Arsenal are back in the FA Cup final, and they’re gunning for history. An Arsenal win at Wembley against Aston Villa on Saturday would give the Gunners their 12th FA Cup triumph, breaking their tie with Manchester United for most in the tournament’s illustrious history.
But Aston Villa have the hottest striker in the country in Christian Benteke, who could see to it that the Gunners’ aspirations of a repeat go up in flames.
Find out all you need to know about the FA Cup final in our comprehensive preview below. Speaking of finals, the Champions League final between Barcelona and Juventus is sure to be an epic matchup. Check out our preview of that final here.
Arsenal will head into their second consecutive FA Cup as the significant favorites to defend their crown, and rightly so. The Gunners are coming off another successful Premier League season (see manager Arsene Wenger’s definition of success) with a third place finish.
[sc:Soccer240banner ]Arsenal put an emphatic exclamation point to the league campaign with a 4-1 win over West Bromwich Albion in their season finale. Theo Walcott put in a fine audition for a starting spot at Wembley with a clinical hat-trick.
With Danny Welbeck set to miss out due to a knee injury and first-choice forward Olivier Giroud scoreless since the start of April, Wenger could yet be tempted to go with Walcott up front in lieu of a conventional striker.
The goals have dried up for Arsenal over the final few weeks of the season, as they scored just five goals in six games prior to the West Brom match. But with world-class attacking talent in Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal’s leading scorer this season with 16 league goals), Santi Cazorla, Mesut Ozil, and/or Aaron Ramsey playing behind the striker and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to call off the bench, the Gunners have a wealth of weapons to create goalscoring opportunities.
Those weapons detonated all over Aston Villa this campaign as they romped to 3-0 and 5-0 wins against the Villans in their two meetings this season. Six different Gunners scored, with Ozil the only player to find the net in both games. The Gunners are 7-1-1 in their last nine meetings against the Villans.
With Premier League football secured for another year, Aston Villa can now set their sights on winning their first piece of silverware since winning the League Cup in 1995-96. Villa most definitely earned their place in the FA Cup final after beating three consecutive Premier League teams – Leicester, West Brom and Liverpool.
The 2-1 win over Leicester spelled the beginning of the Tim Sherwood era, which no doubt saved the club’s season. They’ve won eight of the 16 games in all competitions under Sherwood, as they were given the license to play a more open style of football.
Christian Benteke’s return to top form at the tail end of the season after last year’s Achilles injury also proved decisive to Villa’s survival. The Belgian striker has been the hottest striker in England, with 12 goals in his last 12 matches.
Benteke has the blend of skill and physicality that could be a handful for Arsenal’s defense. And with the pace of wingers Charles N’Zogbia and young Jack Grealish, who helped sink Liverpool in the semis, Villa will look to stretch out the Gunners’ back line.
Villa’s solid defense, which had been their calling card early in the season, has been less resolute as the season has gone on. They also suffered a significant blow as central defender Jores Okore will be unavailable for the final with a knee injury.
But they still possess a very talented base, anchored by midfield captain Fabian Delph and steadfast defender Ron Vlaar, that has the ability to withstand Arsenal’s assault on their goal.
Writer’s Prediction
Arsenal (-235) have too much offensively as they successfully defend the FA Cup with a 2-0 win.
