Finally, here come Arsenal, the 2015 FA Cup champions! They climb the famous Wembley steps, faces beaming, and Aston Villa fan Prince William - slightly grim-faced, it has to be said - hands the trophy to Per Mertesacker and Alexis Sanchez. Up goes the cup, and down comes the ticker tape! Arsenal’s win means Southampton are in Europe, with Liverpool going straight into the Europa League group stage. But never mind all that; this is about Arsenal, and especially Arsene Wenger, their manager becoming a bona fide FA Cup legend today. As if he wasn’t one already, but a joint-record sixth win really hammers home the point, no? Over to Daniel Taylor, then, for the big match’s big report ...
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An understandably upset young Villa fan is letting it all out, a few tears rolling down his cheeks. But then he spots himself on the big screen at Wembley, and allows himself a shy, but very brave, smile. A little something to take away from his very disappointing day. Hey, maybe there’s something in training the camera on the fans after all. Villa trudge up to claim their runners-up medals. A line of depressed faces, their manager’s the most miserable of all, his heart beating away on that sleeve. It won’t feel like it now, but Sherwood’s done a fine job so far at Villa, getting the team to the final, obviously, but keeping the team in the Premier League too. Next season should be interesting at Villa Park, and it’s been a while since anyone’s said that.
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Wenger speaks! “We have shown today that we are a real team. I’d like to congratulate everyone, my players, my staff, the supporters. The confidence is good and the spirit in the team is high. I am proud that our club is doing well, and if I can personally do well, that’s even better!” A cheeky smile. How long does he plan to continue in the job? “My hunger is great, I want to do well. I will sit down with my directors and see how much they trust.”
Tim Sherwood wanders onto the pitch, hands in pockets, a picture of misery and despair. His opposing number Arsene Wenger is walking on air, and who can blame him? This is a remarkable achievement by Wenger, who has turned Arsenal into the kings of the FA Cup. Villa’s players stand, hands on hips, thoroughly defeated. They never really got a foothold in this final, and were well beaten by a very good team. A four-goal thrashing doesn’t flatter Arsenal at all.
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FULL TIME: Arsenal 4-0 Aston Villa
Arsenal are the 2015 FA Cup winners! They’ve retained their trophy, and with their 12th win, become the most successful FA Cup club of all time! Arsene Wenger meanwhile registers his sixth win, a stunning personal record he shares with George Ramsay of ... Aston Villa. This is a historic day all right!
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GOAL! Arsenal 4-0 Aston Villa (Giroud 90+3)
The final humiliation. Oxlade-Chamberlain finds a bit of space down the right, fires a low ball towards the near post, and Giroud flicks into the bottom right. Shades of offside, but what does it matter?
90 min +2: Grealish, who hasn’t stopped, pitching-wedges a diagonal ball from the left into the Arsenal box, but Benteke can’t get on the end of it.
90 min +1: Sanchez dribbles into a little space down the left, but his cross into the Arsenal box is aimless. There’s nobody in there anyway. Benteke has been very disappointing, though I guess he’s not had much to feed on.
90 min: There will be three minutes of added time. A mere 180 seconds, and it’ll seem like 180 years to poor Villa.
89 min: Sanchez is replaced by Oxlade-Chamberlain, a move which allows Arsenal’s fans to give their star man the reception he deserves. They don’t disappoint.
87 min: Grealish, in a fit of frustration, attempts a snapshot from 25 yards. Justice would have seen that fly into the top corner, but it’s easily blocked. It’s not been Villa’s day. They’ve been outplayed comprehensively, though they’ll point to those two late non-decisions.
85 min: Grealish robs Bellerin down the left, tight on the byline. And then he’s sent crashing to the floor! A penalty? Nope, they’re not getting that one, either. That’s not a good decision either. Bellerin had his arm on his shoulder. It wasn’t the hardest of tugs, but that shouldn’t make any difference. On the touchline, Tim Sherwood’s eyebrows nearly snap clean off his face, so fierce is his frown.
