Wembley will play host to Arsenal’s bid to retain the FA Cup with Tim Sherwood’s Aston Villa the only stumbling block between Arsene Wenger and a sixth Football Association Cup title. Join The Roar from 2am (AEST) for live coverage.
Having secured third place in the Premier League, Wenger and the Gunners now turn their attention to attempting to secure back-to-back honours in the FA Cup.
Their opponents, on the other hand, staved off the drop by a single victory and will be hoping to salvage something for the fans with a big showing in this showpiece at prestigious Wembley.
The Claret and Blue earned their place in the final with a victory over Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool, who will surely be watching this match pondering what could have been.
The Gunners have been imperious in the Cup this campaign, having notched 11 goals in five games in a run which saw them knock out rivals Manchester United and survive an extra-time scare against Reading in the semi-final.
Anything goes at Wembley. Cup finals are where legends are made and it is anyone’s guess who will make their mark on this year’s concluding fixture – the final of English football’s extensive calendar.
For Villa, the likes of Cristian Benteke and Gabriel Agbonlahor will be looking to trouble the scorers, while it will be key that their defence holds strong against a powerful Gunners forward line which boasts Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey to name but a few.
The fans will be hoping that this one is not a blowout, however there is a potential for Arsenal to run away with it if they don’t wish to perform their usual final escape act.
The Gunners have a penchant for shooting themselves in the foot in games like this – something Arsene Wenger will be hoping is a thing of the past after their hard-fought victory over Hull City in the same fixture just a year ago.
Prediction
Arsenal 2-0 Aston Villa
Join The Roar from 2am (AEST) for updates and debate in our live blog.
Jake Rosengarten
Roar Guru
Thanks for joining me for this FA Cup Final from Wembley. I hope you enjoyed my commentary. Thus concludes the English football calendar for 2014/15. Thanks for watching!
Jake Rosengarten
Roar Guru
FULLTIME AT WEMBLEY! ARSENAL ARE THE CHAMPIONS AGAIN! They've won it for a 6th time under Arsene Wenger and become the most successful club in FA Cup history. ARSENAL 4-0 ASTON VILLA The Gunners were on top from the word go. They took the lead on 40 minutes through a well taken Theo Walcott volley, and headed into the break with this one goal margin in tact. It never looked in doubt at all. Sanchez's second half distance wonder strike put the game out of Villa's reach before the flood gates opened. Mertesacker grabbed a headed third off a corner before Giroud rounded out the rout with a fourth on the stroke of full time. His finish was well taken to beat Given at the near post. You have to hand it to Wenger and his men. They were the better side from the word go today and they never relented their ascendency. Arsenal are the FA Cup champions for 2014/15! CONGRATULATIONS.
Jake Rosengarten
Roar Guru
GOAL! GIROUD MAKES IT 4 WITH THE LAST KICK OF THE GAME! His near post run is found by Oxlade-Chamberlain, and the Frenchman flicks it over Given at the near post. A fine finish to round out the victory as the whistle blows. ARS 4-0 AVL
Jake Rosengarten
Roar Guru
90+2' Arsenal's name is now being engraved onto the FA Cup trophy for a second successive year. The celebrations in London tonight will go long into the night. Not long to go now before Wenger and his men get their mits on the trophy. 3-0
Jake Rosengarten
Roar Guru
3 Minutes of Added Time to be played.
Jake Rosengarten
Roar Guru
Arsenal make their final change now Alexis Sanchez exits to a standing ovation, to be replaced by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Jake Rosengarten
Roar Guru
88' Its been entirely too easy for Arsenal today. A poor showing from Sherwood's men. 3-0
Jake Rosengarten
Roar Guru
85' Agbonlahor has been bright since entering the fray. Adding some extra run and carry to Villa's play. Not that it really matters now... 3-0
Jake Rosengarten
Roar Guru
ATTENDANCE: 89,283.
Jake Rosengarten
Roar Guru
Yellow card for Agbonlahor for dissent
Jake Rosengarten
Roar Guru
80' Agbonlahor sprints his way into the box and is taken down by Coquelin. A CLEAR FOUL. But its waved away by Jon Moss.He didn't have a great view of it, but in my opinion he should have pointed to the spot. Could be argued that it was just outside the box. Poor challenge from Coquelin. It doesn't really matter now... 3-0
Jake Rosengarten
Roar Guru
Ozil is less than pleased to take his place on the bench. His face says it all really...
Jake Rosengarten
Roar Guru
Double Change for Arsene Wenger and the Gunners Theo Walcott is replaced by Olivier Giroud. Mesut Ozil makes way for Jack Wilshere.
Jake Rosengarten
Roar Guru
75' Grealish looks to create something with a cheeky dink in behind the defence for Tom Cleverley. But the chance is easily diffused by three Arsenal defenders. 3-0
Jake Rosengarten
Roar Guru
73' Arsenal just passing the ball around their star studded midfield in a leisurely manner. The spark is gone from this game. Hard for the Villa players to motivate themselves for the last quarter of an hour. 3-0
Jake Rosengarten
Roar Guru
Tim Sherwood uses his final substitution for the tournament Carlos Sanchez replaces Ashley Westwood.
Jake Rosengarten
Roar Guru
70' Walcott looked to get in behind yet again, but once again the assistant denies his run into goal. 3-0
Jake Rosengarten
Roar Guru
68' Meanwhile Ozil was released and looked to beat Okore at the edge of the box. He went to ground awkwardly following the defender's intervention but the ref waved play on resulting in an awkward end to the play. 3-0
Jake Rosengarten
Roar Guru
Sub for Villa Leandro Bacuna replaces Kieran Richardson.
Jake Rosengarten
Roar Guru
67' Villa have been comprehensively outplayed here. Really a poor showing from the boys from Birmingham. However they aren't giving up, still searching for that goal, which means we could see goals at either end. 3-0