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.
Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick as Manchester City crushed Liverpool 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday to cruise into the FA Cup semi-finals.
Champions Liverpool played well in the opening half-hour with Mohamed Salah wasting an early chance, but once Haaland had scored from the spot in the 37th minute after a foul on Nico O’Reilly, their resistance crumbled.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk conceded the penalty with a rash challenge, and there was little the Dutch defender could do as City played scintillating attacking football for the remainder of the game.
His blond hair swinging behind him in a ponytail, Haaland netted his second two minutes into first-half stoppage time with a well-placed header from an excellent Antoine Semenyo cross.
Semenyo got on the scoresheet himself five minutes after the break, latching on to a ball in behind from Rayan Cherki and chipping it beautifully past Giorgi Mamardashvili, and Haaland completed his treble with a shot off the underside of the crossbar in the 57th minute.
Liverpool’s woes continued when Mohamed Salah, who is set to leave the club at the end of the season, capped off a poor performance by having his penalty saved by James Trafford, snuffing out any faint hopes Liverpool might have had of a comeback
As the game turned into a victory parade, many Liverpool fans started heading for the exits, and City manager Pep Guardiola rang the changes, replacing Haaland with Omar Marmoush, the Norwegian striker receiving a standing ovation as he left the field.
In the other quarter-finals, Chelsea take on Port Vale and Southampton host Arsenal later on Saturday, with Leeds United travelling to West Ham United on Sunday.
The semi-finals will take place at Wembley, and Haaland is relishing a return to the stadium.
“First half, we struggled a bit, but then we after around 30 minutes we kept going and in the end it’s an amazing game. Another Wembley trip for us is amazing and important,” he told broadcaster TNT.
“I think (my form this season) has been a bit too much up and down, which is not good enough. I cannot keep on thinking about what I could have done differently or what didn’t happen, or what happened. I have to think about the next game.”
-Reuters
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Arsenal will be without injured England attacker Noni Madueke when they face Southampton in Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final, but Martin Odegaard and Jurrien Timber may return from injury, manager Mikel Arteta said.
Madueke was among the 11 Arsenal players who withdrew from international duty last month over injuries and fitness management, as the club eye their first Premier League title since 2004.
“When you have to communicate the state of every player, we are always honest and a medical decision had to be made. That was clear what the conclusion was,” Arteta told reporters on Friday.
“It makes us so proud that we had that many players in the national team. Players are desperate to play for their nation. I know how important it is to them. We are fully supportive of that and when we can do it, we do it.”
Madueke picked up a knee injury during England’s friendly with Uruguay, missing the game against Japan. But Arteta said his condition was not as bad as a knee injury that kept him out for six weeks.
Martin Zubimendi, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Timber, Leandro Trossard, Eberechi Eze, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice were unavailable for their countries.
Arteta did not disclose how many of them will be available for Saturday’s game, as Arsenal look to shake off last month’s League Cup final loss to Manchester City with a return to Wembley in the FA Cup semi-finals.
“We’re in a position right now where we need to make the strongest line-up we possibly can to win every competition,” he said. ” We are two or three games away from the FA Cup and we know how important that competition is for us.”
-Reuters
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Manchester City will look to secure a historic eighth straight semi-final appearance in the FA Cup when they face Liverpool on Saturday, manager Pep Guardiola said.
City beat Arsenal to win the League Cup before the international break, and Guardiola is hoping his team maintain the momentum as they fight to add the FA Cup and Premier League to this season’s trophy haul.
“Once you finish one, it is the next one,” Guardiola told reporters on Friday.
“Tomorrow we have the chance to reach an incredible milestone, to make eight semi-finals in a row. It’s never happened… it is a prestigious competition, and one of the toughest, special opponents for all of us, Liverpool.”
City have dominated English football with six Premier League titles, two FA Cups and five League Cups since Guardiola joined in 2016, but Liverpool have been a constant thorn in his side throughout his coaching career.
As a coach, Guardiola has only nine victories and seven draws in 26 matches against Liverpool, his worst win rate against a Premier League club.
City have beaten Liverpool twice in the Premier League this season, but had to dig deep for a late comeback when they won 2-1 at Anfield in February.
“So many times they have been the rival, the biggest, biggest one… top contender, top class players, all of them. Hopefully we have to perform in the level we did against Arsenal to reach the next step,” Guardiola said.
The manager also praised Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, who has announced his departure in the summer.
“Absolutely. One of the greatest. The numbers, the consistency. What a player… absolute legend, of course for Liverpool, but (also) for the Premier League,” Guardiola said.
Guardiola, however, avoided commenting on his own midfielder Rodri, who said he was open to a move to Real Madrid when his contract with City runs out at the end of this season.
“No clue, no opinion… because I know the intention of the club, I know the intention, I think, of him, but I don’t know,” Guardiola said.’
-Reuters
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