84 min: The free-kick-cum-corner comes to naught.
83 min: Giroud twists and turns by the right-hand corner flag, and is sent crashing to the floor by Vlaar. That was more clumsy than anything else. But a free kick that’s effectively a corner.
82 min: Agbonlahor is booked for continuing to debate that decision in the trenchant fashion.
80 min: Agbonlahor turns on the jets and heads towards the Arsenal box down the left. He’s about to take a step into the area when he’s upended by a sliding Coquelin. He claims a penalty, though it should be a free kick just outside the area. He gets neither decision, though. He looks aggrieved, and you can’t blame him.
79 min: Sanchez slips a perfectly weighted pass down the left, but Monreal can’t control in the area and Villa hoick clear. “For the second time they’ve cut away to show a young Villa fan looking depressed,” reports Dave Hill. “Every year, there are scenes of kids in tears as their team is relegated. I’m wondering if there is a fine line of bringing your impressionable child to a sporting event where their team may be thumped. On one hand, if they win, it will be one of the greatest things in their lives. On the other, the soul crushing that can occur, may cause an unexpected rise in top-four team duvet sales.” I’m not a fan of the TV cameras homing in on misery in the stands at all, really, whatever the age of the supporter. People pay good money to go to the game, they shouldn’t be humiliated on the international stage as a symbol of failure just because their team is doing badly and they’ve got a face on. Leave people to grieve in peace!
77 min: That’s Walcott’s last contribution to the match. He’s replaced by Giroud, while Ozil is swapped for Wilshere.
76 min: Ramsey, in space down the right, curls a long ball towards Walcott, racing down the left channel. He looks to curl one into the top right from distance, but his effort is all wrong. It flies high and wide right.
74 min: We have two teams here, and both know what time it is. A sense that everyone’s just running down the clock.
72 min: Sanchez (A) tackles a dithering Sanchez (C) in the centre circle. That was harrying of Suarezian proportions! And Arsenal are 3-0 up and cruising. Hey, maybe that’s why Arsenal are 3-0 up and cruising.
71 min: Carlos Sanchez comes on for Westwood.
70 min: Walcott very nearly springs clear down the right, but he’s offside. Villa look spent, and miserable to a man. 1957 was a long time ago.
68 min: Richardson, injured it would appear, is replaced by Bacuna. Hutton moves over to left back. “How long until Hutton is sent off for a two-footed tackle?” wonders Gordon Inglis, working off Ruth Purdue’s blueprint.
67 min: Delph slides a clever pass down the inside-right channel, but Cleverley can’t control as he bursts into the area, and Bellerin mops up. Down the other end, Sanchez twists and turns down the left, but can’t release Ozil.
65 min: A free kick for Villa down the right. Delph lumps it into the area, but Szczesny claims with a yawn. They need something now, if not sooner, but let’s be realistic, this has gone.
64 min: On the touchline, Tim Sherwood responded to his team’s non-existent defending by flinging his arms into the air in impotent frustration. He’s now pinching the bridge of his nose, presumably to keep himself calm. If nothing else, the man’s box office.
GOAL! Arsenal 3-0 Aston Villa (Mertesacker 62)
This was as simple as it comes. Corner for Arsenal down the right. Cazorla curls it into the box. Mertesacker rises, and carefully plants a header into the top-left corner, via a brush off his left shoulder. Benteke was marking him there, but gave up. Awful defending. Mertesacker had all the time in the world.
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61 min: Ozil rakes a lovely pass down the middle to release Walcott. Or not quite. A combination of Okore and Given, on the edge of his box, stop the lightning-quick Walcott wriggle free. He can’t get a shot on goal. So close to the third goal that’d put this game to bed.
