RESULT! ARSENAL’S MATCH RATINGS 7 8 8 8 8 9 7 8 8
CONTROVERSIAL pick ahead of Cech meant pressure was on him. At fault for equaliser, he later made amends with a brilliant 86th-minute stop from Costa. HAS flourished in the new formation, bombing forward non-stop. Twice in the second half he missed out on a deserved goal, once denied by Courtois, then firing wide. JUST 22, he showed composure way beyond his years here and much-needed tenacity. Booked early in the second half but coped well with Costa’s threat. ONLY 38 minutes of action all season before this game yet the experienced German defied the odds by marshalling a makeshift defence superbly. SPANISH defender has been in good form and he played another blinder here as one of the three centre-halves. His experience was crucial when pressure mounted. UNLUCKY to be booked early on, the Welshman appeared a tad subdued for a while. But he stayed strong and managed to head home the vital winner. SEEMED destined to have one of his better days from the outset and, bar the odd lazy stray pass, so it proved. At last he is beginning to justify his £35million price tag. THE winger converted to wing-back is totally at ease in the role. Yesterday used on the left and, along with Monreal, helped keep the normally lethal Hazard fairly quiet. CHILE hitman proved unstoppable when opening the scoring that he created for himself, albeit with a handball. Not his best day yet he still had a massive impact. STILL disappoints for a player with such sublime skill. If only he had produced a firmer strike in the 15th minute the German would have put Arsenal 2-0 up. FAVOURED ahead of Giroud, the England striker’s pace and hold-up play upset Chelsea’s normally solid rearguard. Ran himself into ground before being subbed.
The Arsenal boss picked his reserve goalkeeper and a makeshift defence with Per Mertesacker making his first start for 13 months.
But Wenger still lifted the FA Cup for a record SEVENTH time after a season in which he has suffered more criticism than ever before.
Alexis Sanchez and Aaron Ramsey were the Gunners goalscorers as Chelsea were denied a league and cup double.
Diego Costa scored for Chelsea to make it 1-1 but they had to play with 10 men from the 68th minute after Victor Moses was sent off for two bookable offences.
It was a record 20th FA Cup Final for Arsenal but, despite their illustrious history in the world-famous competition, they were very much the underdogs.
Chelsea’s status as champions and Arsenal’s list of absentees through injury and suspension ensured that.
But the Gunners made a flying start with a controversial fourth-minute goal.
Sanchez played the ball forward and it was headed back to him by Chelsea centre-back David Luiz.
This time the Chile ace tried to find Ramsey who was in an offside position in the penalty area. But the Wales midfielder did not touch the ball and Sanchez burst forward in pursuit of his own pass to guide the ball past keeper Thibaut Courtois.
Sanchez also appeared to use an arm to control the ball at one point.
At first, referee Anthony Taylor ruled it out for offside but after consulting his assistant, reversed his decision and gave the goal – to Arsenal’s delight and Chelsea’s anger.
It was Sanchez’s 30th goal of the season in all competitions and he thought he had made a second for Arsenal in the 15th minute.
His superb pass set up Mesut Ozil but, while the Germany midfielder’s shot lacked power, it still beat Courtois.
Gary Cahill, however, came to Chelsea’s recsue by clearing off the line with a nifty backheel. Surprisingly, Arsenal continued to dominate against the team of the season. And three minutes later they came even closer to increasing their advantage. Ozil’s right-wing corner was glanced on by the head of Danny Welbeck, the ball hit the post and Ramsey somehow failed to convert the rebound from point-blank range. The midfielder could claim, though, that he was at a tight angle. Chelsea did not seriously threaten until the 28th minute when David Ospina – given the nod in goal ahead of regular No.1 Petr Cech – did well to deny Costa. But Wenger (left) was delighted to see his men quickly get back to creating chances. Courtois saved at the feet of Welbeck then turned a volley from Granit Xhaka for a corner. When Chelsea had a rare sight of goal in the first half, Pedro drove over the bar. A dressing room mix-up meant that in the first half Chelsea did not wear the