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SCORE : Manchester City 3 - 0 Arsenal
SCORERS : Sergio Aguero 18' Vincent Kompany 58' David Silva 65'
Manchester City made light work of their first final under Pep Guardiola by completely dismantling Arsene Wenger's Arsenal. The side from London found it impossible to get going in the match as the run-away League leaders (and now the League Cup Winners) breezed through their third final in the competition since 2014.
Aguero opened the scoring for City in the 18th minute, lobbing the keeper from a Claudio Bravo direct goal-kick. Captain and soul of the club, Vincent Kompany made it two by steering home the ball from a misdirected hit by Gundogan. Nothing the keeper could do but watch it go past him. Soon they made it three with David Silva getting in on the act and that was all she wrote.
3-0 to Manchester City who have claimed their first major scalp of the season.
#5 The final failed to live up to the billing and Arsenal failed to show up at all
The match got off to a timid start with both sides trying to get a feel for the ball under the blinding lights of the Wembley Stadium. Nerves were evident in the two teams who failed to create as much as the build-up had hoped for. For all the silky footballing talent on display, it was route one football that broke the deadlock.
Arsenal, looking to press high up the pitch from a City goal-kick, found their centre back Skhodran Mustafi horribly out of position who, to make matters worse, looked for a cheap free-kick (when he should've been worried about getting goal-side of the deadly striker) but the ref wasn't buying it. All this from a long thump upfield from Claudio Bravo.
Sergio Aguero found himself in acres of space vacated by the German and the minimal work of deciding how to finish was done for him by the rash judgment of Ospina who came out to try and smother the Argentine. All the Colombian did was manage to find No Man's Land.
Aguero simply dinked the ball over the keeper with ease and the side from Manchester drew first blood. It was a very cheap goal to concede in the Final, but they weren't done being horrible yet.
Such has been the state of affairs of Arsenal Football Club that it's supporters almost expect their team to go behind before anyone in a red shirt bothers to get off his behind. Regrettably, what followed was somehow even more hideous than what preceded it. At least from an Arsenal perspective.
The "Gunners" fell asleep (or stayed asleep) when Kevin de Bruyne cut the corner back to Ilkay Gundogan who took a pop at goal only to connect poorly, but his captain steered the ball toward goal with a composed finish. The game was only to get more lopsided later as David Silva also found the back of the net to compete the scoring on an uncharacteristically miserable night in Wembley for the North London side.
Make no mistake about it, City were from their mesmerising best, failing to reach the lofty standards set by them this season under the Spaniard. But they didn't need to.
Arsenal never showed up and the Cup Final soon became an exercise in patience, not for the players who were more than patient while City did all the scoring, but for the fans who couldn't believe that they were going to be expected to not only stay till the final whistle but actually wake up tomorrow morning, go into work and defend the pathetic display of ghastly cowardice from a club they swear by. Nah Arsene, not anymore they won't.
The following stat is all the proof one needs of the utter toothless nature of Arsenal's performance.
#4 Manchester City get their first of a possible treble
Pep Guardiola's well-oiled machine is performing quite efficiently. With the League Cup under the belt, the Spaniard will be looking to win a treble this season. The English League is all but done and dusted considering the 13 point advantage with a game in hand and only 10 odd games to go.
The toughest hurdle in the dream would be the UEFA Champions League but the Citizens have put themselves in the driver's seat in their round of 16 tie against Basel with four away goals without any reply form the hosts.
Also taking into account the brand of football that Guardiola's side is currently playing, few clubs in Europe are able to keep pace with them. When you add to the mix, the staggering success rate of the said style of play, it would take a brave man to bet against the current City side to go all the way in Europe's elite competition as well.
United fans will be praying to the Gods to make sure that their "noisy neighbours" don't repeat the feat that the side under Sir Alex Ferguson managed to accomplish in 1999 and 2008.
After looking at the stat above, teams that are still alive the Champions League will be hoping that this City side doesn't reach the finals of the European campaign.
#3 One Manager was clearly more in control, both of his team and of the tie
Both managers enjoy a similar brand of football and are perfect advocates of the beautiful game, but one managed to out-smart the other making his senior look rather foolish.
Arsene Wenger has always been credited with being a great man-manager, trying to, and often succeeding in, bring the best out of his players - something Guardiola can claim to have done as well.
But when you take into account the staggering difference in success the two managers seem to attract, you have got to question the tactical decision making of the Frenchman. The Frenchman who has often been criticised for not being pragmatic in his approach towards the opposition.
Wenger has often, rather stubbornly, stuck to his principles and his methodology despite failing on numerous occasions and this is the prime reason why his credibility as a top level manager has come under constant fire.
Meanwhile the former Barcelona manager after learning form the shortcomings last season has sought to alter his methods and approach to avoid repeating the same mistakes. Something the Arsenal manager keeps finding a way to not address.
On the night, the tactics and the determination of one side - both credit to the manager - was far more evident that that of the other team. While one team seemed to want to go out and perform for their manager and win for their club, the other side seemed disingenuous at best.
Clearly one manager has had much more of an influence on his side than the other. Strange considering that Wenger has been in charge of the club for over 2 decades and Guardiola is only in his second season as City boss.
#2 The stars failed to shine in a final that was played under the dark clouds of nervousness
So much was expected from the two stars who have been in great form for their respective sides since signing contract extensions, committing their future to the club.
Unfortunately the match failed to rise to the levels that these two creative wizards often revel in. Instead the match seemed to be quite edgy and not particularly intense. Both sides failed to gain a proper foot-hold in the match in the opening exchanges as the game moved from one stoppage to the next.
The wilful ignorance of the Arsenal backline, who bent over backwards to get City off to a decent start by gifting a goal to Sergio Aguero - who looked sharper than most on the night, something we haven't seen happen an awful lot this season, was more responsible for the goal than the class of the Argentine.
Kevin de Bruyne and Mesut Ozil were always on the fringes of the game with neither really grabbing the game by the scruff of it's neck.
Similarly the likes of Leroy Sane and Ilkay Gundogan failed to impress as did Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere (although the same can be said of every man in an Arsenal shirt).
David Silva however continued his streak of never having a bad day at the office. An absolute legend.
#1 What is next in the love affair between Arsenal Football Club and Arsene Wenger?
Arsene Wenger and Arsenal F.C. are two entities that have been associated with each other longer than many Arsenal first team members have been alive. They seem inseparable and yet so disjointed at the moment, it is a pity.
Arsenal fans have been divided on the issue for years now, but it seems that slowly consensus is building regarding the manager's performance as the head of the club. And it isn't going the way the frenchman would've hoped for.
Even the most ardent of Arsene Wenger supporters will have to introspect, like they have been forced to by similarly shocking displays in the recent past. Arsenal Football Club seems to be a rudderless ship, with gaping holes in it's core, on the brink of capsizing. And how much longer does it make sense to try to rescue the ship with nothing but a tea-cup, is something the board of the club has to deliberate on very seriously over the next couple of months.
Another contract extension seems completely out of the question at the moment, but we've all been saying and thinking that for a while now yet the manager continues to find a way to avoid getting the sack.
Arsene Wenger has been a revelation in English football; this goes without saying. He has greatly affected the way football is played in England. His focus on getting the players diets in order and get them to stay on top of their games has been whole-heartedly accepted by all of the footballing world. Yet, he seems so terribly out of touch with modern footballing standards on days like this, it is shocking.
What will the next season hold for the veteran of football management is as unclear as his team's thought process is, but I think it's safe to say that it wouldn't shock us if the former Monaco manager gets another crack at trying to stabilise the club which seems to inevitably be in transition.
