Aston Villa failed in their attempt to register their first FA Cup won since 1957 going down 4-0 against Arsenal at Wembley.
Four scorers from four different nations; Theo Walcott, Alexis Sanchez, Per Mertesacker and Olivier Giroud settled a one side final, the most one sided since 1994 when Manchester United beat Chelsea by the same score.
Arsenal are now the competition’s most successful side with 12 wins, and they also complete a hat-trick of domestic trophies for London sides. Arsenal had won the two league matches by an 8-0 aggregate whereas Aston Villa had narrowly avoided relegation. The gap in quality was evident from the start despite the FA Cup Final’s infamous history of cup shocks.
The Gunners had a sustained spell of early pressure most of which resulted in corners from the left, which kept Villa striker Christian Benteke among others a busy man.
Tom Cleverley picked up the game’s first yellow in the 14th minute for a needless trip on Nacho Monreal. Shay Given produced a great save from that incident on a Laurent Koscielny header before Aaron Ramsey missed the target from inside the box six minutes later.
The traffic continued to be one way with Villa defenders especially Kieran Richardson throwing various body parts at the ball while Theo Walcott’s poor reading of the offside law also hampered Arsenal.
Villa were hanging on despite being roared on by 25,000 vociferous Brummies and apparently the only non-Arsenal fan in England’s Royal Family, self-confessed Villain William Windsor. Alan Hutton joined Cleverley in the book in 33 after upending Chilean star Alexis Sanchez.
A disgruntled Villa fan takes his frustration out on wikipedia
Five minutes short of half time, the damn broke when Walcott hammered home after Sanchez smartly headed a downward header into his path, following great work on the left from an onside Monreal.
Villa survived the half with that deficit, with Arsenal’s goal matching their one shot all half – which was off target anyway.
The hoped for second half comeback was very quickly shattered. Villa lost possession in their own half. Using space created by a smart decoy run by Monreal, Sanchez thumped in a serving shot from 25 yards which left the beleaguered Shay Given helpless.
The Chilean had scored twice at Wembley in the semi-final and twice against England last year.
Pers Mertesacker added a soft third by heading in a corner with Bentecke the forward once again failing in his defensive duties. Bizarrely he too, like Sanchez, had scored at Wembley against England for his country.
Olivier Giroud wrapped it up with a fourth in stoppage time after receiving a pass from Alex Oxlade-Chamerlaine.
A half-hearted penalty claim was Villa’s remaining highlight but that apart few bells will be ringing for claret and blue tonight in the West Midlands.
Arsenal became the first side to retain the trophy since Chelsea in 2010. Arsenal themselves retained it in 2003 and 1993.
Attendance: 89,283
