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Arsenal swatted Aston Villa aside to become the most successful club in FA Cup history.

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Sat 30 May 2015 14.47 EDTFirst published on Sat 30 May 2015 10.00 EDT
Theo Walcott and Arsenal celebrate going 1-0 ahead in the FA Cup final against Aston Villa.
Theo Walcott and Arsenal celebrate going 1-0 ahead in the FA Cup final against Aston Villa. It got better and better. Photograph: Tom Jenkins for the Guardian
Theo Walcott and Arsenal celebrate going 1-0 ahead in the FA Cup final against Aston Villa. It got better and better. Photograph: Tom Jenkins for the Guardian

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Finally, here come Arsenal, the 2015 FA Cup champions! They climb the famous Wembley steps, faces beaming, and Aston Villa fan Prince William - slightly grim-faced, it has to be said - hands the trophy to Per Mertesacker and Alexis Sanchez. Up goes the cup, and down comes the ticker tape! Arsenal’s win means Southampton are in Europe, with Liverpool going straight into the Europa League group stage. But never mind all that; this is about Arsenal, and especially Arsene Wenger, their manager becoming a bona fide FA Cup legend today. As if he wasn’t one already, but a joint-record sixth win really hammers home the point, no? Over to Daniel Taylor, then, for the big match’s big report ...

Arsenal celebrate with the trophy. Photograph: John Sibley/Action Images via Reuters
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An understandably upset young Villa fan is letting it all out, a few tears rolling down his cheeks. But then he spots himself on the big screen at Wembley, and allows himself a shy, but very brave, smile. A little something to take away from his very disappointing day. Hey, maybe there’s something in training the camera on the fans after all. Villa trudge up to claim their runners-up medals. A line of depressed faces, their manager’s the most miserable of all, his heart beating away on that sleeve. It won’t feel like it now, but Sherwood’s done a fine job so far at Villa, getting the team to the final, obviously, but keeping the team in the Premier League too. Next season should be interesting at Villa Park, and it’s been a while since anyone’s said that.

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Wenger speaks! “We have shown today that we are a real team. I’d like to congratulate everyone, my players, my staff, the supporters. The confidence is good and the spirit in the team is high. I am proud that our club is doing well, and if I can personally do well, that’s even better!” A cheeky smile. How long does he plan to continue in the job? “My hunger is great, I want to do well. I will sit down with my directors and see how much they trust.”

Tim Sherwood wanders onto the pitch, hands in pockets, a picture of misery and despair. His opposing number Arsene Wenger is walking on air, and who can blame him? This is a remarkable achievement by Wenger, who has turned Arsenal into the kings of the FA Cup. Villa’s players stand, hands on hips, thoroughly defeated. They never really got a foothold in this final, and were well beaten by a very good team. A four-goal thrashing doesn’t flatter Arsenal at all.

Arsenal’s Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny celebrate at the full time whistle ... Photograph: Carl Recine/Action Images via Reuters
Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood cuts a desolate figure. Photograph: John Sibley/Reuters
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FULL TIME: Arsenal 4-0 Aston Villa

Arsenal are the 2015 FA Cup winners! They’ve retained their trophy, and with their 12th win, become the most successful FA Cup club of all time! Arsene Wenger meanwhile registers his sixth win, a stunning personal record he shares with George Ramsay of ... Aston Villa. This is a historic day all right!

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GOAL! Arsenal 4-0 Aston Villa (Giroud 90+3)

The final humiliation. Oxlade-Chamberlain finds a bit of space down the right, fires a low ball towards the near post, and Giroud flicks into the bottom right. Shades of offside, but what does it matter?

90 min +2: Grealish, who hasn’t stopped, pitching-wedges a diagonal ball from the left into the Arsenal box, but Benteke can’t get on the end of it.

90 min +1: Sanchez dribbles into a little space down the left, but his cross into the Arsenal box is aimless. There’s nobody in there anyway. Benteke has been very disappointing, though I guess he’s not had much to feed on.

