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The date draws ever closer, May 30 will see Arsenal going up against Aston Villa in a bid to retain the FA Cup trophy. The two teams meet each other at Wembley having gone through a grueling five rounds, including the semi-finals.
Arsenal began their journey this season facing the same opponents against whom they won the title in last year’s final – Hull City. Having beaten them at home, they then travelled to Brighton and Hove Albion where Theo Walcott, Mesut Ozil, and Tomas Rosicky were all on the scoresheet.
The Gunners would then face Premier League aspirants Middlesbrough who were fresh from their win over former Premier League champions Manchester City. However, they barely put a foot wrong to coast past the Championship side.
As fate would have it, they were drawn to play Manchester United at Old Trafford. Their convincing performance against the Red Devils produced the win they earnestly desired. Once again they would face familiar foes as they came up against Reading whom they had beaten in a 7-5 thriller in the Capital One Cup in 2012. Once again the Gunners emerged victorious thanks to an error from Reading goalkeeper Adam Federici who failed to keep out a tame shot from Alexis Sanchez.
Aston Villa who haven’t reached the FA Cup final since 2000, they started their campaign against Blackpool in the third round the same as their opponents in the final. They emerged victors by a single goal margin. They would go on to win three out of their next four FA Cup matches by a single goal margin.
Bournemouth, Leicester City, and West Brom were dispatched by the Villains who were struggling in the Premier League but looked a tremendous force in the cup. They proved their cup worth when they beat Liverpool in the semi-final under the new manager Tim Sherwood who was turning around their Premier League fortunes.
