Arsenal defeated Chelsea 2-1 in the 2017 FA Cup Final after Alexis Sanchez opened the scoring in the fourth minute with a truly awful goal, and Aaron Ramsey secured the victory after Diego Costa had equalized for 10-man Chelsea. Victor Moses was sent off in the 68th minute for a sad, not even remotely believable dive.
Arsenal’s dalliance with three at the back, a switch that was necessitated after getting absolutely smashed by Sam Allardyce’s Crystal Palace back in April, continued but with Per Mertesacker drafted into the line due to the unavailability of Shkodran Mustafi, Laurent Koscielny and Gabriel Paulista.
The 32-year-old Arsenal captain hadn’t started a match this year after undergoing knee surgery and subsequently injuring a toe, and he admitted before the match that he’d never even played in a back three before, but the World Cup winning German played admirably over 90 minutes.
The opening goal arrived only four minutes into the match, and it was contentious as all hell. A nonchalant clearance from David Luiz towards the feet of N’Golo Kante was seized upon by Alexis Sanchez’s arms. Chelsea defenders asked for a handball, but the slappy through ball made its way towards an offside Ramsey.
Ramsey made a movement towards it, and Chelsea defenders then asked for the offside flag — by this point they were all essentially just standing around waiting for one of those transgressions to be spotted.
But Ramsey smartly stopped his run, and Sanchez came tearing through the stationary defenders to finish beneath Thibaut Courtois with the outside of his right boot. The linesman raised his flag to the relief of Antonio Conte’s men.
Then, after a brief discussion between the referee and his linesman, the ref pointed towards the midfield circle, signifying that the awful goal had been given. It was all very interesting and strange.
Handball? Offside? Doesn't matter, it's 1-0 Arsenal! #FACupFinal https://t.co/IPpoAD2kiO
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) May 27, 2017
Arsenal should’ve added a second, but Moses’ sending off in the 68th minute after receiving his second yellow card for diving made that seem like an afterthought.
However, it soon looked as though they’d live to regret their impotence when Diego Costa bossed Rob Holding and leveled for 10-man Chelsea in the 76th minute.
Have another look at Costa's equalizer for Chelsea in the #FACupFinal.
Blues fans couldn't celebrate for long... https://t.co/kh8z51VEoj— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) May 27, 2017
Equal terms lasted for all of three minutes before Ramsey’s headed effort, Olivier Giroud providing a fantastic clipped cross, sealed Arsenal’s record-setting 13th FA Cup and their third in four years.
Aaron Ramsey did it again! 3 years after his extra-time winner vs Hull, he clinches another #FACupFinal for Arsenal! https://t.co/UDjt7tP1GJ
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) May 27, 2017
Chelsea never really looked to be at the races — Luiz, Moses, Nemanja Matic and even N’Golo Kante looked as though they’d celebrated the Premier League title a little too heartily. Arsenal head into the offseason with a trophy, but it remains to be seen how this glory will effect the thinking of Arsene Wenger, Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and ArsenalFanTV with regards to the club's future.
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