90 min: There will be three minutes of added time. A mere 180 seconds, and it’ll seem like 180 years to poor Villa.

89 min: Sanchez is replaced by Oxlade-Chamberlain, a move which allows Arsenal’s fans to give their star man the reception he deserves. They don’t disappoint.

87 min: Grealish, in a fit of frustration, attempts a snapshot from 25 yards. Justice would have seen that fly into the top corner, but it’s easily blocked. It’s not been Villa’s day. They’ve been outplayed comprehensively, though they’ll point to those two late non-decisions.

85 min: Grealish robs Bellerin down the left, tight on the byline. And then he’s sent crashing to the floor! A penalty? Nope, they’re not getting that one, either. That’s not a good decision either. Bellerin had his arm on his shoulder. It wasn’t the hardest of tugs, but that shouldn’t make any difference. On the touchline, Tim Sherwood’s eyebrows nearly snap clean off his face, so fierce is his frown.

83 min: Giroud twists and turns by the right-hand corner flag, and is sent crashing to the floor by Vlaar. That was more clumsy than anything else. But a free kick that’s effectively a corner.

80 min: Agbonlahor turns on the jets and heads towards the Arsenal box down the left. He’s about to take a step into the area when he’s upended by a sliding Coquelin. He claims a penalty, though it should be a free kick just outside the area. He gets neither decision, though. He looks aggrieved, and you can’t blame him.

79 min: Sanchez slips a perfectly weighted pass down the left, but Monreal can’t control in the area and Villa hoick clear. “For the second time they’ve cut away to show a young Villa fan looking depressed,” reports Dave Hill. “Every year, there are scenes of kids in tears as their team is relegated. I’m wondering if there is a fine line of bringing your impressionable child to a sporting event where their team may be thumped. On one hand, if they win, it will be one of the greatest things in their lives. On the other, the soul crushing that can occur, may cause an unexpected rise in top-four team duvet sales.” I’m not a fan of the TV cameras homing in on misery in the stands at all, really, whatever the age of the supporter. People pay good money to go to the game, they shouldn’t be humiliated on the international stage as a symbol of failure just because their team is doing badly and they’ve got a face on. Leave people to grieve in peace!

77 min: That’s Walcott’s last contribution to the match. He’s replaced by Giroud, while Ozil is swapped for Wilshere.

76 min: Ramsey, in space down the right, curls a long ball towards Walcott, racing down the left channel. He looks to curl one into the top right from distance, but his effort is all wrong. It flies high and wide right.

74 min: We have two teams here, and both know what time it is. A sense that everyone’s just running down the clock.

72 min: Sanchez (A) tackles a dithering Sanchez (C) in the centre circle. That was harrying of Suarezian proportions! And Arsenal are 3-0 up and cruising. Hey, maybe that’s why Arsenal are 3-0 up and cruising.

70 min: Walcott very nearly springs clear down the right, but he’s offside. Villa look spent, and miserable to a man. 1957 was a long time ago.

68 min: Richardson, injured it would appear, is replaced by Bacuna. Hutton moves over to left back. “How long until Hutton is sent off for a two-footed tackle?” wonders Gordon Inglis, working off Ruth Purdue’s blueprint.

67 min: Delph slides a clever pass down the inside-right channel, but Cleverley can’t control as he bursts into the area, and Bellerin mops up. Down the other end, Sanchez twists and turns down the left, but can’t release Ozil.

65 min: A free kick for Villa down the right. Delph lumps it into the area, but Szczesny claims with a yawn. They need something now, if not sooner, but let’s be realistic, this has gone.

64 min: On the touchline, Tim Sherwood responded to his team’s non-existent defending by flinging his arms into the air in impotent frustration. He’s now pinching the bridge of his nose, presumably to keep himself calm. If nothing else, the man’s box office.

