Arsenal’s win FA Cup denies Chelsea double

Arsenal salvaged some silverware from a traumatic season as they denied Chelsea the double with a 2-1 victory in an enthralling FA Cup final thanks to Aaron Ramsey’s late winner yesterday.

Chelsea had been hot favourites to put the icing on the cake of a remarkable debut season for manager Antonio Conte but were not at their clinical best as Arsenal lifted the cup for the third time in four seasons.

They have now captured it a record 13 times while boss Arsene Wenger, for whom this could still turn out to be a golden farewell after a 21-year reign in north London, is now the most successful manager in the Cups’ history with seven wins.

Chelsea made a woeful start and were behind after four minutes to Alexis Sanchez’s hugely controversial opener but when Diego Costa levelled in the 76th minute it seemed the fates were with the Blues despite playing with 10 men.

Conte’s side had to play the last 20 minutes a man down after Victor Moses was dismissed following a second yellow card awarded for diving.

They responded to that setback but Ramsey’s 79th minute header knocked the stuffing out of Chelsea.

Wenger, who failed to finish in the top four in the Premier League for the first time since taking charge in 1996, celebrated with his players in front of the massed red ranks of Arsenal fans at the end.

‘‘We had an outstanding performance from the first minute onwards,’’ the out-of-contract 67-year-old, who said his future will become clearer next week, said.

‘‘This team has suffered. They’ve united and responded. I said last week this team will be in the championship with one or two good buys. They showed strength and unity and played spectacular football today.’’

Conte said the game swung on Sanchez’s goal being allowed and the Moses red card but admitted his side had started slowly.

‘‘The start was not good enough,’’ the Italian said. ‘‘They started better than us. The goal after four minutes was clear handball by Sanchez. But our start wasn’t good.’’

Sanchez’s goal was a confusing affair. First he appeared to block the ball back into the danger area with his hands before running on to shoot past Thibaut Courtois with Chelsea’s defence frozen.

Referee Anthony Taylor initially disallowed it but after consulting with assistant Gary Bewsick, he signalled a goal to spark Arsenal celebrations.