Break a leg!

Article by e-Arsenal Correspondent Lewis Borg-Cardona

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As dress rehearsals go, Arsenal’s 0-3 win at Hull City (or ‘Tigers’ if you’re reading this Mr Allam) last Saturday was a qualified success, with director Arsene Wenger ensuring that his troupe of strolling players didn’t fluff their lines. The KC Stadium may not be as intimidating as Second House, Friday night at the Glasgow Empire, but try telling that to the gap-toothed Mikel Arteta, principal recipient of Hull’s robust challenges on the day. And if the physicality of George Boyd and Tom Huddlestone wasn’t enough, then a bracing gust off the North Sea took aggressive advertising to another level when half a dozen pitch side hoardings blew across the ground, narrowly missing Bacary Sagna.

In truth, Arsenal’s 100% success rate at the new(ish) home of City was only ever in doubt during an opening twenty minutes in which the home side were most definitely on the front foot; marauding forward at every opportunity, closing Arsenal down with purpose, and with Hull’s two up front causing plenty of problems for the Arsenal back four. Behind them, principal boy Wojciech Szczesny rose to the challenge with a level of assurance and solidity that presents Arsene Wenger with perhaps his biggest decision come Cup Final day – stick with designated Cup keeper Lukasz Fabianski, who has yet to put a foot wrong during this F.A. Cup run; or bring back his fellow Pole in goal.

Yet that troublesome two man strike force of Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic is a double act destined to miss next month’s Wembley curtain raiser, thereby making the first half of last week’s encounter fairly meaningless in the ‘dress rehearsal’ stakes. The cup-tied pair won’t be extending messrs Mertesacker, Koscielny and friends on the hallowed turf, leaving Hull even more toothless than they would otherwise be. So with Long off injured at half time and Jelavic eventually pulled at the sixty-ninth minute mark, it was only in the final twenty minutes of the match that we could gauge the respective squad strengths. Matty Fryatt replaced Long, with midfielder Stephen Quinn coming on for Jelavic, but as far as the F.A. Cup Final is concerned, the other names in the frame for a forward role will probably be Ivory Coast international Yannick Sagbo (an unused sub last week) and another twenty five year old, in the shape of Sone Aluko. Sagbo and Fryatt both scored in the Semi-Final win against Sheffield United, but with Fryatt the Tiger’s top scorer this season on a mere five goals, followed by Sagbo on four, the understudies are hardly winning rave reviews.

Top of the bill for the Gunners was Aaron Ramsey, his Man of the Match performance spotlighting exactly what Arsenal have been missing during the 2014 descent from title contenders to recurrent Champions League place scrappers.

Arsène Wenger himself highlighted the quality of the Welshman’s forward thrusting runs on show, via www.arsenal.com, and without a trace of Gallic irony, vis-à-vis the unfortunate Arteta: “It is important because we looked in a few games a bit toothless away from home. To have that back is of course a threat for our opponent and it gives us opportunities to score goals."

Talking midfielders back from a spell on the sidelines, Mezut Özil also played his part, hard to track, roaming the pitch in stylish fashion; his pinpoint pass from the right for Cazorla to put in Ramsey for the opening goal, a virtuoso turn from a star performer.

Come May 17th, when the curtain comes down on this year’s competition, Mr Wenger must hope his cast of scene stealers are even more pitch perfect. If so, the more prosaic Hull midfield will struggle to keep up on the wide swathes of the Wembley stage.

Break a leg boys…………no, not you Aaron!

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