Pre-match – Walcott starts up front
Even before a football had been kicked, it was rather a shock that the English forward was given the green light to start ahead of Frenchman Olivier Giroud. Despite being hit with injury for the majority of the campaign, Walcott’s first half hat-trick against West Bromwich Albion was enough for manager Arsene Wenger to hand him the honour at Wembley. His terrific pace ability would have certainly thrown a spanner in the works of Tim Sherwood’s game plan.
15’ – Great save from Given
Spanish midfielder Santi Cazorla played a clever free-kick down the channel into the path of Alexis Sanchez, who delivered a wonderful ball into the box which met the head of Laurent Koscielny. The French centre-back rose perfectly to aerially fire at goal in the fifteenth minute, only to be prevented by a world-class save from veteran goalkeeper Shay Given. It was beginning to seem like the Gunners were going to find it difficult to get past the Villa backline.
40’ – Arsenal make the breakthrough
Theo Walcott powered his side into the lead just before half-time with a thumping finish that rocketed into the back of the net. The Arsenal fans went into pure elation, and rightfully so as it was a goal of real quality patient build-up. Left-back Nacho Monreal launched a ball across the eighteen-yard box which was headed on by Sanchez for Walcott to fire home, giving Given absolutely no chance of stopping it.
50’ – Gunners double their advantage
An absolute thunderbolt from Arsenal’s top-scorer this season Alexis Sanchez made it 2-0 in the opening stages of the second period. The Chilean cut inside and then unleashed a stinging curling strike into the top corner, which the goalkeeper just did not see coming. The goal epitomised Sanchez’s season and this unstoppable individual effort gave Arsene Wenger the breathing space that they needed.
62’ – Game over
Aston Villa became increasingly lacklustre with their play as the game went on and this resulted in the simplest of goals for Arsenal. Tim Sherwood’s side had barely offered any attacking threat, so much so that Per Mertesacker had nothing to do until this point. Santi Cazorla delivered a corner into the penalty area and the tall German rose higher than anyone else to head home, putting Arsenal 3-0 up in the process.
90+3’ – Embarrassment for Villa
Aaron Ramsey played a neat little pass to substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who squared the ball to fellow substitute Olivier Giroud. The Frenchman finished off a stunning late move and rounded off a thrilling win for the North London outfit to make it 4-0 on the day. It summed up an amazing performance for Arsenal, from start to finish.
Post-match – Arsenal win the FA Cup
Arsenal went on to lift a consecutive FA Cup trophy, their twelfth victory in the competition overall, which puts them ahead of Manchester United in the roll of honour. It was also a record-breaking accolade for manager Arsene Wenger who lifts the Cup for the sixth time as a manager, no coach has won it more times than this. Four goals and a clean sheet rounds off a fantastic tournament for Arsenal Football Club.
