Arsenal 2-0 Man City, highlights: Aubameyang brace sends Gunners into final

Follow the Arsenal vs Manchester City LIVE score, updates and commentary as Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola face off in the FA Cup semifinal at the Wembley.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Centre) was clinical with his finishing as Arsenal doubled its lead against the run of play.

Hello and welcome to Sportstar's LIVE coverage of the FA Cup semifinal between Arsenal and Manchester City at the Wembley.

 

FULL-TIME: ARSENAL 2-0 MANCHESTER CITY

Mikel Arteta has masterminded a brilliant win over Pep Guardiola, under whom he worked as an assistant coach at City until December. Arsenal looked wobbly at the beginning of the game but found back its footing gradually. The front-three of Nicolas Pepe, Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang created chances whichever way they came. Aubameyang came up with two superb finishes in both halves to send Arsenal to its 21st FA Cup final.

90+7' City comes forward one final time but Arsenal offers no space in the final third. Rodri sends a shot flying over the cross bar and Martinez pauses for a moment before taking the goal kick as the referee blows his whistle.

90+5' City tries to create a chance from the wide areas as Mendy sends a flat delivery into the box which is punched away by Martinez. With two more minutes of added time left, Guardiola's FA Cup defence does not look possible.

90+3' Willock wins a free kick for Arsenal in a dangerous position but the Gunners have no interest in attacking the ball. Aubameyang and Willock keep it in the corner, trying to pass some more time.

90+2' Guardiola is pacing up and down the touchline with a defiant expression on his face. De Bruyne brings down a cross from the deep but is taken of the ball by Maitland-Niles.

89' Time is ticking away from City. Maitland-Niles refuses to let De Bruyne off on the right side and goes down to win a free kick for Arsenal.

87' Mustafi looks in pain after a tussle down the right wing with Sterling. The centre-back clutches his thigh as he limps off the pitch and replaced by Rob Holding. David Silva comes off for City and is replaced by Fernandinho. Arteta beefs up his defence as takes off Ceballos for Sead Kolasinac.

85' Brilliant pass from Mustafi. The German wins the ball near the half line and weighs a brilliant cross for Aubameyang making the run through the centre. However, he is unable to control it properly and Garcia takes him off the ball.

83' Shot! City amps up the pressure as Arsenal stations all of its men inside the box. Laporte does something out of the plan as he sends a shot from the outside the box which flies narrowly wide off the top corner.

81' De Bruyne tries to block Joe Willock's path out of the defending third as the forwards trips over to break the momentum. City wins back the possession in the centre as De Bruyne sends a cross at the far post which goes wide off the goal.

78' Arteta makes is second change of the night as sends in Lucas Torreira for Lacazette. Rodri tries a shot from outside the box but his shot sails harmlessly over the post.

75' City wins two more corners but is unable to breach a well-drilled Arsenal defence which seems to predict every move from Pep's side.

73' Block! Brilliant defending from Luiz. The Brazilian spots Sterling shifting the ball to his right foot at the near post and puts his body on the line to block the shot out.

71' GOAL ARSENAL! Teirney finds Pepe in the space on the right as the pair exchanges passes in the narrow space on the wings. Tierney finds Aubameyang in the middle and hits the perfect pass for the striker to run past the City defence and slot his shot through the legs of Ederson.

69' De Bruyne once again drifts wide on the right and crosses into the centre which is well read by Luiz who heads it away for a corner.

67' Close! City works a corner kick towards the far post where De Bruyne has been highly effective. The midfielder lays it in the path for Sterling but Mustafi puts in a vital tackle to avert the danger.

66' Double change from Pep. Rodri is brought on for Gundogan, who has had a torrid time in the engine room, while Phil Foden comes on to replace Riyadh Mahrez.

63' Excellent tackle by Mustafi who shadows Sterling into the box and sticks out his foot at the precise moment the forward gets ready to cross. City players appeal for a foul as the referee awards a corner after consulting VAR. Sterling outjumps Tierney for the resultant corner but is unable to put any power behind his header which is comfortable for Martinez.

61' City wins a free kick in a dangerous area after Ceballos and Luiz bring down De Bruyne. The Belgian stands over the free kick and sends it fizzing past the top right corner.

59' Arsenal endures nervous moments as it scrambles to clear two back-to-back corners for City. Sterling's dink over the defence is headed away by Tierney and falls for Lacazette who hacks it clear.

