Arsenal aim to become the first side to retain the FA Cup title since Chelsea five years ago when they face Aston Villa at Wembley on Saturday.
A victory for the Gunners will make them the most successful club in the history of the FA Cup with 12 titles and it would be Arsene Wenger’s sixth, making him the cup’s best ever manager ahead of Sir Alex Ferguson who has five.
Optimism is high in the Arsenal camp after a strong finish to the 2014/2015 League campaign with a 4-1 trashing of West Bromwich Albion on the final day of the season.
Aston Villa on the other hand achieved their primary aim for securing their top-flight status after finishing in 17th place and they now attempt to cap that off with a first trophy since the League Cup in 1996.
The Birmingham City-based club will also be seeking revenge after a disgraceful performance at the Emirates Stadium saw them lose 5-0 earlier this year.
Victory for Tim Sherwood’s side will see them claim an Europa League spot ahead of Southampton.
Team News
Arsenal
Wenger will have to choose between Theo Walcott and first choice striker Olivier Giroud for the game with the former scoring a hat-trick against West Brom last weekend. Danny Welbeck is one striker who will not be available due to a knee injury.
Meanwhile, Wojciech Szczesny is expected to retain his place in goal ahead of David Ospina while Jack Wilshere is also in contention after a good performance last weekend where he scored a wonderful goal.
Aston Villa
Christian Benteke is expected to lead the attack for the Villans alongside Gabriel Agbonlahor while goalkeeper Brad Guzan makes his first appearance in this year’s competition due to Shay Given’s groin injury.
Kieran Richardson is a doubt after missing last week’s game against Burnley but Nathan Baker could be in the side after making his first appearance since January against the Clarets.
Predicted Lineups
Mute the TV and listen to Rabble for a different experience
For today’s FA Cup Final, World Soccer Talk founder Christopher Harris will be hosting an audio broadcast online where you can listen and participate.
If you’ve grown tired of FOX Sports or you want to listen to a real fan’s broadcast on Rabble instead of the announcers on TV, mute your TV and listen to Chris (aka The Gaffer) on Rabble.tv (either on the web or the Rabble iOS app).
Plus you can interact with Chris by posting comments and asking any soccer-related questions you have on your mind.
Join him at Rabble.tv beginning at 12:15pm ET today.
