A brace from Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang secured the spot in the FA Cup final for the Gunners as Arteta’s men claimed a surprise victory against the cup holders.
On the night, the master became the apprentice as Mikel Arteta sent Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City crashing out of the FA Cup semi-finals. The Arsenal boss perfectly laid down the game plan for his team, which his side duly executed.
Manchester City were guilty of not making the most of their chances as the Gunners capitalized on their defence with quick counter-attacks.
The win against the reigning Champions came just days after an astonishing victory against the current Premier League champions Liverpool, which has sent the confidence sky-high amongst the Arsenal faithful.
The past weeks’ performances have certainly raised quite a few eyebrows, especially considering how the team had been performing before that.
Pep Guardiola, however, holds some form of rift against the London club.
In an interview following the Cup tie, the Spanish manager threw a jibe towards Arsenal. On one hand, the 49-year-old was in high praise of Mikel Arteta’s team on the pitch, but, rather peculiarly, he mentioned that he doesn’t hold much respect for the club off the field.
His exact words from the interview were, “The opponents always deserve my respect and credit. And Arsenal, I have all the respect for what they are on the pitch, not much off the pitch – but on the pitch, a lot.”
Although the Manchester City boss did not expand further on his statement, one can speculate that the dig was aimed at Arsenal for their involvement in pushing for City’s two-year ban on UEFA Champions League to be upheld.
The Gunners were even reported to be the driving force in opposing City’s favor before the ban was eventually uplifted.