59 min: Villa can’t string two passes together right now. Arsenal are very comfortable. Here’s Matt Dony on Alexis Sanchez: “A tenacious, skilful, hard-working South American with a foot like a traction engine and a knack for rising to the occasion, who was available last summer. That all sounds familiar. And Rodgers bought Balotelli.”
57 min: Villa are all over the shop right now. Bellerin makes good down the right and slips the ball inside for Cazorla, who twinkles his toes to make a little space by the right of the D, before hammering a shot towards the bottom right. Given parries clear. This could get ugly for Villa if they don’t clear their heads soon.
56 min: Sanchez has the ball in the net again, but it’s correctly ruled out for offside. Ramsey had whipped a cross in from the right. Walcott had mistimed his move in the centre, and though his intervention saw the ball break right past a flapping Given to Sanchez, who headed into the empty net, it’s not counting.
55 min: Sanchez is the second Chilean to score in an FA Cup final. George Robledo of Newcastle United was the first, notching the winner in 1952 against ... Arsenal.
53 min: Before the free kick, N’Zogbia is replaced by Agbonlahor. Too late? Cazorla’s set piece is cleared easily enough, but Arsenal come straight back at Villa, Sanchez breaking into the area down the left. He’s got options inside, but delays the cross, and a corner will have to do. The set piece comes to nothing. Villa are seriously rocking here.
52 min: Arsenal have their tails up now all right. Sanchez cuts in from the left wing, and is clipped over by Westwood, who is booked for his trouble. This will be a free kick in a dangerous position.
GOAL! Arsenal 2-0 Aston Villa (Sanchez 50)
Villa had looked dangerous for a split second there, but now they’re really up against it. Sanchez, 30 yards out down the inside-left channel, drops a shoulder to move inside, then unleashes a crazy, swerving, rising shot that deceives Given and whips into the roof of the net! What a strike! One of the stunning FA Cup final goals! Given may get pelters for that, but they’d be undeserved, for that ball was moving all over the place, off to the left before swerving violently to the left.
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48 min: Grealish has a probe down the left, but he’s quickly closed down. No matter, Villa come again down the right through Hutton, whose long, looping cross confuses Bellerin to the extent that Grealish has the ball at his feet, tight on the byline to the left of goal. Bellerin recovers his poise, though, and crowds Grealish out.
47 min: Arsenal are almost immediately on the front foot again. Ozil makes space down the left. He feeds Cazorla, who thinks about shooting from the edge of the box, but slips it to his left for Ramsey instead. Ramsey twists, turns and then shoots, but his shot isn’t up to much, and bounces harmlessly into the arms of Given.
Arsenal get the second half underway!
No changes. “After watching a half of those really ugly Arsenal kits, I was thinking since the FA cup currently exists as an exercise in nostalgia, why not have the teams play in old retro kits from bygone eras?” wonders Dave Hill. “Major League Baseball does it all the time and in some cases, does it really well. Football, like baseball lends itself to doing so as the only changes in kits are esthetic, not functional like hockey, cricket and American Football. It might be fun to see Villa in a 1887 kit versus Arsenal in a 1930s one go at it. Make Tim and Arsene wear waistcoats from those era as well, which would ensure against any gilet use.”
Half-time advertisement, in a 1957 style:
Villa could do with a shot of this stuff. Tired blood? A pint of Geritol’s your only man! “You’ll feel stronger fast, within seven days or your money back.” Not entirely sure of the science behind this, and time might be an issue, but anything’s worth a go right now.
HALF TIME: Arsenal 1-0 Aston Villa
This scoreline is the very least Arsenal deserve. They’ve been utterly dominant. Villa have been on the ropes pretty much from the get-go. Better have another read of those motivational messages from the fans. Because if the second half pans out like the first, this is all over. Still, there’s only the one goal in it, and there have been plenty of dramatic turnarounds in the FA Cup final. Can Villa produce another? We’ll find out soon enough. No flipping!
