Arsene Wenger’s high-risk gamble pays off

Among the multitude who thronged on to the streets to watch the FA Cup on parade, one 87-year-old lady pulled on an Arsenal T-shirt, fetched her walking stick and took up position near Highbury Fields as she had when her team won the trophy for the first time in 1930. She was three years old at the time and watched from her father's shoulders.

From the octogenarians of Highbury to the modern, global fanbase who gathered in faraway clans and tweeted celebratory selfies from Australia to Zambia, Arsène Wenger has an acute sense of how many people care about what he does and the decisions he makes. That responsibility bore into him as a see-sawing FA Cup final against Hull City tipped into extra-time.

The pressure to lift a trophy was immense. How extraordinary, then, that he should choose that moment to take a huge gamble, which was essentially based on a hunch.

Wenger did not fancy the prospect of a penalty shoot-out at all. He felt compelled to play his last hand to try to win before lurching into Russian roulette territory. “I had a funny feeling not to go to penalties,” he said. “I tried desperately for it not to go to penalties because I didn’t have many players on the pitch who were specialists.”

At the interval of extra-time he sent on Jack Wilshere and Tomas Rosicky, as Wenger urged his team to go for the jugular. It was a bold move as, if no match winner had been forthcoming, he felt the team was much less equipped for a battle of 12-yard nerves than had been the case when they prevailed in the semi-final against Wigan. Withdrawing Santi Cazorla was a big risk.

“Cazorla is a serious penalty taker and that’s why I was hesitant,” explains Wenger. “I was worried, of course. Jack is not a penalty taker. Rosicky is not a penalty taker. Giroud had cramp.” Then there was the added problem of Kieran Gibbs’s tight hamstring – if he could not last the rest of the game, all the subs were used.

Going for broke for the last 15 minutes of extra time was a precarious throw of the dice.

With one precise strike Aaron Ramsey made much of the tension that has built up around Arsenal over the years evaporate. The years, the strain, seemed to fall off Wenger's face. He lost himself in the moment, which was understandable considering how demanding the latter part of his reign has been.

It is interesting that, while of course there was relief, another strong emotion that he showed immediately after the match was bullishness.

The intriguing matter is what he thinks when he prepares to go back into his office at London Colney to plot Arsenal’s summer strategy. The extent to which the winning experience revives his desire to push his club forward in search of more is a fascinating question. Will he put that unshackled feeling to progressive use? Will it encourage him to be more daring again, as he was in the early days?

Arsenal finished the season seven points behind champions Manchester City, easily the closest they have been since their last serious challenge six seasons ago. Can that gap be made up? Can they refresh their resources enough to build on this stepping stone? Can plans be put in place to address the bad habits, the injury problems and the overstretched squad that limited the amount of headway they could make during a campaign in which they led the Premier League for longer than anyone else?

In the bowels of Wembley Stadium Wenger assessed the business that needs to be done. First and foremost two replacements are anticipated, as Bacary Sagna and Lukas Fabianski are expected to bid fond farewells. "Afterwards we have to bring in two or three players to strengthen the squad," he said. "Unfortunately everywhere we go there are many teams on the market at the moment."

They will not be the only ones searching for a high-calibre centre-forward, a commanding defensive midfielder and perhaps another experienced centre-half if Thomas Vermaelen feels the need to play more regularly.

Wenger broke with his traditional caution when he traded at the highest end of the market to bring in Mesut Ozil last summer. More luxury goods are required to compete with more confidence against fellow members of the top four. Recruitment at this level remains fairly new to Arsenal.

Winning a trophy at their new stadium felt like a big deal to Wenger. "For a while I thought it was a curse," he said. "Now we have started we don't want to stop."
Guardian Service