Alexis Sanchez struck in extra time as Arsenal came from behind to beat Manchester City 2-1 at Wembley to secure their place in the FA Cup Final.
The officials were the main talking point of the first half with two disallowed goals and penalty appeals causing plenty of talking points in a goalless first half.
Sergio Aguero opened the scoring shortly after the hour mark before Nacho Monreal levelled matters 19 minutes from time. There wasn't much to separate the sides and it was unsurprising to see the game go into extra time, where Sanchez sealed the win.
Sanchez put in a decent performance and man of the match Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was excellent, as was goalscorer Monreal, but for me it was two of our defenders who stood out the most. Gabriel put in arguably his best performance in an Arsenal shirt, while Rob Holding put in a confident and assured display to frustrate the opposition.
I love the FA Cup so am understandably delighted at us reaching the final, but can't help wonder why we haven't been able to show this superb character in some of the other games in recent months.
There is no doubting that we will be seen as underdogs in the final against league leaders Chelsea, but in cup football anything can happen and it will come down to who performs better and wants it more on the day...let's just hope it is us!
Oxlade-Chamberlain started well and performed strongly throughout and his fine early cross could have led to a goal had Olivier Giroud not headed straight at Claudio Bravo.
At the other end David Silva's close-range header was excellently tipped over by Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech before the Spanish midfielder was forced off injured soon after.
Arsenal saw a goal ruled out when Laurent Koscielny poked the ball beyond Bravo, only to be flagged for offside, but it looked to be a correct decision.
Manchester City were then denied by the official as referee Craig Pawson waved play on after what some sections of the crowd believed to be a foul by Oxlade-Chamberlain on Raheem Sterling in the box. The contact seemed minimal and it would have been soft if a penalty had been given in my opinion.
City however may have had more reason to feel aggrieved when Leroy Sane saw a goal disallowed as officials believed the ball had gone out of play. Each time I see the replay I keep changing my mind about it and, although it was a very tight call, I must admit I think we were lucky on this occasion and it was a big let off.
Maybe City are right to feel hard done by, but then the decisions going both for and against the two sides appeared to even themselves out when Sanchez was denied a penalty after being hauled down in the box.
Arsenal started the second half brightly and will no doubt be frustrated at themselves for conceding a sloppy equaliser after 62 minutes. Some have pointed the finger at Cech saying he should have done better with the goal, but I think Aaron Ramsey needs to take responsibility for his part in it as well. The Welsh midfielder gifted possession to Manchester City and Yaya Toure released Aguero, who beat Monreal and dinked the ball over the onrushing Cech.
At this point I genuinely wondered if we would be able to turn the game around or if this was going to spark City into life and become tougher for us. Fortunately Oxlade-Chamberlain was on hand to curl in a great cross for Monreal to race in and powerfully hammer home after 71 minutes.
City began to attack with more desire and only a superb save from Cech kept the scores level. The Gunners number one reacted excellently to tip Toure's volley onto a post. The woodwork was hit again soon after as Fernandinho's header hit the crossbar.
Arsenal substitute Danny Welbeck wasted the chance to win the game in normal time when he curled a shot wide, meaning the scores remained level and extra time beckoned.
Holding, who was performing excellently at the back, sent a header just over the bar in the first half of extra time, but Arsenal made no mistake on the 100-minute mark. Koscielny headed the ball back across goal from a corner and Sanchez forced the ball home from close range.
It should have been 3-1 soon after, but Welbeck sent an effort just wide when he maybe should have crossed for one of his team-mates in a better position to have an easier finish.
City substitute Fabian Delph had a chance to equalise and force penalties, but Hector Bellerin got enough on it to put it behind for a corner. Kevin De Bruyne shot just wide for City as Arsenal held on to secure a huge victory.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Manchester City fan Joseph Barnes congratulated the opposition after seeing his side eliminated and believes Pep Guardiola's men will come back even stronger.
"I think the game was a good advert for the Premier League and was end to end at times," said Barnes. "We can moan about the ref, but it evens out in the grand scheme of things.
"Look at Sterling's goal in the League Cup semi against Everton last year! Well done Arsenal!
"City will be a different proposition next year! In Pep we trust!"
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
As much as it feels great to have reached the FA Cup Final, we must now forget about it until the league campaign is over. Before the Wembley showpiece on May 27th, we have seven more matches that we need to treat as if they were also cup finals.
Whether we defy the odds to finish in the top four or end up outside of it for the first time under Arsene Wenger, the league campaign cannot be seen as decent. Being so far off the pace in the title race is very frustrating, but securing Champions League football is a must.
The Gunners are currently seventh and seven points off fourth-placed Manchester City, albeit with a game in hand, so there is no margin for error. We need to focus on the visit of Leicester first before the tough task of the trip to bitter rivals Tottenham, where we could scupper their title aspirations.
If we are to finish fourth I feel we need a minimum of four points from these two tough games. Although it is a big ask I really think we should be aiming for six though!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
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