The club want a reason to keep him, and here it is. A swing at a third FA Cup victory in four years, the opportunity to make history as the only manager to win the tournament seven times and evidence of meaningful evolution at Arsenal this season, with the new back three formation.
Yet if this performance said anything it was that you are never too old to learn; or, in Wenger’s case, change. Whether a back three was something he was always considering, or felt pressured to introduce, really does not matter right now. It worked, that much is clear, restricting Manchester City to a single goal, scored from a second-half breakaway.
That, by the end, City were depleted by injuries — most crucially to David Silva and Sergio Aguero — clearly made a difference. For much of the game, probably the first 80 minutes of it, they had the best chances, taking the lead and hitting the woodwork twice. Yet how many times have we seen Arsenal dominate, only to lose, and how many times have we praised the cussedness and determination of their opponents in those circumstances?
On Sunday, Arsenal demonstrated precisely those traits — hanging in there when City were on top, scoring an excellent equaliser against the run of play, finding a way through in extra time as the opposition tired. They defended well, too, the back three efficient and single-minded, the wing-backs combining superbly for the equaliser.
These were testing circumstances against one of the strongest attacking teams in the country and Arsenal were rarely on top. Yet, with 101 minutes gone, Sanchez conjured a scruffy, if instinctive, winner. It came from a Mesut Ozil free-kick, headed down by Laurent Koscielny. Danny Welbeck took a swing and missed, but so did Gael Clichy, who had a chance to repel Arsenal, before Sanchez proved too quick for Vincent Kompany, taking the ball off his toes with his first touch, finishing from close range with his second.
City, by then, were stretched. Kelechi Iheanacho became the first fourth substitute to be used in FA Cup history, coming on for Raheem Sterling in extra time, as per the new rule, but it made no difference. Confounding those critics who doubt their resilience — and they are not small in number — Arsenal left nothing out there. City will be exhausted with four days to go before a defining Manchester derby.
-DailyMail