45 min +1: There’ll be two added minutes of this half. A corner for Arsenal down the right. Ozil floats one into the centre, and Villa clear without too much fuss. But they really need to hear this half-time whistle.
44 min: Arsenal’s set piece isn’t up to much. Villa are happy just to clear their lines right now. They came from behind here against Liverpool in the semi, of course, but Arsenal are a different proposition. They’ll have to do better than this, though. They’ll need to hold on for the half-time whistle, and regroup.
43 min: Walcott, in hot form right now, one-twos with Ramsey down the right and shapes to shoot from a tight angle. Richardson slides in to concede a corner.
GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Aston Villa (Walcott 40)
It’s not as if this hadn’t been coming. Monreal is sent into space down the left. He lifts a cross into the middle. Sanchez rises above Villa’s unconvincing centre halves, heading back across for Walcott, who enters the area from the left and meets Sanchez’s header with a blistering volley into the net!
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38 min: Delph is booked for repeated fouling. He’s the heart of Villa’s engine room, and now he’ll need to be very careful indeed. As does Alan Hutton, of course, but what’s the point asking him to watch his step? You might as well shout into a hole in the ground.
36 min: But then again, you never know. Richardson curls a cross into the area from the left. Benteke, on the right-hand edge of the D, flicks delicately down the channel and nearly finds Grealish, breaking into the box. Just before that, Given came out of his area to head a long Cazorla lump away from the danger zone. And just after it, Cazorla clatters into Westwood and winds himself. But he’ll be OK to continue.
34 min: Ruth Purdue (4 mins) wasn’t too far off. Hutton is quite correctly booked for an awfully late lunge on Sanchez down the left. What hoodlummery! The free kick’s lumped into the Villa box. Corner. From which there’s a small melee in the Villa box, Given not totally in control of the situation or his limbs. Eventually the ball’s wheeched away from danger. But this surely can’t continue for Villa, who are really on the ropes here.
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32 min: A bit of space for Delph down the left. He swings a high ball into the Arsenal area. Benteke winds his neck back. Szczesny comes out to punch, and manages it just about, but doesn’t connect particularly well under pressure from the striker. Fortunately for Arsenal, the ball doesn’t go anywhere near a claret shirt.
30 min: Bellerin is sent scampering into space down the right by Ramsey. His cross is poor - he should be causing a lot of trouble - but Grealish fails to clear with purpose. Ramsey is preparing to break into the box down the same flank when the whistle goes; he’s handled. Lucky Villa.
29 min: Delph drags Sanchez back by the shoulder, the two competing in the centre circle. He should be booked for that, really, but the Villa captain gets away with it.
28 min: Coquelin plays a cute reverse ball down the right-hand channel, allowing Ramsey to burst into the box. He’s got Vlaar on his shoulder, and though he gets a shot away, it’s deflected off the defender and wafts softly into the arms of Given. This is surely just a matter for time for Arsenal.
26 min: More rococo passing moves by Arsenal. Villa are being pulled this way and that by Cazorla, Ozil and Sanchez. Ozil flicks a lazy pass - lazy in the good way - down the right to release Walcott into the area. Walcott’s a shade offside.
24 min: Arsenal pass it around quite a lot. Suddenly Cazorla releases Ozil down the left. The ball’s fired low into the middle, where Walcott must score from six yards out! He sidefoots purposefully towards goal, but Richardson slides in desperately, and blocks magnificently! That’s an astonishing challenge, really. Just superlative last-ditch defending.
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22 min: Ozil snaffles a loose ball in the centre circle, Grealish and Cleverley faffing about. He flicks it forward for Walcott, and very nearly releases the player into acres of space. But Vlaar is across to cover quickly. Villa are living on the edge here.
20 min: Arsenal should be ahead. Ozil, down the left channel, chips a ball into the middle. It should be cleared by Vlaar, on the edge of the area, but the defender’s header is hopeless. The ball breaks to Ramsey, who is clear, albeit in a small space, just inside the box! He leans back and wafts a dismal shot over the bar. Villa were in St Mary’s Mode there. Theirs is not a dependable defence.
