Wenger keen on making a point
ARSENAL BOSS: HE WANTS TO PROVE HE’S THE RIGHT MAN
Conte has no concerns ahead of all-London final.
Bruised but unbowed, Arsene Wenger hopes to end the most painful season of his long tenure as Arsenal manager with a record-breaking FA Cup final victory over Double-chasing Chelsea.
Though he has been barracked by his own fans and failed to secure Champions League qualification for the first time in 20 years, Wenger can make history by becoming the first manager to win seven FA Cups.
With his contract due to expire and no news forthcoming about his future, today’s game could provide an opportunity for a golden send-off – not that Wenger will be disclosing his plans in advance.
“I love to win and I love to do well for my club. I want to win it for my club. It’s not about me, it’s about us winning the trophy and giving everything to achieve it.”
It is not the first time Wenger finds himself looking to the world’s oldest cup competition for solace, with the FA Cup having enabled him to apply silver finishes in both 2014 and 2015.
But he has never before gone into a final knowing it is his last hope of salvaging anything from the season, after Arsenal missed out on the top four and fell by the wayside in the League Cup and Champions League.
Arsenal’s recent form means they approach the game with something of a spring in their step.
They won seven of their last eight league matches, winning all of the last five, and lost out to Liverpool in the race for fourth place by only a point.
Wenger’s switch to a back three has helped Arsenal find a second wind, but the defence he aligns beneath the Wembley arch will be far from his first choice.
Laurent Koscielny is banned following his dismissal in last Sunday’s 3-1 win over Everton and Gabriel is out with knee ligament damage sustained in the same game. Shkodran Mustafi is a doubt due to concussion.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte hopes to emulate his Italian compatriot Carlo Ancelotti by steering the club to a league and FA Cup Double in his first season.
He, too, can point to six straight league wins and a stirring recent Wembley triumph, his side having overcome a dangerous Tottenham Hotspur 4-2 in the last four.
Conte has a full squad to choose from and must decide who out of Pedro and Willian will complete his front three alongside Eden Hazard and Diego Costa. –