On This Day 1998 – Arsenal beat Newcastle 2-0 in the FA Cup Final to seal the ‘Double’ for the second time under Arsene Wenger…….
Most Arsenal historians seem to agree that the major turning point in Arsenal’s history was on the 22nd March 1930…
On that day, Arsenal faced Division Two opponents Hull City in the FACup Semi-Final at Elland Road. 47,549 squeezed into the Leeds United stadium expecting the rising star of the First Division, Arsenal, to progress to their second Wembley final in 4 years…
Well this is Arsenal and when did the Gunners do things the easy way. At half-time Hull City were leading and not just leading, they were 2-0 up thanks to a wind assisted opener and then an Eddie Hapgood own goal.
During a difficult second half and with Hull fighting like crazy to defend their lead, Arsenal we’re making little headway. Then flying winger Joe Hulme was put through and he crossed for the Dennis Bergkamp of his day, namely David Jack who was the most expensive player in English football at the time, to power in and score.
Still an equaliser wouldn’t come, it was getting frustrating and then with the clock ticking away the last minutes, Alex James put Cliff Bastin in and he smashed home the equaliser, with only 8 minutes on the clock…
Arsenal won the replay at Villa Park in front of 46,500, with another thunderbolt from David Jack.
Arsenal then went on to beat Huddersfield Town 2-0 in the Final and the rest is history. Those two goals scored by Jack Lambert and Alex James set in motion a decade of Arsenal success, with 2 FA Cup wins and 5 League Championships…
Tottenham spent the majority of the 1930′s in Division Two, which is where they belong.
Arsenal’s history could have been very different if they had failed against Hull City though. Sometimes you need to grit your teeth and grind out a result in a difficult match and then that result acts as the springboard for more success and sustained success.
Maybe you can see the connection I’m making, with the Wigan game in mind. It was an easily forgettable game but in the grand scheme of things it could be one of the most important results we’ve had in recent years…
It will hopefully lead to Arsenal and Wenger getting that damned monkey off of his and our backs. A piece of silverware on the sideboard could be a lot more than a lot of noisy, big-time Charlie supporters of other clubs will have to crow about this summer!!
Of course Steve Bruce has been making a few conciliatory noises, praising Arsene Wenger on the one hand for all his great work, before stating that all the pressure is on Arsenal.
Mr Bruce isn’t telling us anything new with the spectre of Birmingham City fresh in the memory bank…
We certainly don’t need reminding about Arsenal’s history of being on the wrong end of cup final shocks.
I was going to remind you, but I’ll spare you this time…
Wembley isn’t my favourite venue, it never will be and I’m not anticipating a classic open game. Hull will get stuck in and see just how much they can get away with from the referee.
I will be watching it on TV and suffering along with the rest of you.
Will I enjoy it???
Of course not…
But this time, maybe Lady Luck will smile on the Red and White and it will be our day…?
Written by Allezkev
Transfer Gossip:
Well apart from Kolou being linked to us for the 200th time, there is very little this morning.
Although The Daily Star suggest we might renew our interest in Isaac Cuenca. He’s reported to have just one year left on his contract and would consider a move away from Barcelona….
He’s a little winger/striker in case you didn’t know…
Filed under: Daily Bits and Bobs Tagged: Arsenal FC, Arsenal Reserves, Arsene Wenger, FA Cup, Stan Kroenke, The Emirates, Wembley Stadium 