19 min: A bit of space for Cleverley down the right. He slips a pass to N’Zogbia, who cuts inside and takes a shot. It’s charged down, the ball ballooning to Benteke on the edge of the D. A chance to take that down, turn, and get a shot away, and he nearly completes that difficult combination, but his control lets him down just before he can cock his leg to shoot.
17 min: Bellerin makes good down the right, seeing off Richardson with a deft turn, and fires a low ball to the near post. Ramsey, last year’s hero, slides in but can only guide the ball into the side netting. Between those two very good Arsenal chances, Villa won a free kick down their left, but Grealish’s high hoick into the area was claimed with ease by Szczesny. Arsenal are well on top here, much as everyone expected.
15 min: From the free kick, Cazorla finds Sanchez with a pitching wedge down the left. Sanchez turns on the edge of the area and chips into the middle, finding the head of Koscielny, who powers an effort towards the top left. Given looked to be heading the wrong way, but adjusted majestically to batter it out. What a save!
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14 min: The first yellow card of the game goes to Alan Hutton Tom Cleverley. He can have no complaints, cynically clicking the heels of Monreal as the Arsenal man burst into space down the left channel.
13 min: Richardson makes good down the Villa left, and swings a high ball towards Benteke at the far post. Szczesny comes off his line to punch clear with purpose. Round one of what could be a very important duel to the Arsenal keeper. A decent move by Villa, though, and their first serious attack.
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12 min: Ozil clips what might be the worst free kick in the history of association football into the box. Vlaar heads clear with a yawn. Arsenal had packed the box then, but Ozil couldn’t get past the first man. That’s awful.
11 min: Ozil bursts into a bit of space down the inside-left flank. Cazorla, up for this, takes control and wins a corner off Delph. The set piece is cleared by Villa, but Cazorla is soon twisting down the left wing again. He turns Benteke in a tight spot near the byline, to the left of the Villa box. Foul. It should be a booking, but referee Jon Moss is in a lenient mood. This is a free kick in a very dangerous position, though.
8 min: Sanchez busies himself down the left. He draws a couple of claret shirts and slides the ball forward for Cazorla, who bursts into the box and fires low and hard into the centre. Hutton slides in and concedes a corner. And then there’s another corner, which sees Koscielny rise on the six-yard line, level with the left-hand post. His header is weak, flying miles wide right, and should have been a lot better. But Sanchez is looking very lively down that flank.
6 min: It really is a magnificent atmosphere at Wembley. And folk try to tell us that the FA Cup is dying, an irrelevant nonsense in the modern world. Aye, right you are. Westwood betters Ramsey when contesting a high ball in the middle. Delph takes up possession and slides a lovely pass down the inside-right channel to release Benteke, though the big man’s an inch or two offside. That was close, though. Arsenal looked a bit ragged there.
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4 min: Lovely feet from Delph, who creates a bit of space down the Villa right. The ball’s flung into the area, and Szczesny claims easily enough with Benteke in the vague surrounds. A decent response by Villa to Arsenal’s electric start. They can’t allow the favourites to dominate early on. Well, at all, really, but you know what I mean. “Hutton to get booked first?” wonders Ruth Purdue. It’s almost a licence to print money, isn’t it.
2 min: Arsenal quickly grab possession, and Walcott embarks on a skitter down the left. Okore puts a stop to his gallop. But Arsenal are on the front foot quickly, Sanchez upended along the same flank by Westwood. Arsenal pack the box, but the free kick floated into the area is useless, and easily cleared by Villa. Cazorla returns it long, and Ozil wins a header to find Walcott on the edge of the area, but Walcott’s offside. A bright start by Arsenal, this.
The 2015 FA Cup final gets underway!
