Arsenal has completed a successful 2014/15 season with a famous piece of silverware after destroying Aston Villa to win the FA Cup at Wembley.
The Gunners were heavy favourites going into the showpiece occasion at Wembley that marks the end of the football season. Arsene Wenger prepared his players mentally and physically to ensure they produced what they were capable of on the big stage.
The first half was a much tighter affair, with Arsenal having over 60% possession but Villa's sturdy defence held tight until just before the break, with Walcott volleying home brilliantly to break the stubborn defence on the 40 minute mark.
Villa knew they had to come out after the break and change the game. However, Sanchez had other ideas, scoring an absolute thunderbolt from outside the box, going in off the underside of the cross bar to break Villa hearts in the 50th minute. From that point on, it was still all Arsenal and Mertesacker all but finished off Villa just after the hour mark with a goal to put the Gunners 3-0 up. Villa made some changes, but it was not enough, the Gunners controlled the remainder of the match with a dominating presence, and were rewarded with a 4th goal in stoppage time to celebrate their record FA Cup victory.
Arsenal have now won a record 12th FA Cup and are back to back holders after beating Hull City this time last year. Villa need to regroup. Sherwood has got a lot of work to do and has promised a massive overhaul of the squad as he looks to build a winning mentality to the squad. He was proud of the run Villa had, however was bitterly disappointed with the result as he looked to make history with his new Villa Squad.
In other Premier League news, the fight to join the elite in the Premier League has taken place with Bournemouth winning the Championship and joining Watford in gaining automatic promotion. The play off final, witnessed Norwich City defeating Middlesbrough to win promotion at the first time of asking. QPR, Burnley & Hull City go back to the Championship after falling short and being relegated from the Premier League.
Wesley Tronson is a bank manager on the Gold Coast and lived in England for seven years to 2010 in banking and soccer.
Wesley Tronson's previous articles may be viewed at www.pressserviceinternational.org/wesley-tronson.html