57' Good defending from Bellerin. The Spaniard wins back the ball from Mendy who tries to dribble his way in and intercepts Sterling's pass few moments later and plays it to Lacazette who is taken off the ball by Walker.

55' Save! Mahrez receives the ball on the right and cuts inside and curls a shot into the near post which Martinez does well to save. Arsenal moves forward quickly as Maitland-Niles reaches the byline and cuts it back which is straight at Garcia who clears it away.

53' Maitland-Niles overlaps Aubameyang on the left and crosses at the far post which is tad bit heavy and City has the ball back. The blue shirts need to be more careful dealing with Arsenal's counter attacks.

51' Block! City is stepping on the gas as De Bruyne drifts wide on the right dragging Maitland-Niles along with him. He squares off a pass into the goalmouth but Luiz is in position to block it out.

48' WIDE! Sterling can't seem to catch a break. Silva passes to De Bruyne on the left who spots Sterling's run into the centre and lays it in his path. Sterling has a clear view of the goal but drags his wide off the near post.

46' We are underway in the second half. City wins a corner right away as Mahrez forces a clearance from Maitland-Niles. Sterling is teed up by Sterling at the near post but the Englishman blazes his shot over the bar.

HALF-TIME: ARSENAL 1-0 MANCHESTER CITY

45+2' City's final third passing has been mediocre at best. The defending champion has tried crossing into the box which has not resulted in clear cut chances. Sterling tries to cross at far post for Mahrez but it finds no takers and the referee brings the half to an end.

45' Arsenal goes on a counter as Bellerin crosses at the far post for Pepe. The winger's hits a poor cross which is straight at Ederson. Mendy bombs forward and wins a corner. Mahrez's delivery is cleared by Luiz but falls for De Bruyne who clatters a shot into the Arsenal cluster inside the box.

43' David Silva, De Bruyne and Mendy exchange passes on the left side with results in the Belgian in space but Mustafi does well to block out the shot.

41' SAVE! Lacazette's work rate has been first rate. The Frenchman helps Bellerin win a corner which is delivered flat by Aubameyang. Maitland-Niles glances it towards the roof of the net which is palmed away by Ederson.

39' Jesus gets away with a warning for a stamp on Ceballos. City wins a corner Mahrez whips in a good ball, but Luiz manages to head it clear.

36' Tierney sends a dangerous cross into the box with City pinned back in its own half. Garcia clears it easily but loses it to Pepe who bends a cross at the far post which is too far for his teammates.

34' Arsenal counter press is working wonders as City clearly looks uncomfortable. Ceballos wins the ball from Sterling in the centre and plays Pepe into the space on the left. The winger crosses it for Lacazette lurking in the centre but is beaten to it by Garcia.

31' More mistakes! This times its City's defence that coughs up possession inside the box. Aubameyang wins the ball after Ederson's pass it straight at Lacazette. He lays it for Pepe to take a shot but is blocked out Laporte.

29' Poor passing! Arsenal is living on the edge. A terrible back pass from Bellerin is straight at Sterling who rolls it in the path of De Bruyne who forces a block out of Xhaka. City claims a handball but the referee is not interested.

28' Good play from City! Meny and Jesus combine on the left as the full-back crosses into the box. Tierney is in place to head it away to safety.

25' The referee calls for a drinks break as Arteta turns into a clone of Guardiola with his animated gestures directed towards Mustafi who went for an unnecessary tackle on Silva.

23' David Silva goes down after Mustafi catches him from behind. The German gets away with just a warning from the referee. Sterling floats the free kick at the far post which Laporte manages to head it over the goal post.

19' GOAL ARSENAL! What a brilliant move that was from the Gunners. Xhaka carries the ball from the midfield and passes it to Pepe who gets on his stronger left foot to find Aubameyang at the far post who shakes off Walker to put it into the back of the net with an exquisite finish.

16' SAVE! Arsenal is slowly warming up in the match. Its forwards press the back two which results an error in the middle. A brilliant through ball from Luiz from the centre finds Aubameyang clear for a shot. The striker unleashes a rasping shot which is straight at Ederson.

14' Mustafi hits a long pass over the City defence as Lacazette reaches it and runs at the goal keeper. Had he scored, it would not have counted as the linesman had his flag up.

12' Walker's poor pass in the centre is intercepted by Lacazette. Gundogan fouls the Frenchman to break Arsenal's momentum.