GOAL! Arsenal 3-0 Aston Villa (Mertesacker 62)

This was as simple as it comes. Corner for Arsenal down the right. Cazorla curls it into the box. Mertesacker rises, and carefully plants a header into the top-left corner, via a brush off his left shoulder. Benteke was marking him there, but gave up. Awful defending. Mertesacker had all the time in the world.

Per Mertesacker makes it 3-0. Photograph: John Sibley/Reuters
Mertesacker celebrates with Santi Cazorla whilst Villa boss Tim Sherwood can only put his head in his hands. Photograph: Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images
Mertesacker gives a thumbs up to the Gooners. Photograph: Tom Jenkins
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61 min: Ozil rakes a lovely pass down the middle to release Walcott. Or not quite. A combination of Okore and Given, on the edge of his box, stop the lightning-quick Walcott wriggle free. He can’t get a shot on goal. So close to the third goal that’d put this game to bed.

59 min: Villa can’t string two passes together right now. Arsenal are very comfortable. Here’s Matt Dony on Alexis Sanchez: “A tenacious, skilful, hard-working South American with a foot like a traction engine and a knack for rising to the occasion, who was available last summer. That all sounds familiar. And Rodgers bought Balotelli.”

57 min: Villa are all over the shop right now. Bellerin makes good down the right and slips the ball inside for Cazorla, who twinkles his toes to make a little space by the right of the D, before hammering a shot towards the bottom right. Given parries clear. This could get ugly for Villa if they don’t clear their heads soon.

56 min: Sanchez has the ball in the net again, but it’s correctly ruled out for offside. Ramsey had whipped a cross in from the right. Walcott had mistimed his move in the centre, and though his intervention saw the ball break right past a flapping Given to Sanchez, who headed into the empty net, it’s not counting.

55 min: Sanchez is the second Chilean to score in an FA Cup final. George Robledo of Newcastle United was the first, notching the winner in 1952 against ... Arsenal.

53 min: Before the free kick, N’Zogbia is replaced by Agbonlahor. Too late? Cazorla’s set piece is cleared easily enough, but Arsenal come straight back at Villa, Sanchez breaking into the area down the left. He’s got options inside, but delays the cross, and a corner will have to do. The set piece comes to nothing. Villa are seriously rocking here.

52 min: Arsenal have their tails up now all right. Sanchez cuts in from the left wing, and is clipped over by Westwood, who is booked for his trouble. This will be a free kick in a dangerous position.

GOAL! Arsenal 2-0 Aston Villa (Sanchez 50)

Villa had looked dangerous for a split second there, but now they’re really up against it. Sanchez, 30 yards out down the inside-left channel, drops a shoulder to move inside, then unleashes a crazy, swerving, rising shot that deceives Given and whips into the roof of the net! What a strike! One of the stunning FA Cup final goals! Given may get pelters for that, but they’d be undeserved, for that ball was moving all over the place, off to the left before swerving violently to the left.

Thwack. Alexis Sanchez lets fly ... Photograph: Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images
The ball swerves through the air and past Given to Arsenal’s lead is doubled. Photograph: Tom Jenkins
He’s got every right to smile, that was a fantastic finish. Photograph: Tom Jenkins
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48 min: Grealish has a probe down the left, but he’s quickly closed down. No matter, Villa come again down the right through Hutton, whose long, looping cross confuses Bellerin to the extent that Grealish has the ball at his feet, tight on the byline to the left of goal. Bellerin recovers his poise, though, and crowds Grealish out.

47 min: Arsenal are almost immediately on the front foot again. Ozil makes space down the left. He feeds Cazorla, who thinks about shooting from the edge of the box, but slips it to his left for Ramsey instead. Ramsey twists, turns and then shoots, but his shot isn’t up to much, and bounces harmlessly into the arms of Given.

Arsenal get the second half underway!

