Apprentice Arteta beats master Guardiola to FA cup final

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netted twice in a 2-0 win over Manchester City as Arsenal put in their best performance yet under Mikel Arteta, dumping his former club, and boss, out of the FA Cup on the way to the final.

The narrative while these two Spanish coaches face-off will always surround their relationship with Arteta working under Pep Guardiola as his assistant manager, and after a humbling 3-0 loss in their last meeting, coupled with City’s extraordinary domestic cup dominance, Arteta might have felt he had a point to prove.

And he certainly did prove it, with Arsenal getting off to a rapid start, David Luiz intercepting an early pass before feeding in Aubameyang for a golden chance early on, only to be stopped by Ederson in the City goal after a poor finish.

But it didn’t take long for Arsenal to find Aubameyang again, this time Nicholas Pepe found space in his office just outside the top right of the area, and swept a pin-point far post cross for Aubameyang to stab home for the game’s opener.

City were always going to surge, but Arsenal weathered the storm well before earning a huge slice of luck as Raheem Sterling’s first-time effort glanced the outside of the post, but with everything else, Emiliano Martínez continued to stake his claim as the best back-up in the league, sweating City comfortably.

And after trading blows, Arsenal managed to pick out the sublime Aubameyang again, with Kieran Tierney playing him into a space on the left with a suburb first time pass that the Gabonese duly carried into the box, before sneaking it between Ederson’s legs to put the game to bed.

Arsenal will now face either Manchester United or Chelsea in the final, with the two playing tomorrow, but Mikel Arteta will surely sleep well, as not only did his Arsenal side outshoot City 4 to 1, but he’s beaten the two best sides in the country in the space of just three days.

"To beat the best two teams in Europe in three days is something that doesn't happen every day."

As far as weeks go, it's been a cracker for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal!#MOTD pic.twitter.com/er53SslTqC

— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) July 18, 2020