9' Close shave! Mustafi and David Luiz fail to pass the ball out of their own box as Sterling wins the ball from Mustafi and gets the shot away. The Gunners' defence looks even more vulnerable as the clearance falls for De Bruyne who crosses at the far post which Mahrez thumps down only to be blocked by Ceballos.

7' Silva frees up Mahrez on the right side as the winger cuts into the box but is blocked by Maitland-Niles.

5' Arsenal clears the corner comfortably. Martinez goes for a long punt trying to find Aubameyang upfront but the Gabon striker is unable to hold on to it.

3' Almost an own goal! Sterling hauls the ball off Ceballos just outside the box and tees up Jesus at the near post who flashes it across the goalmouth. Tierney dives at the ball to head it away which catches goalkeeper Martinez off guard. Luckily for Arsenal the ball goes wide.

1' OFF WE GO! Man City gets things underway. Walker tries to pass towards De Bruyne in the centre but Xhaka intercepts it and Ceballos clears.

The players walk out of the tunnel at the Wembley Stadium.

Line-ups are out:

Arsenal (3-4-3): Martinez; Mustafi, David Luiz, Tierney; Belllerin, Ceballos, Xhaka, Maitland-Niles; Pepe, Lacazette, Aubameyang

Manchester City(4-3-3): Ederson; Walker, Garcia, Laporte, Mendy; Gundogan, De Bruyne, David Silva; Mahrez, Jesus, Sterling

• Manchester City has not won all of its past seven matches against Arsenal. Pep Guardiola's team has 20 goals and conceded just 2 in this process. The Cityzens have won 10 of their last 12 FA semifinals with both the defeats coming against Arsenal (1932 and 2017).
• Arsenal is the only team in FA Cup history to play 30 semifinals. The Gunners have been successful in reaching the final 20 times - a joint highest final appearances in the tournament.
• Match Preview: It is another meeting between Pep Guardiola and his former assistant at Manchester City, Arteta, who joined Arsenal in December for his first senior coaching job and is already starting to make an impact.

  The FA Cup offers the first-time manager Arteta a chance to win the first silverware of his coaching career but the biggest problem is the other manager involved at Wembley Stadium this weekend just cannot stop winning trophies.

  Pep Guardiola has led Manchester City to eight of the last 10 domestic trophies on offer, including Community Shields, in one of the most dominant periods by any English team.

  The Premier League may have been relinquished to Liverpool this season but City still has designs on a rare cup treble, having already captured the English League Cup and holding a 2-1 lead going into the second leg of its Champions League last-16 matchup with Real Madrid next month.

  Arteta’s Arsenal is up against as the teams head to English football’s empty national stadium for the right to play in an August 1 final that will round off the country’s longest-ever season, lasting nearly 12 months.

  READ:

  City takes on Arsenal in the first semifinal match on Saturday, followed by United vs. Chelsea on Sunday in the first top-level games held at Wembley since football’s restart last month.

  While Guardiola has had the luxury of rotating his team for league matches every three or four days since the restart, and Arsenal has been involved in a furious race for European qualification and won’t be arriving at Wembley as fresh as City, the defending FA Cup champion.

  Arsenal has lost its last seven matches against City, conceding three goals on six of those occasions. However, the London team did beat City in the FA Cup semifinals in April 2017 near the end of Guardiola’s first season in charge of the holder, which wasn’t the trophy-winning machine then that it is now.

  A 2-1 win over Liverpool on Wednesday showed Arsenal is on the right path under Arteta, who has been widely tipped as a potential successor to Guardiola at Etihad Stadium.

  "I expect a terribly tough, tough, tough game, because they have something special already,” Guardiola said.

• FA Cup history: Arsenal and Manchester City have had many encounters in the Premier League and the League Cup but have locked horns only in 4 FA Cup matches until now with all the results going Arsenal's way. The latest match-up was in 2017 in the semifinal when Arsenal beat Guardiola's side 2-1.
• Team News: Pep Guardiola will not be able to field goalkeeper Claudio Bravo after Chilean was ruled out due to a muscle injury. Joao Cancelo could be back in the starting XI after starting from bench in the Premeir League win against Bournemouth. Mikel Arteta, who has a fully fit squad at his disposal, might give Mesut Ozil some game time after the German sat out of every match since the season restart.

Sony LIV will live stream the FA Semifinal  of Arsenal vs Man City from 12.15 am (IST) on Sunday.