Arsenal retained the FA Cup after hammering Aston Villa 4-0 at Wembley on Saturday. In truth it was a convincing display from the Gunners against a poor Aston Villa team.
The Gunners played some good football in the first half, as Villa struggled to get hold of the ball. However, the breakthrough did not arrive until five minutes before the break.
Alexis Sanchez headed the ball down into the penalty area and Theo Walcott proceeded to hit a superb half-volley past Shay Given in the Villa goal.
The Gunners doubled their lead five minutes into the second period. Alexis Sanchez picked-up the ball 30 yards out and unleashed a brilliant, unstoppable swerving effort that bounced in off Shay Given’s bar.
Arsenal continued to dominate a Villa side that posed very little threat to their backline, despite striker Christian Benteke being in red hot form. The 24-year-old was starved of chances in this game though.
Arsenal’s third goal arrived just after the hour mark. Santi Cazorla’s corner kick was met by the head and shoulder of Per Mertesacker, but the effort left Given with no chance of saving it.
Villa had claims for a penalty kick turned down on 85 minutes, as Hector Bellerin looked to have had his arms around Villa starlet Jack Grealish in the penalty area, but referee Jon Moss waved away the claims.
The Gunners rounded-off their victory with a fourth goal in stoppage-time. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain crossed for fellow substitute Olivier Giroud to fire home at the near post.
The victory means that Arsenal are now the most successful club in the history of the FA Cup and Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is the most successful post-war boss in the competition, having now won the trophy six times.
Who was your FA Cup final man of the match?
