FA Cup
CHECK OUT 15 QUIRKY FACTS AHEAD OF ARSENAL V CHELSEA IN THE HEADS UP FA CUP FINAL
Arsenal and Chelsea go head-to-head in the Heads Up FA Cup Final this weekend, with Wembley Stadium set to stage the all-London affair.
Both clubs have a strong recent history in the competition, Opta have provided us with some interesting quirks ahead of the big game.
- Arsenal are appearing in their 21st FA Cup Final, more than any other side. Indeed, the Gunners have won the competition more often than any other side (13).
- Chelsea are playing in their 14th FA Cup Final, with this their seventh appearance in the showpiece since the new Wembley Stadium re-opened in 2007. The Blues have won seven of their last nine Finals, with both defeats in that time coming against Arsenal.
- This season’s FA Cup Final will be the latest date a Final has been staged in the competition’s history.
- This is the third time Arsenal and Chelsea have faced each other in the Final, with the Gunners winning the previous two (in 2002 and 2017) – no fixture has been played more in the Final (excluding replays).
- Arsenal have triumphed in eight of their last nine FA Cup Final matches, including each of the last six in a row. Only Tottenham (seven between 1901 and 1982) have won more consecutive FA Cup Final appearances.
- Chelsea have won just one of their last 13 FA Cup games against Arsenal (D4 L8), beating them 2-1 in the 2009 semi-final, courtesy of goals from Florent Malouda and a late Didier Drogba winner.
- This will be the third time in the last four seasons that Arsenal will be ending their campaign against Chelsea, winning the 2017 FA Cup Final and losing last season’s Europa League final against the Blues in Baku.
- In all competitions, Chelsea have lost just two of their last ten meetings with Arsenal (W3 D5), with the Blues unbeaten against the Gunners in the Premier League this term (W1 D1).
- Mikel Arteta is to become only the second man to manage Arsenal in an FA Cup Final having also played for the Gunners in one, after George Graham. He could become the first person to win the FA Cup with Arsenal as both a captain and a manager.
- This will be the first FA Cup Final managed by two men who both also played for their teams in an Final since 2012 (Chelsea’s Roberto di Matteo v Liverpool’s Kenny Dalglish). Arteta won with Arsenal in 2014, while Frank Lampard played in five Finals for the Blues, winning four. Indeed, Lampard’s only FA Cup Final defeat as a player was against Arsenal in 2002.
- Frank Lampard will be the first English manager to take charge of Chelsea in a major cup final since Glenn Hoddle in the 1994 FA Cup, a 0-4 defeat against Manchester United. The last English manager to win a major trophy with Chelsea was Dave Sexton (1971 Cup Winner’s Cup).
- In FA Cup Final history, there have been two players play for both clubs in a specific final fixture – Francis Birley played for Oxford University against Wanderers in 1873, and vice versa in 1877, while Jack Reynolds played for both Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion in the 1890s. Both Chelsea’s Olivier Giroud and Arsenal’s David Luiz could achieve this, having played for their opponents in the 2017 Final.
- Chelsea’s Olivier Giroud has been involved in 24 goals in 30 FA Cup appearances (16 goals, 8 assists). The Frenchman has also had a hand in three goals in four Final appearances in the competition (1 goal, 2 assists), with both his assists being for the winning goal (2014 and 2017).
- Giroud will also be aiming to become just the second player to score for and against a specific side (Arsenal) in separate FA Cup Finals after Frank Stapleton, who netted against Manchester United in the 1979 Final (for Arsenal) and then for the Red Devils in the 1983 Final (v Brighton & Hove Albion).
- Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has scored three goals in just two FA Cup appearances, with the Gabonese striker netting both of the Gunners’ goals in their semi-final victory against Manchester City.
Arsenal survived a genuine scare in the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday as they edged past spirited third-tier Mansfield Town 2-1, with Eberechi Eze’s thunderbolt sending the Premier League leaders into the quarter-finals.
Noni Madueke gave Arsenal the lead going into halftime at Field Mill, but Will Evans equalised for Nigel Clough’s Mansfield before Eze scored in the 66th minute to ensure the top-flight side progressed to the last eight.
“Happy to score. I had the space and the opportunity to shoot. So I took it,” Eze told TNT Sports.
