FA CUP FINAL ; Arsenal vs Aston Villa

  

FA CUP FINAL

• Venue: Wembley Stadium
 
• Date: Saturday, 30 May
 
• Kick-off: 1730 BST

Coverage: Live on BBC One and BBC Sport website, live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live, live text commentary all day on BBC Sport website and app

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MATCH STATS

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TEAM NEWS

Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck will miss the FA Cup final after failing to recover from a knee injury.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Mathieu Debuchy (both hamstring) and captain Mikel Arteta (ankle) are in contention after returning to training.

Shay Given is fit for Aston Villa's first Cup final in 15 years after recovering from a groin injury.

Aly Cissokho (groin), Kieran Richardson (calf) and Jores Okore (knee) have also trained but Ciaran Clark (knee) is out.

Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey scored an extra-time winner last season as they beat Hull 3-2 to win their first trophy in nine years.

And the Welshman is hopeful of adding another trophy to his collection as Arsenal look to become the first team to retain the Cup since Chelsea in 2010.

Ramsey said: "To score a winner in the FA Cup final, it's everybody's dream and I managed to live it.

"To finally win something after all those years and the pressure that has been put on this club was such a nice feeling of relief to finally win something.

"We never do it easy. We've experienced what it's like now, going a few goals behind early in the game, but we still believed in ourselves and our ability to get through it.

"Hopefully it will be a bit easier this time and we won't have to put so many people through that.

"Villa are a good team, very solid and of late they've been in really good form, so we'll have to be aware of that."

Villa could have Christian Benteke available for the last time, as speculation continues to link him with a summer move.

But manager Tim Sherwood is confident of keeping Benteke, and teenage midfielder Jack Grealish, who could start after impressing in the semi-final win over Liverpool.

"Grealish has coped with the pressure up until now, when he is asked to step up he has ticked the boxes," he said.

"The bigger the stage, the better he's been. There isn't any bigger stage than this one, so I'm hoping he performs - otherwise we'll sell him!

"He is great, he loves playing. I don't think he gets nervous. He doesn't look the type. He's a terrific player and we're happy he's on our side.

"I think he realises it because he is around Aston Villa fans - Jack has never seen the club win a trophy.

"Even if he tries to get away from it, it's impossible with his family walking around with Villa shirts on every day."

MATCH FACTS

• Arsenal and Aston Villa have been drawn together in the FA Cup 10 times, with Arsenal winning seven and Aston Villa three.
• This is the first time these sides have met in an FA Cup final.
• The last FA Cup meeting between these sides was in the fourth round in 2012, when Arsenal came back from two goals down to win 3-2 at the Emirates Stadium.
• Aston Villa's last FA Cup win against Arsenal was in the fourth round in 1974, when they drew 1-1 at Highbury before winning the replay 2-0 at Villa Park.
• Aston Villa have won only one of the last nine meetings in all competitions. Their only win since May 2011 was 3-1, in the Premier League, at the Emirates Stadium in August 2013.
• Arsenal are the holders of the FA Cup, after beating Hull 3-2 at Wembley last May. They are the joint-most successful side in FA Cup history, having lifted the trophy 11 times - the same as Manchester United.
• Arsenal have reached the FA Cup final for the second successive year, after failing to reach this stage in the previous eight seasons. It is their 19th FA Cup final - a record for any side.
• Only three clubs have lifted the FA Cup on more occasions than Aston Villa, who have won the trophy seven times. Their seven FA Cup wins came between 1887 and 1957.
• This is Aston Villa's first FA Cup final since 2000, when they lost 1-0 to Chelsea at Wembley.

Ramsey: "I am focused on Arsenal and FA Cup"

There have been rumours in the press regarding Ramsey's Arsenal future, that could not be further from the Welshman's mind right now

You cannot underestimate the importance of Aaron Ramsey in this Arsenal squad, he has been integral to Arsenal's progress in the last few seasons, especially last year when his extra time goal in the FA Cup final ended Arsenal's nine year long wait for silverware.

"Hopefully we can win the FA Cup this year. Then that'll be two things in two years so hopefully we can just keep that run of winning things going," Ramsey said.

"Back-to-back finals are not an easy thing to achieve. In the second half of the season we have shown the form that we need throughout the season to win this league.

"We certainly showed that we are capable of going on these big runs and not losing too many games.

"If we can just show that consistency throughout the season then we'll be challenging for the Premier League, and that's what we'll be looking to do next year."

Ramsey knows they must perform and not be beaten by the occasion.

"It's so important to have that hunger and determination to go out and prove that you're worthy winners," he said.

"It's not going to be an easy game, we're going to have to be aware of that, but all the lads are even more hungry to win something this time around.

"We want that feeling that we had last year and we want to go on and win more things."

Ramsey completed a spirited fight back last year as the North London club found themselves 2-0 down in the first eight minutes.

"I was thankful in a way that they did score their two goals early on in the game and that we did have a large chunk of the game to get back into it," he said.

"That gave us the kick that we needed to get going. We managed to score before half-time and then it felt like we were in control of the game and created a few opportunities to get back into it.

"We managed to do that and to win in extra-time was amazing.

"To score a winner in the FA Cup final, it's everybody's dream and I managed to live it.

"To finally win something after all those years and the pressure that has been put on this club was such a nice feeling of relief to finally win something."

The 24-year-old hopes that Arsenal can repeat the euphoria of last year without the poor start this season.

He said: "We never do it easy. We've experienced what it's like now, going a few goals behind early in the game, but we still believed in ourselves and our ability to get through it.

"Hopefully it will be a bit easier this time and we won't have to put so many people through that.

"Villa are a good team, very solid and of late they've been in really good form, so we'll have to be aware of that."

Ramsey did not want to buy into the rumours linking him withBarcelona, who are reportedly weighing up a bid for the Welshman when their transfer embargo is lifted.

"That's just something that's been written in the papers," he said.

"I'm focused on Arsenal and winning the FA Cup. That sort of news doesn't affect me or even enter my mind."  

Ramsey is expected to play a key role tomorrow as Arsenal will set a record of playing their 19th FA Cup final.

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