Arsene knows best: Wenger answers critics at last as Arsenal end nine-year trophy drought

“I question myself all the time" admitted the Frenchman after the game, but he still gets things right more often than not

Michael Regan - The FA

Back in the game: Wenger has silenced his critics at last

Trophies, glory, ­adornment. But ­sometimes the only thing that matters is that you win.

For Arsene Wenger, that moment came at Wembley on Saturday.

The Frenchman helped change English football and was responsible for Arsenal’s greatest era. Three titles, four FA Cups, including Doubles in 1998 and 2002, the Invincibles, a ­glittering seven-year spell.

But after the feast, the famine, one which has stalked Wenger with increasing ­vehemence. With each missed ­opportunity, pain has increased. Doubts have been raised. Questions asked.

When the ‘shoo-in’ cup final saw Arsenal two down after 12 minutes, the ­repercussions might have been enormous, a tidal wave to engulf and ­overwhelm even Wenger’s self-belief. But Arsenal dug themselves out of that deep hole of their own devising, forcing extra-time through Santi Cazorla’s sublime free-kick and Laurent Koscielny’s scruffier but equally valuable finish.

And when Aaron Ramsey finally broke the last remnants of Hull’s “valiant and gallant” resistance, Wenger could, at last, relax, breathe easy, think ahead.

“I was kicking every ball,” conceded Wenger, whose five FA Cup triumphs make him the joint-second most successful manager in the competition’s history.

“But that’s because I want to win. I work seven days a week because I want to win. And it’s difficult.

“Unfortunately, you can’t win on command. Our job is very easy when you win things and when you don’t win you need some strengths to continue to go.”

Strengths that, as Wenger admitted, he has, occasionally, wondered whether he still possessed. He added: “I question myself honestly, all the time. We live in a world where people are always being told what they haven’t done, never what you have done.

“It’s very important to win everything. I played my 13th or 14th cup final. I fight very hard every year to win ­everything and, every day of my life, to give everything.

“If I don’t manage to do it, it’s not a lack of commitment. I’m sorry but I try my best.”

A trait he shares, ­unquestionably, with Steve Bruce, whose men could not have given more and treated the thousands from the banks of the Humber to a fleeting glimpse of the promised land.

Two up before Arsenal had got their heads round the occasion, thanks to centre-backs James Chester and Curtis Davies.

And had Kieran Gibbs not denied the last of the Tigers trio, the manager’s son Alex, before Cazorla reduced the arrears, Hull would surely have been basking in true, rather than reflected, glory.

Yes, they rode their luck, Allan McGregor making key saves, a couple of big penalty shouts going their way, Olivier Giroud hitting the bar. But you make your own luck and Hull’s work-rate was ­incredible.

In the end, it was not enough, not quite. As Bruce ruefully agreed: “It’s been quite a remarkable couple of years, a wonderful two years and we were very close to winning the FA Cup when we were 2-0 up against the mighty Arsenal.

“Now we have to make sure this isn’t the end of the story. We have to improve, we can’t stand still.

“But these players are an absolute delight to manage. They’ve never caused me a hint of a problem and they are all desperate to do well. They were terrific.”

They were. But not quite terrific enough, even if Wenger revealed he had gambled in extra-time, sending on Jack Wilshere and Tomas Rosicky for Cazorla and the utterly disappointing Mesut Ozil, because he feared the ­potential end-game from 12 yards.

“I had a funny feeling that it mustn’t go to penalties and I tried desperately to make sure it didn’t,” said Wenger. “It paid off but we had a horrible feeling for a long time in the game.

“Ozil, I must tell you, I wouldn’t have put on the penalty list but Cazorla is a serious penalty-taker. That’s why I was hesitant and I was worried by the decisions I was making.

“In the end it was a relief. But this job is about how it finishes. All the rest, nobody cares about.”

He was right. He often is.

As they used to say, and probably will again, now, Arsene knows...

Will Arsenal's FA Cup triumph lead to more silverware next season?

• YES
• NO