A blistering atmosphere at Wembley, on a lovely north London day. Villa get in a pre-match huddle. Their manager Tim Sherwood sits stony faced but fidgety on the famous bench, a few nerves betraying him. Coins are tossed, pennants are exchanged, and hands are shaken by the captains Per Mertesacker and Fabian Delph. And we’re off! Villa get the ball rolling, Grealish to Cleverley, and Wembley is rocking!
The teams are out! The players are lined up on the red carpet, and shaking hands with the guest of honour, the thoroughly biased Prince William. “The BBC coverage brought a tear to the eye with testimony about Alexis Sánchez’s early life from folk back in Tocopilla,” writes Charles Antaki. “Immediately dried by shot of sumptuous royal palace, and interview with Prince whichever-one-it-is.” They should have got that other well-heeled Villa fan, David Cameron, on as well. You’d have soon started with the waterworks again, either through laughter or despair. Then there’s a quick belt of a song hoping William’s granny will be saved, a sentiment we can all get on board with. And that’s all the pre-match formalities over with! We’ll be off in a minute! This is on!!!
Time for the traditional FA Cup final hymn:
𝄞 I’m driving so fast that I’m breakin’ the law
Cos I gotta get a snack to Mr Michelmore ♯
♭Mr Savile’s waiting for his muesli
And old Harry Secombe wants his pie and peas ♬♪
𝄞 Abide with me, fast falls the eventide
The darkness deepens, Lord with me abide ♯
♭When other helpers fail and comforts flee
Help of the helpless, O abide with me ♬♪
It’s being sung today by a choir made up of 64 fans, the oldest 100, the youngest 18, one for each of the clubs in this year’s third round. Another lovely touch. Emotional times at Wembley, with the big match fast approaching and the nerves kicking in.
In the interests of balance, here’s a picture of Aston Villa’s kit and caboodle. Their dressing room has been covered in motivational messages from supporters. No doubt this will be used as a stick to beat Tim Sherwood with, whatever the result, but to hell with the banal David Brent comparisons. That’s a nice touch, isn’t it? Spreading the love.
A happy 21st birthday to Inverness Caledonian Thistle! They’ve just won the Scottish Cup in the day’s other big match. The cup’s going to the Highlands for the first time!
Theo Walcott is the beneficiary of the big decision Arsene Wenger had to make. He gets the nod ahead of Olivier Giroud, that hat-trick against West Bromwich Albion on the final day of the season no doubt doing the trick.
As for Aston Villa, Shay Given has won his race for fitness, and plays in an FA Cup final 17 years after starring for Newcastle United against ... Arsenal. Meanwhile Alan Hutton returns in place of Leandro Bacuna at right back, while Tim Sherwood selects Charles N’Zogbia ahead of Gabby Agbonlahor. Not so long to go now!
The teams for the 2015 FA Cup final
Arsenal: Szczesny, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Cazorla, Ramsey, Ozil, Sanchez, Walcott.
Subs: Ospina, Gibbs, Gabriel, Flamini, Wilshere, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Giroud.
Aston Villa: Given, Hutton, Vlaar, Okore, Richardson, Westwood, Delph, Cleverley, Grealish, N’Zogbia, Benteke.
Subs: Guzan, Bacuna, Sinclair, Agbonlahor, Cole, Sanchez, Baker.
Referee: Jon Moss (Tyne and Wear).
Having banged on for several paragraphs about stuff that happened in the 19th century, it’d be remiss of me not to mention recent head-to-heads. They’re almost certainly nearly as relevant, aren’t they. Well, it’s not good news for Villa, who lost 8-0 on aggregate over the two Premier League meetings this season, 3-0 at Villa Park, 5-0 at the Emirates. Arsenal also won the previous meeting between the teams, 2-1 at Villa Park in January 2014. But there is a little hope for Villa in the one before that, a 3-1 win at Arsenal on the opening day of last season, Christian Benteke and Gabby Agbonlahor running riot. All of this, of course, was before the advent of Tim Sherwood, so we have to assume the cosmic slate’s been wiped clean.
