."

We'll never see these people again but it was a special moment, sharing our passion for the game with fans of all different makes.


Next week we'll look in on the Union's mixed fortunes and talk about the Newcastle season.  Here's a sneak peek.  Loic Remy played in 26 of Newcastle's 38 EPL matches.  In those 26 matches the Magpies scored 41 goals; in the other 12 they managed just two goals and one of those was an own goal.  I know correlation and casualty aren't the same thing but damn that seems revealing.