Chelsea come into FA Cup final with desire, Arsenal with desperation
By George Perry
Chelsea want the FA Cup to complete Antonio Conte’s domestic double debut. Arsenal need it to salvage their club’s – and their manager’s – reputation.
Chelsea and Arsenal finished their seasons separated by far more than a few miles and four places on the table. Antonio Conte’s entrance to the Premier League incited a mini-revolution of tactics, one that Arsenal is the latest to emulate. That Arsene Wenger was the last coach to experiment with a three-man back-line encapsulates Arsenal’s slow decline and eventual lapse.
Wenger started the first modern revolution in English football when he arrived in the mid-1990s. He won three Premier Leagues and four FA Cups – including two domestic doubles in his first decade at Arsenal. The last of his Premier League titles was the “Invincible” season of 2003/04. The following year, Chelsea won their first title under Jose Mourinho.
Arsenal and Arsene Wenger misread this changing of the guard. As many people still do, they viewed Chelsea as an obnoxious startup fueled by a lot of capital and little substance. Arsenal had their history and they had a seemingly permanent seat in the Champions League. They did not need to bother with the plastics of west London.
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While Chelsea had their managerial turmoil, Arsenal was a bastion of stability under Arsene Wenger. Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson distorted beyond usefulness any calculations of the average tenure of a Premier League manager. Arsenal viewed Wenger’s continued employment and the club’s consistent top-four finishes as signs that all was well.
Their results masked their decline in quality, and more importantly, in the culture and mentality. A Champions League spot became an entitlement, not a reward. Playing in Europe every year went from being an ambition to being a consolation prize, before becoming a replacement for any ambition at all.
Antonio Conte’s decision to switch Chelsea to a 3-4-3 70 minutes into the drubbing at the Emirates had symbolism beyond this season or the history of this London derby. Six games into his Premier League career, he was disgusted with his team’s trajectory. He was also perhaps fearful that he would not make it to his second season.
Wenger has never shared that disgust nor fear, nor has he instilled the mentality behind it in his players or the club he serves. His belated tactical switch – overdue by years, not match weeks – belied his recognition that Arsenal had reached their inevitable destination. They were on the verge of losing their one remaining token of achievement, Champions League qualification. With that gone, what then, Arsenal?
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The two clubs now come to Wembley with vastly different ambitions and emotions. The tumultuous Chelsea, under their hyper-passionate manager (their ninth in 10 years, including Guus Hiddink), seek to add the FA Cup to their Premier League title. The double would bring more glory to Antonio Conte’s debut, John Terry’s farewell and add lustre to the Roman Abramovich era.
Arsenal – with the longest serving manager in English football today – seek the FA Cup less out of glory and desire than a cloying need to remind people that they are still the Arsenal of memory. If this is to be Arsene Wenger’s final season in England, the FA Cup will allow him to exit credibly and respectably – but not in glory.
Antonio Conte said that Chelsea are the underdogs for the FA Cup. The Blues won the league and celebrated well. Arsenal, on the other hand, “lost the possibility to play in the Champions League and this is their only chance of saving the season.”
For any other club that would be sufficient motivation. They would be desperate to preserve their reputation, their credibility and their manager’s job. But for the post-Invincible Arsenal, even that might not be enough to rouse their ambition and their fight. As grim as their position is, they may still lack the desperation to fight their way back.
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If that is the case, the rebuilding process will need more than a new manager and a summer transfer window. Chelsea may need to find a new rival, one that can at least match their spirit if not the Blues’ success.