“It was a difficult environment to play in. But we did what we had to do and we are through to the next round, which is the important thing.”
Mikel Arteta named a much-changed side, starting teenagers Max Dowman and Marli Salmon, as Arsenal became the first Premier League side to start a competitive game with two players aged 16 or under in any competition.
However, Arteta’s changes nearly backfired as the hosts, feeding off a raucous home crowd, gave Arsenal a genuine fright with aggressive pressing and infectious energy that clearly unsettled the visitors.
“Before the game, the gaffer said, ‘Have a go. We were not expected to win the game, so have a go and enjoy it,” Mansfield forward Rhys Oates said.
“We created more chances than we thought we could, and we have given them a game.”
Dowman, Arsenal’s youngest-ever FA Cup player at 16, emerged as a lively attacking threat as the top-flight side gradually found their rhythm before Madueke broke the deadlock in the 41st minute.
Madueke, who had an initial shot saved, curled a powerful finish into the far corner to give Arsenal their 100th goal of the season in all competitions.
Clough brought on Evans for the second half, and the Welsh striker made an immediate impact, netting five minutes after coming on.
The 28-year-old wrong-footed a second-guessing Cristhian Mosquera before finishing past Kepa Arrizabalaga in Arsenal’s goal.
“It’s typical, isn’t it? For me to have a league goal drought and then come on for a half against Arsenal and have a goal against them,” Evans said.
Arsenal were rattled but recovered and found the winner when substitute Eze made space for himself and fired a powerful shot from the edge of the box to silence the crowd at Field Mill and keep Arsenal’s quadruple bid on track.
-Reuters
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Chelsea’s Alejandro Garnacho and Joao Pedro struck in extra time to secure a nervy 4–2 win over second‑tier Wrexham and reach the FA Cup quarter‑finals on Saturday as the Premier League giants escaped from the Racecourse Ground after a tough battle.
Garnacho volleyed home from close range in the 97th minute with such force that the ball ricocheted off the back stanchion to give Chelsea the lead for the first time on the night.
Wrexham — who lost George Dobson to a 93rd-minute red card — thought they had equalised deep into added time in the extra period when Lewis Brunt headed home, but he was offside. Pedro then sealed Chelsea’s win with a fine goal in the 125th minute.
Sam Smith had put the Championship side ahead in the 18th when he sprinted onto Callum Doyle’s long pass, took a touch and fired past Robert Sanchez. Chelsea equalised with a huge slice of luck when George Thomason’s attempt to clear Garnacho’s shot struck goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo and rolled in.
Wrexham went back in front after 78 minutes when Doyle diverted the ball past Sanchez after Ryan Longman fired it back into the area from a corner. But Josh Acheampong equalised soon after with a blistering shot into the roof of the net after Dobson slipped to send the game into extra time.
-Reuters
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Arsenal will visit League One Mansfield Town, while Manchester City travel to Newcastle United in a mouth-watering all-Premier League tie following the FA Cup fifth round draw on Monday.
Third-tier Mansfield stunned top-flight strugglers Burnley 2-1 at Turf Moor on Saturday and have been rewarded with a clash against 14-time winners and Premier League leaders Arsenal.
Pep Guardiola’s City face Newcastle in a repeat of one of this season’s League Cup semi-finals, while Premier League bottom side Wolverhampton Wanderers host Liverpool.
Brentford head to West Ham United after an own goal away to sixth-tier Macclesfield, who stunned holders Crystal Palace in the last round, giving them a 1-0 win on Monday.
Championship side Wrexham welcome eight-time winners Chelsea, while Fulham entertain Southampton and Leeds United host another second-tier side in Norwich City.
Sunderland face a second successive away trip after being drawn against Port Vale or Bristol City, whose fourth-round tie has been postponed until March 3 due to a waterlogged pitch.
FA Cup fifth round draw
- Fulham v Southampton
- Port Vale or Bristol City v Sunderland
- Newcastle United v Manchester City
- Leeds United v Norwich City
- Mansfield Town v Arsenal
- Wolverhampton Wanderers v Liverpool
- Wrexham v Chelsea
- West Ham United v Brentford
Matches to be played over the weekend of March 7–8
-Reuters
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