The Times - UK (2020-06-29)

6 1GG Monday June 29 2020 | the times

thegame FA C u p

from a corner, but VAR

chalked off the goal when

replays showed he was in an

offside position.

Arteta sensed his players

needed a lift. He

ventured towards the

edge of his technical

area to offer

encouragement,

but again United

laid siege to the

Arsenal box.

McBurnie flicked

on Robinson’s long

throw, and when the ball

fell to the back post

McGoldrick timed his

run just a second too

late.

Arsenal offered next to

nothing going forward in

the first 20 minutes. They

lacked creativity in

midfield and Lacazette

struggled to get on the ball.

Arsenal finally won their first

corner, but Joe Willock wasted

it. His delivery rolled to John

Fleck at the near post, who

cleared. Arteta groaned. Then, all

of a sudden, his team were handed a

chance to take the lead.

Kieran Tierney, who impressed

throughout, fired a low pass to

Lacazette, who was just inside the

penalty area. The striker hit the deck

after being clipped by Basham.

Paul Tierney, the referee, pointed to

the spot and after a lengthy review

from VAR, the decision stood and

Pépé dispatched the penalty.

Arsenal upped their game slightly.

Henderson needed a strong arm to

stop Pépé’s powerful shot.

United were forced into a change

when Lundstram fell awkwardly,

injuring his shoulder. Arsenal also

had to send on a substitute when Luiz

went off after sprinting alongside

McGoldrick. Holding replaced him.

Wilder’s team pressed the away side

and Arsenal could not pass through

them. Basham had a superb chance to

level on the hour, but somehow

headed wide from six yards.

With three minutes left, United

were level. Mustafi failed to head

clear a throw, Kolasinac’s attempted

clearance struck Holding and the ball

looped up to McGoldrick, who

pounced. The home side celebrated,

but four minutes later, they were

behind again and there would be no

coming back.

Nketiah picked out Pépé on the

counter and after a challenge by Enda

Stevens the ball dropped to Ceballos,

who drove his shot into the net,

sending Arteta into a celebratory jig.

Just before 3pm yesterday, on the
touchline in front of the away dugout
at Bramall Lane, Mikel Arteta was
celebrating as though his Arsenal
team had won the FA Cup.
As soon as Dani Ceballos’s
91st-minute shot crept under Dean
Henderson and into the net, the
Arsenal manager, decked out in
chinos and a black jumper, leapt up
and let out a bellow that bounced off
the Tony Currie Stand and echoed
around the stadium.
Few could blame him for such an
extravagant celebration. His team
had, after all, just got out of jail. They
had squeezed into the semi-finals of
the FA Cup by the slimmest of
margins to end a testing week on a
high. Arteta had been embarrassed by
last weekend’s defeat away to
Brighton & Hove Albion and had a
falling out with Mattéo Guendouzi in
midweek, but his team have now
recorded two straight wins.
Arteta will be well aware that his
team were a little fortunate yesterday,
though. For large parts, the hosts
looked far more threatening. But all
that mattered to Arteta was that
Arsenal were on their way to their
30th FA Cup semi-final.
Defeat here, after last week’s loss at
Brighton, would have caused Arteta
further embarrassment, but despite
being second best for much of the
match Arsenal showed courage and
skill to finish off with that late winner

PAU L

HIRST

at Bramall Lane

from Ceballos. In truth, the first 87

minutes were largely forgettable.

Arsenal had gone ahead after 25

minutes when Nicolas Pépé

converted a penalty which was

awarded after Chris Basham tripped

Alexandre Lacazette just inside

the box.

At the death we saw both sides of

Arsenal. First came the ugly one. Sead

Kolasinac, Rob Holding and Shkodran

Mustafi all failed to clear a long

throw, allowing David McGoldrick to

pounce for an equaliser.

But then, in the first minute of

stoppage time, Arsenal produced a

flowing passing move that went from

Eddie Nketiah to Pépé and on to

Ceballos, who drove the ball under

Henderson.

It was, Chris Wilder admitted, a

“gut-wrenching” way for the home

side to exit the tournament.

“Sometimes we had them defending

for their lives in the second half,” said

the Sheffield United manager, who

has overseen three defeats in a row

since football resumed in empty

stadiums after the lockdown.

Wilder’s team started well. United

were coming up against an Arsenal

side showing five changes. Arteta

demonstrated his faith in David Luiz

by recalling the Brazilian defender

after he had served a two-match ban

for his dismissal against Manchester

City.

Luiz impressed early on. The centre

back, who signed a one-year contract

extension last week, bundled Oli

McBurnie to the floor with a physical

challenge. He clearly meant business.

There was no sign of the nervousness

he had displayed at the Etihad

Stadium, but on the whole Arsenal

struggled to settle. Had it not been for

Granit Xhaka’s block, Jack Robinson

would have tested

Emiliano Martínez in the

Arsenal goal.

United thought they had

the lead when John Lundstram

headed in McBurnie’s flick-on

TIERNEY’S ATTACKING THREAT

Kieran Tierney was very influential

down the Arsenal left, just as active

in the opposition half as

defending in his own half

T

Sead Kolasinac

attempts to clear a

long throw-in from

Jack Robinson, but his

woeful attempt strikes

Rob Holding and David

McGoldrick volleys in

the loose ball

Match briefing

KEY MOMENT

Arsenal break. Eddie

Nketiah switches the

ball from the left to

Pépé. He is harried off

the ball but Dani

Ceballos turns and

drives under

Henderson

87 90

41% 59%

POSSESSION

43

SHOTS ON TARGET

18 13

FOULS

12

Pepé 25 (pen)

Ceballos 90+1

McGoldrick 87

Ceballos’s

late strike

lifts lucky

Arsenal

RATINGS

Sheffield United (3-5-2): D Henderson 5 —

C Basham 5 (B Sharp 76min), J Egan 6,

J Robinson 7 — G Baldock 6 (L Freeman 62, 6),

J Lundstram 5 (S Berge 35, 5), O Norwood 6,

J Fleck 6, E Stevens 6 — D McGoldrick 7,

O McBurnie 7.

Booked Fleck, Robinson.

Arsenal (3-4-3): E Martínez 6 — S Mustafi 5,

D Luiz 7 (R Holding 54, 5), K Tierney 7 —

A Maitland-Niles 5, G Xhaka 7, J Willock 5

(D Ceballos 67, 7), S Kolasinac 5 — N Pépé 7

(Sokratis 90+3), A Lacazette 7 (E Nketiah 67, 7),

B Sako 6.

Referee: Paul Tierney.

Sheffield

United

Arsenal

16

Goals Nicolas Pépé has been involved in this

season for Arsenal — scoring eight and assisting

eight. Only Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with 21

— 20 goals and one assist — has been involved in

more for Mikel Arteta’s side this season.

Chris Basham trips

Alexandre Lacazette as

he tries to win the ball

just inside the area. A

penalty is awarded and

Nicolas Pépé fires past

Dean Henderson

25 mins +1