Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang shows why he’s one of Europe’s top marksman as his brace against Manchester City ensures that the gunners, under new coach Mikel Arteta, will play in the finals of the 2019-20 FA Cup.
The forward’s double sent Arsenal to the FA Cup final after they showed the perfect mix of grit and guile to beat Manchester City 2-0.
Fresh from beating Liverpool in the Premier League, Mikel Arteta’s side defended for large parts of the semi-final but frustrated City and struck twice on the counter-attack through Aubameyang.
The Gunners took the lead when the striker finished an 18-pass move with a beautifully controlled finish at the back post before doubling the advantage when breaking an unbalanced City offside trap and nutmegging Ederson.
Manchester City would have no complaints with the result as they rarely tested Emiliano Martínez, who was protected by an outstanding defensive performance led by David Luiz and Kieran Tierney.
Arsenal will play the winners of today’s second semi-final between Manchester United and Chelsea in the final – set to be played on Saturday, 1 August.
Arsenal wraps up a perfect week and hands Mikel Arteta a personal triumph after the victory over Premier League champions, Liverpool, at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday and at Wembley against FA Cup holders, Manchester City.
As against Liverpool, Arsenal was well-organised and resilient at the back, something we have found really difficult to say about the Arsenal defence, willing to throw bodies on the line to repel the wave of City attacks in the second half as the holders tried to hold on to the FA Cup.
David Luiz had the sort of nightmare many believed would end his Arsenal career when they played City in their first post-lockdown game at Etihad Stadium, making a mistake leading to a goal then being sent off after conceding a penalty.
He made amends against City in the semi-final producing a maverick display at the rock heart of Arsenal’s defence and a central figure in this victory.
The spearhead, however, was the 31-year-old Gabon striker Aubameyang, who was a huge threat throughout and illustrated exactly why he is among the game’s elite group of strikers.
An ever-present menace, his two finishes were of the highest quality and demonstrated his big-match temperament.
This is why Arsenal are so keen to get his signature on a lucrative new deal – and why they will have a chance of winning the FA Cup no matter who they face in the final.
Stats and facts from the match
- Arsenal have reached the FA Cup final a record 21 times, with the Gunners also winning the competition more than any other side (13).
- Manchester City have been eliminated from a domestic cup tie (League Cup and FA Cup) for the first time since February 2018 (FA Cup 5th Round v Wigan), with this their 22nd such tie since that game.
- Arsenal have eliminated the holders of the FA Cup on each of the last six occasions they’ve faced them.
- All four of Arsenal’s shots in this match were on target – indeed they had more shots on target in this match than they’d had in their previous three meetings with Manchester City combined (3).
- Manchester City had just one shot on target in this match, their fewest in a game since April 2018 in the Champions League against Liverpool (0).
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang became the fourth Arsenal player to score a competitive brace at Wembley Stadium, after Reg Lewis (1950 FA Cup final), Charlie Nicholas (1987 League Cup final) and Alexis Sanchez (2015 FA Cup semi-final).
- Nicolas Pepe has been involved in 17 goals in all competitions for Arsenal this season (8 goals, 9 assists) – only Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (27) has been involved in more.
the researchers identified hundreds of genes that functioned differently in the two species’ skins and pinpointed a cluster that was partially responsible for the mammoth’s iconic hairiness and ability to brave the cold.
The tundra’s low temperature slowed its molecules’ motion, and dehydration caused by the tundra’s dry atmosphere meant there was no water available for the fragments to move through, leaving the leathery sample more shelf-stable than the average supermarket snack
The team suspects that the sample, a strip of skin taken from near the mammoth’s ear, held up so well because it underwent spontaneous freeze-drying. Soon after the mammoth died, permafrost blanketed its body
After organisms die, however, these molecules begin to shatter, generating fragments that travel across space like dye in water. The DNA in the mammoth sample fragmented but did not disperse: the pieces ran into a rare molecular traffic jam
Congratulation to the Gunners.