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On Saturday evening, the first participant of the English Football Association (FA) Cup final was revealed.
It was London's "Arsenal" club, who defeated last season's cup winners "Wigan" at Wembley Stadium after a tense penalty shootout.
Both teams started the match cautiously - neither of the players tried to score a goal quickly.
The London team controlled the ball slightly more, but Bryan McDermott's proteges defended their goal superbly, not allowing the "Gunners" to find any openings in their defense.
The first goal came in the 63rd minute, when Per Mertesacker fouled Callum McManaman and a penalty was awarded to Lukasz Fabianski's goal.
Jordi Gomez successfully converted it and put the "Wigan" players ahead.
As the end of the match approached, Arsene Wenger's proteges pressed harder on their opponents, trying to equalize the score.
They managed to do so in the 82nd minute, when Per Mertesacker redeemed himself for his mistake by sending the ball into Scott Carson's goal.
During the remaining time of the match, the "Gunners" tried to snatch a victory, not wanting to play extra time, but they failed to do so.
During extra time, neither team showed superiority, so the players lined up to take penalty kicks.
The first kicks gave more hope to the London "Arsenal" fans, as Lukasz Fabianski saved Gary Caldwell and Jack Collison's shots, while Mikel Arteta and Kim Kallstrom did not miss.
When Jean Beausejour successfully scored for "Wigan" in the third attempt, Olivier Giroud did not give any hope to S. Carson.
Lukasz Fabianski failed to save James McArthur's penalty, but Santi Cazorla ended the series with a precise shot, leading the "Arsenal" team to the final.
In the final, the "Gunners" will face the winners of the semi-final between "Hull City" and "Sheffield United". The second semi-final will be played on Sunday at 18:07 Lithuanian time.
"Wigan" 1 - 1 "Arsenal"*
63' [1 - 0] J. Gomez (pen.)
82' [1 - 1] P. Mertesacker
* - penalty shootout: 2 - 4
