Just for a moment, unfettered by the constricting context of this turbulent season and the grisly dance around the topic of that contract, the sun broke through. Arsène Wenger stood in his technical area and the body language all around him was positive. Gabriel Paulista – a player apparently reborn during the course of the match – won another battle of wills with the threatening Leroy Sané. Mesut Özil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain shared a boosting handshake as they passed each other on the pitch. The German juggled the ball casually as he waited to restart the game. Behind them, the Arsenal supporters waved their flags and basked in the glow of the goal from Alexis Sánchez that eventually put their team into yet another FA Cup final.
In that pause in the match nothing much mattered apart from the fact that for once just about everyone associated with Arsenal looked happy. The possibility, the hope, that all football clubs need at a very basic level, opened up. There are still big conversations to be had but that’s for another day.
Related: Arsène Wenger hails Arsenal’s mental strength after reaching FA Cup final
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