No changes. “After watching a half of those really ugly Arsenal kits, I was thinking since the FA cup currently exists as an exercise in nostalgia, why not have the teams play in old retro kits from bygone eras?” wonders Dave Hill. “Major League Baseball does it all the time and in some cases, does it really well. Football, like baseball lends itself to doing so as the only changes in kits are esthetic, not functional like hockey, cricket and American Football. It might be fun to see Villa in a 1887 kit versus Arsenal in a 1930s one go at it. Make Tim and Arsene wear waistcoats from those era as well, which would ensure against any gilet use.”

Half-time advertisement, in a 1957 style:

Villa could do with a shot of this stuff. Tired blood? A pint of Geritol’s your only man! “You’ll feel stronger fast, within seven days or your money back.” Not entirely sure of the science behind this, and time might be an issue, but anything’s worth a go right now.

HALF TIME: Arsenal 1-0 Aston Villa

This scoreline is the very least Arsenal deserve. They’ve been utterly dominant. Villa have been on the ropes pretty much from the get-go. Better have another read of those motivational messages from the fans. Because if the second half pans out like the first, this is all over. Still, there’s only the one goal in it, and there have been plenty of dramatic turnarounds in the FA Cup final. Can Villa produce another? We’ll find out soon enough. No flipping!

45 min +1: There’ll be two added minutes of this half. A corner for Arsenal down the right. Ozil floats one into the centre, and Villa clear without too much fuss. But they really need to hear this half-time whistle.

44 min: Arsenal’s set piece isn’t up to much. Villa are happy just to clear their lines right now. They came from behind here against Liverpool in the semi, of course, but Arsenal are a different proposition. They’ll have to do better than this, though. They’ll need to hold on for the half-time whistle, and regroup.

43 min: Walcott, in hot form right now, one-twos with Ramsey down the right and shapes to shoot from a tight angle. Richardson slides in to concede a corner.

GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Aston Villa (Walcott 40)

It’s not as if this hadn’t been coming. Monreal is sent into space down the left. He lifts a cross into the middle. Sanchez rises above Villa’s unconvincing centre halves, heading back across for Walcott, who enters the area from the left and meets Sanchez’s header with a blistering volley into the net!

Pick that one out the onion bag. Photograph: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images
He’s rather chuffed. Photograph: Paul Gilham/Getty Images
As are the Gooners in the crowd. Photograph: Matt Lewis/The FA via Getty Images
Shay Given looks dejected. Photograph: Darren Staples/Reuters
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38 min: Delph is booked for repeated fouling. He’s the heart of Villa’s engine room, and now he’ll need to be very careful indeed. As does Alan Hutton, of course, but what’s the point asking him to watch his step? You might as well shout into a hole in the ground.

36 min: But then again, you never know. Richardson curls a cross into the area from the left. Benteke, on the right-hand edge of the D, flicks delicately down the channel and nearly finds Grealish, breaking into the box. Just before that, Given came out of his area to head a long Cazorla lump away from the danger zone. And just after it, Cazorla clatters into Westwood and winds himself. But he’ll be OK to continue.

34 min: Ruth Purdue (4 mins) wasn’t too far off. Hutton is quite correctly booked for an awfully late lunge on Sanchez down the left. What hoodlummery! The free kick’s lumped into the Villa box. Corner. From which there’s a small melee in the Villa box, Given not totally in control of the situation or his limbs. Eventually the ball’s wheeched away from danger. But this surely can’t continue for Villa, who are really on the ropes here.

Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez goes flying after being fouled by Aston Villa’s Alan Hutton. Photograph: Darren Staples/Reuters
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32 min: A bit of space for Delph down the left. He swings a high ball into the Arsenal area. Benteke winds his neck back. Szczesny comes out to punch, and manages it just about, but doesn’t connect particularly well under pressure from the striker. Fortunately for Arsenal, the ball doesn’t go anywhere near a claret shirt.

30 min: Bellerin is sent scampering into space down the right by Ramsey. His cross is poor - he should be causing a lot of trouble - but Grealish fails to clear with purpose. Ramsey is preparing to break into the box down the same flank when the whistle goes; he’s handled. Lucky Villa.

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