Chelsea v Arsenal, FA Cup Semi-Final, April 18

It’s been sometime since the game and a lot has been written about it, so the plan is to keep this short and bulleted:

• Wenger didn’t really want to win this. On the bench were Arshavin, Nasri and Song. He does have an abundance of attacking talent but any selection of Diaby over Arshavin or Nasri has to be questioned. In a cup semi-final against Chelsea, one is tempted to start looking for ulterior motives. Not questioning integrity or stuff like that, but WHY???
• Malouda has started looking a better player under Hiddink. Not spectacular yet but better.
• Arsenal are the one team that I most expect to be leading a game even when they are getting completely outplayed. That they were better than Chelsea when they scored the first goal is not the point. Soon Chelsea were dominant and Arsenal were completely inferior. That Arsenal are often unable to hold on to the lead till the end is also not the point. Not this point at least.
• Obi Mikel is quite unlucky not to be starting every game for Chelsea. He was quite good at the job he did. There is a case for putting Mikel in for Ballack and letting Lampard and Essien look after matters up front.
• After a bright comeback from injury, Essien looked out-of-form for two straight games. It’s quite a first!
• Why is Fabianski taking all the blame for Drogba’s winner? He may not have made the best decisions but Drogba would have been one-on-one with him anyway and would be 95% favorite to score. How about some more focus on Silvestre’s surrender?