BBC pundit Jermaine Jenas believes Arsenal’s control of the central areas was key to their FA Cup Final victory over Chelsea on Saturday.
Arsenal stormed to their third FA Cup title in four years with a 2-1 victory over Chelsea at Wembley, courtesy of goals from Alexis Sanchez and Aaron Ramsey.
Diego Costa had revived ten-man Chelsea’s hopes of victory with 15 minutes of the game remaining, only for Ramsey to scupper their chances almost immediately.
But Jenas insists the game was won by Arsenal in the central areas, where senior quartet Sanchez, Ramsey, Mesut Ozil and Granit Xhaka dictated the play against a traditionally well-orchestrated Blues side.
When delivering his verdict on the game, the BBC pundit also branded the performance as Arsenal’s ‘best display of the season’.
He told BBC Radio 5 Live: “It’s unbelievable how ordinary they made Chelsea look, and don’t get me wrong, a lot of that is based on the way that Chelsea performed, but I think they just couldn’t handle Arsenal’s footballing ability in those central areas.
“The way that Xhaka, Ramsey, Ozil and Sanchez just dictated that central area of the pitch. They couldn’t get any rhythm, they couldn’t get themselves into the game, they couldn’t get on the ball – Chelsea.
“It was Arsenal’ best display of the season, they performed brilliantly.”
Arsenal’s FA Cup triumph completed a late turnaround in form for Arsene Wenger’s side, who won each of their last six matches in all competitions.
Their victory also denied their Premier League rivals a shot at winning the double, having earlier stormed to the league title.
However, their surge back up the Premier League table during the final weeks came too little, too late, as they ultimately missed out on a place in the top four, and qualification for the Champions League.
They finished fifth in the table, just one point behind fourth-placed Liverpool, meaning they will be limited to competing in the Europa League next season.