Still plenty of time to kill before the match, the FA having shifted the traditional 3pm afternoon kick-off back to the early evening. Fools. At least there’s no sponsorship this season. Enjoy that state of affairs while it lasts. You’ve got another 90, maybe 120 minutes of action. Bah. Anyway, my fellow ageing traditionalists: there’s an upside to all this hanging about, and it’s this: Memory Lane: FA Cup finals, a picture gallery of finals from days gone by, featuring the trophy stuffed in the luggage rack of a train, Matt Busby with a fag on, and an appearance from pint-sized pop star Tommy Steele (internet kids, ask your grandparents, who can in turn ask theirs).
Arsenal have been officially designated as the home team today, though that means very little if we’re being honest. They lost the toss for choice of kit, and will wear their time-honoured yellow-and-blue number, though in fairness that did them no harm at all in 1971 and 1979. They also wore gold, which is yellow isn’t it, in 1950. They did however lose wearing yellow in 1978 against Ipswich Town and 1980 against West Ham United. Tell the truth, they probably don’t care very much.
Villa are unlikely to be worried one way or the other, either. They’ve won 70 percent of the finals they’ve competed in, and worn their first-choice kit on all but two occasions. In those two matches - 1887 and 1957 - they’ve been forced to wear a second-choice stripy number, and lifted the trophy both times. Meanwhile their first-choice shirt in 2000 wasn’t far off those second-choice efforts, and they lost that one to Chelsea. So why am I telling you all this irrelevant nonsense? Ah, I’m just killing time. It’s a late kick off. Blame the FA, and their pointless cocking of a snook to tradition.
Arsenal’s FA Cup final history is a more modern affair. They only made it to the final for the first time in 1927, by which point Villa had eight appearances to their name, and those six aforementioned wins. Cardiff City striker Hughie Ferguson, and goalkeeper Dan Lewis’s slippery new shirt, did for Arsenal that day, but they’ve since more than made up for lost time. This will be their 19th appearance in a final, a new record which puts them one ahead of Manchester United. And they’ve enjoyed the big occasion more often than not.
Their first win was in 1930, against Huddersfield Town, Herbert Chapman putting his old club to the sword, the world’s largest airship, the Graf Zeppelin, looming overhead. Their 1936 win over Sheffield United also had an aviatic flavour, with an “armada” of gyrocopters and aeroplanes containing banned film cameramen swirling around overhead, a dispute between Wembley bosses and newsreel firms over broadcast rights having escalated to a farcical degree. The more things change, and all that.
Arsenal’s next two wins came at the expense of Liverpool. Alex Forbes did a borderline-legitimate number on Billy Liddell in 1950, to devastating effect, while Charlie George scored one of the iconic cup-final goals to secure a league-and-cup double in 1971. The Gunners triumphed late in the 1979 five-minute final against Manchester United, then won in the last seconds of a 240-minute tussle against Sheffield Wednesday in 1993. Cue the Wenger era: wins over Newcastle in 1998, Southampton in 2002, Chelsea in 2003, Manchester United in 2005, and Hull City last year. One more for the record books? Whyever not.
Villa, then, are a proper old-school FA Cup side. Crazy to think that they’d already chalked up six victories before Arsenal had even got to a final. Their first win came in 1887, and what a victory it was, 2-0 over West Bromwich Albion. Their outside left, Denny Hodgetts, was a big lad for a winger, while his top lip creaked under the weight of an ostentatiously waxed moustache. He was also highly skilful, adept at sending the ball spinning this way and that, utilising knowledge of physics picked up playing competitive billiards. He scored the opening goal in the 1887 final, smacking a shot past a static Baggies keeper Bob Roberts, who had assumed Hodgetts was offside, and therefore didn’t bother trying to make a save. Oop!
