Arsenal Football Club are the 2014 FA Cup Winners after they saw off a spirited Hull City at Wembley yesterday evening.
The Gunners started the game poorly and were 2-0 down after just eight minutes, but goals from Santi Cazorla, Laurent Koscielny and Aaron Ramsey saw Arsene Wenger’s men turn the final on it’s head and win their first piece of silverware since 2005.
After the game, several of the members from the Arsenal camp were pulled aside for interviews, and here is what they had to say:
Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger:
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger speaking to ITV: “We wanted to make history tonight and win the game and we did that in both ways – how not to start the Cup final and how to come back.
“I think it was a turning point in the life time of this team – to know they can win in that way was really important today.
“It would have been terrible [to lose] but we came back. I’ve praised the spirit of this team and they showed that today.”
“I always said my future doesn’t depend on this but I always wanted to stay.”
Arsenal match-winner, Aaron Ramsey:
“I get emotional thinking about it. We have conceded early in lots of big games this season, but we showed great strength of character to come back and to score the winner is something I have dreamed off.
“This one is for the manager and the fans who have already believed in us, even when things have not gone well for us.”
“Over the last couple of seasons we’ve been under pressure and taken stick for not being ruthless and not taking opportunities but the manager has always believed in us. This for Arsene – and we now know he’ll put pen to paper.”
Tomas Rosicky:
“It is difficult to describe, we have been waiting a very long time for this moment and it’s finally here. It’s very exciting. The whole club needed this trophy and finally we have got it I hope it will help us for next season. Some of the players have never won anything and this is the first time for them.”
Jack Wilshere:
“It’s amazing, I’ve won the FA Youth Cup before but it’s nothing like this – this is for the fans. You could see at the end a few players had injuries but we dug in and carried on. All the credit goes to the boys – it was easy for me to come and help us get across the line, but all credit goes to them. It’s been a long nine years for the fans- they fill the Emirates every week and this is for them.”
“We never do it easy. Sitting on the bench I felt sick after the first 10 minutes, but we always felt if we got the goal before half-time we would win it and it was a great free-kick from Santi.”
Arsenal vice-captain, Mikel Arteta:
“It’s unbelievable, when you go 2-0 down it is really rare to come back and win the Cup. It has been a long time and hopefully this is the start of something really good. The start of the match was shocking, you would never expect to start the game like but we showed the character desire and spirit of this team to put it right in the end.
“Aaron Ramsey has been the best player on the pitch when he has been fit and he was the right man to score. It had to come sometime. Today was the day and we have done it.”
Kieran Gibbs:
“It’s a great achievement, we’re very happy. It’s been a long time coming and it feels like something the boys have deserved throughout the course of the season. This silences a lot of people and now and can move on as a team and as a club.
“It was such a bad miss – I’ve seen that moment 100 times in my head and it didn’t go like that. It’s done now and obviously we want to build on this for next season, but for now we will just enjoy it.”
Bacary Sagna:
“We have been waiting for this moment for too long. It is great for Arsenal, it was a very hard game, we started badly but showed desire to come back and it is a victory for everyone. The fans really deserve it and we want to share it with them.
“Every single game was a final this season, we had really hard moments together and today again we showed that mentally we are strong. It is a moment to share with the fans.”
“I don’t know to be honest (if that will be my last game), as everyone says I have been talking with the club for a long time and we will try to find a solution, but I don’t know what that will be.”
Congratulations to Arsenal for winning the 2014 FA Cup.
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles
