3 things we learned from Arsenal’s 2-1 FA Cup win over Reading

Arsenal are headed to the FA Cup final, mostly thanks to a goalkeeping error. Alexis Sanchez was brilliant, scoring two goals, but the second was gifted to him in a 2-1 extra time win over Reading.

Reading started the match as expected, defending deep in two banks of four. It limited Arsenal’s scoring chances, but gave them no chance to score any of their own. Adam Federici came up with brilliant stops on Per Mertesacker and Sanchez in the first half-hour, but the Gunners finally went in front just before the halftime break.

Sanchez and Mesut Özil combined on the 39th minute goal, with the German playmaker providing a spectacular assist with a lofted ball into the box. Sanchez took it down perfectly, delayed half a second to let the defense run by him, then placed a calm finish past Federici.

Given how much they struggled to create, it was tough to see a way back for Reading. But they were gifted an equalizer in the 54th minute, with Wojciech Szczesny committing a terrible howler. He should have had little problem stopping Gareth McCleary’s effort, but instead helped tip it over the line. The referee was unsure about whether to give the goal at first, but the ball did indeed cross the line.

Arsenal was forced into a substitution in the 63rd minute, with Gabriel replacing Mertesacker due to an injury. Six minutes after that, Gabriel was almost Arsenal’s hero, but his excellent header was stopped by an even better Federici save.

Both teams had chances to end the match in regular time, but couldn’t convert. Aaron Ramsey missed back-to-back good chances in the 84th minute, hitting his first effort into Federici, then striking the post when he had the entire goal to shoot at with his second. Pavel Pogrebnyak completely botched a two-on-one with Jamie Mackie three minutes later, hitting a terrible slow dribbler right into Szczesny’s arms.

Federici, who was the best man on the pitch for most of the match, continued to keep his team in the match during the first period of extra time with some solid saves. And then, in the 105th minute, he whiffed on a routine save. A shot from Sanchez took a slight deflection, but well before it got to Federici, and he was in perfect position to stop it anyway. Instead, it went between his hands, through his legs and into the back of the net.

Reading pushed forward in extra time, bringing two strikers off the bench in an attempt to snatch a goal, but Arsenal had little problem holding on for the win.

Goals: McCleary (54’)

Goals: Sanchez (39’, 105’)

1. Arsenal need a real world-class goalkeeper. David Ospina has been better than Szczesny this season, but only marginally. The error that Szczesny made in this one that caused the game to go into extra time is typical for him and nearly as common for Ospina. There’s no reason to believe Arsenal will actually acknowledge this problem because they’ve failed to do so for a decade, but Arsene Wenger really needs to go get an experienced, top class goalkeeper. He has the money and his team can draw that kind of player. It should be a priority.

2. Mesut Özil runs the whole show. Once again, Arsenal’s best player was Özil. Whether he’s in the hole, on the left or part of a midfield three, he’s been the Gunners’ most creative player and even if he doesn’t have the final pass that leads to a good chance, he’s almost always involved in the build-up in an imperative way. It’s tough to imagine Arsenal getting results without him at this point.

3. Someone give Adam Federici a hug. No one deserves this.