Albion were equally dozy in the 1895 final, as Villa secured their second FA Cup. Some of their players hadn’t even realised the game had started, as Villa flooded forward, leading to a melee in the West Brom box. Their keeper Joe Reader attempted to hack clear, but the ball hit John Devey on the knee and flew in. The goal was timed variously between 30 and 39 seconds, and remained the fastest in a final until Louis Saha scored on 25 seconds for Everton against Chelsea in 2009. Devey’s goal is still officially credited to Bob Chatt, the FA taking a flyer with contemporary press reports. But the Villa team were adamant that Devey had been their accidental hero.
Villa then lost the cup, the trophy being nicked from its temporary display in the window of Birmingham shoemaker William Shillcock’s shop. It was melted down for coins, some of which were used to purchase pints in a pub owned by the aforementioned Hodgetts. Small world, eh? The thieves also took several pairs of boots and some money from the till, but the wider world didn’t miss the footwear or petty cash so much.
Villa’s third win in the competition came two years later, and it secured a league-and-cup double. Their 3-2 win over Everton is considered to be one of the all-time classic matches, full of attacking verve. Villa opened the scoring, Everton equalised before taking the lead themselves, then Villa turned it around once more, Jimmy Crabtree scoring the decisive goal just before half-time. Everton piled on the pressure after the break, but Villa put in one of the great collective defensive shifts to secure English football’s second double, eight years after Preston North End registered the first. There wouldn’t be a third until Spurs managed to pull it off 64 years later.
Villa - and Ramsay - won three more Cups, in 1905, 1913 and 1920. And then nothing until 1957, when Peter McParland flattened Ray Wood, keeper of double-hunting league champions Manchester United, then scored twice to secure Villa’s seventh Cup. Their record wasn’t matched until 1982, when Spurs won their seventh trophy, or surpassed until 1991, when Spurs made it to eight.
It’s some record, this, given the bulk of the work was done before the First World War. It’s about time they built on it. Tim Sherwood’s side are the underdogs today against Arsene Wenger’s holders, but could do worse than listen to what their manager of 1957, Eric Houghton, said before that year’s final: “We’ve got Manchester United worried more than they have us. They are expected to win. We are not. So what do we have to lose? It’s always the best outlook to have when you go into a cup final!” A perfect, off-the-peg team-talk for Sherwood, right there, a lovely historical callback which doesn’t need too much editing for the 2015 edition.
A preamble marathon begins, in homage to TV coverage of the 1970s
It’s the FA Cup final!!! And it’s still the biggest game in the English calendar. Don’t listen to the naysayers, they’re not worthy of your time. Anyway, it’s the 134th staging, and whatever happens, it’s guaranteed to have major historical significance.
If Arsenal win today, they become the most successful FA Cup club of all time. They’d have 12 victories to their name, one more than Manchester United. They’d also become just the fourth club in history to have retained the FA Cup on more than one occasion: only Wanderers, Blackburn Rovers and Tottenham Hotspur have pulled off that particular trick to date. And their manager Arsene Wenger would personally register a sixth triumph, a record that’d nudge him ahead of Blackburn’s Thomas Mitchell and Sir Alex Ferguson, and into a share of first place with … ah, but let’s just leave that hanging for a few seconds.
If Aston Villa prevail, they’ll join Tottenham Hotspur in third place on the all-time list with eight FA Cup victories, leaving Liverpool and Chelsea behind. But that isn’t the only thing on their minds. Because by denying Wenger his record victory, they’d be defending the unique record of their own man, George Ramsay, who as Villa’s secretary/manager led the club to an astonishing six FA Cup wins between 1887 and 1920. He won six league titles, too. Six championships and six cups! So there’s plenty on the line for both teams today. As if winning the 2015 FA Cup isn’t more than enough in its own right, huh. It’s on!
Kick off: The time-honoured, traditional 3pm 5.30pm.
