Friday 29 May 2015 10:29, UK
As Arsenal and Aston Villa prepare to meet in Saturday's FA Cup final, we look back on their routes to Wembley.
ARSENAL
Third round – v Hull City (H) 2-0
Arsenal kicked off their FA Cup defence with a repeat of last year’s final against Hull City at the Emirates Stadium, but this time the Tigers didn’t put up much of a fight. Per Mertesacker opened the scoring when he headed home Alexis Sanchez’s corner in the first half, and the Chilean put the result beyond doubt when he collected Santi Cazorla’s pass on the edge of Hull’s box, turned and fired a shot beyond Tigers goalkeeper Steve Harper.
Fourth round – v Brighton (A) 3-2
The Gunners got off to the perfect start at the Amex Stadium as Theo Walcott finished from Calum Chambers’ cross after just 89 seconds. Mesut Ozil added a second after 24 minutes when he netted from Tomas Rosicky’s through ball, but the Championship side hit back through Chris O’Grady shortly after half-time. Rosicky then restored Arsenal’s two-goal advantage with a superb volley, and Arsene Wenger’s men held on for the win despite Sam Baldock pulling a goal back for Brighton.
Fifth round – v Middlesbrough (H) 2-0
Middlesbrough visited the Emirates having dumped Manchester City out of the competition in the previous round, but Arsenal had no such trouble against Aitor Karanka’s men. Olivier Giroud was Arsenal’s match-winner as he scored his ninth and 10th goals of the season with two smart finishes in the space of three first-half minutes. Wenger also used the game to hand a debut to January signing Gabriel Paulista.
Quarter-final – v Manchester United (A) 2-1
Arsenal ended a run of 10 games without a win at Old Trafford as Danny Welbeck came back to haunt his former club. Nacho Monreal was the unlikely scorer of the opening goal in the first half, but Wayne Rooney headed United level just a few minutes later. Welbeck then latched onto Antonio Valencia’s underhit backpass and beat David de Gea for what turned out to be the winning goal. To compound matters for United, Angel Di Maria was shown a straight red card for pulling referee Michael Oliver’s shirt.
Semi-final – v Reading (N) 2-1 AET
Arsenal were made to sweat for their place in the final by Steve Clarke’s Reading. Both sides had numerous chances, but the Gunners struck first when Sanchez finished having been released by Ozil. But Reading hit back after the break through Garath McCleary, whose volley beat Wojciech Szczesny at his near post. Aaron Ramsey and Pavel Pogrebnyak both spurned chances to win it for either side, but Sanchez grabbed the winner in extra time after a costly goalkeeping gaffe from Adam Federici.
ASTON VILLA
Third round – v Blackpool (H) 1-0
Aston Villa’s FA Cup adventure began with a narrow win over Blackpool. In a largely forgettable encounter against the Championship strugglers, Villa had to wait until the 88th minute for their breakthrough, and Christian Benteke was the man to provide it as he collected Carlos Sanchez’s pass and fired home an unstoppable volley to put the Villans in the hat for the fourth round.
Fourth round – v Bournemouth (H) 2-1
Villa scored two goals in a game for the first time in over six weeks as they edged past Bournemouth at Villa Park. Carles Gil opened the scoring with a stunning individual effort before Andres Weimann added their second. The Cherries had an even share of the possession but they couldn’t find a way through until Callum Wilson’s consolation goal in injury time.
Fifth round – v Leicester City (H) 2-1
Tim Sherwood was in the stands as Villa took on Leicester days after Paul Lambert’s sacking. Leandro Bacuna put Villa in front with a fine strike in the 68th minute, and Scott Sinclair doubled their lead with his first goal for the club late on. Andrej Kramaric pulled one back to ensure a nervy finale, but Villa held on to take their place in the quarter-finals.
Quarter-final – v West Brom (H) 2-0
Sherwood endeared himself to Villa fans by overseeing their second win in four days over rivals West Brom after they were drawn together in the last eight. Following their 2-1 win in the Premier League, Villa repeated the feat thanks to goals from Fabian Delph and Sinclair. