It’s the first time Aston Villa and Arsenal have ever met in an FA Cup final, but their paths have crossed 10 times in the competition's history. Arsenal won seven of those matches, Villa with three and a good comeback story wouldn't be entirely novel today.
January 2012 was the last Cup meeting between the sides. At half-time, goals from Richard Dunne and Darren Bent had Villa two-up and cruising. Two penalty kicks from Robin van Persie either side of a Theo Walcott strike secured a remarkable comeback as Arsene Wenger’s side ran out 3-2 winners.
It’s a tale that’s not dissimilar to Arsenal’s last FA Cup final, of course, when they came from two-down to beat Hull last season.
Darren Bent and Robin van Persie won’t spearhead either attack today, but both sides have aces up their respective sleeves when it comes to their goal scoring strategy.
Aston Villa’s trump card comes in the guise of Christian Benteke who may well line out for Tim Sherwood’s side for the final time this evening. Speculation continues to surround the Belgian's future after a season that saw him net 15 goals.
Jack Grealish will almost certainly feature in the starting 11, too, as Villa will look to add to their attacking threat. He’s not the only player of Irish interest, though, as Shay Given is fit again and appears to be Sherwood’s goalkeeper of choice. Ciaran Clark, however, won’t be fit to play.
Villa haven’t been in a final since 2000, when they lost 1-0 to Chelsea and the last time they’ve beaten today’s opponents in the FA Cup was in 1974, when they earned a draw at Highbury before winning the Villa Park Replay.
Arsenal, meanwhile, are in their 19th FA Cup final which is a record for any side. They would also have the record amount of titles with victory today. Currently, they’re the joint-most successful side with 11 titles, the same number as Manchester United.
United were one of the teams that Arsenal put away on their journey to the final, but the man who made a difference on that occasion – Danny Welbeck – won’t feature today after failing to recover from a knee injury. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mathieu Debuchy and Mikel Arteta are all fit, though.
Arsene Wenger’s side have won the last three meetings between the sides and seem to have sharpened their offensive blade, after an impressive 4-1 victory over West Brom on the last day of the Premier League season.
A Cup final is big for any side, but, speaking on Off the Ball, John Giles said a win today is vital for Arsene Wenger on a personal level, if he is to avoid a resurrection of the calls for him to leave.
Kick-off in Wembley is at 5.30.
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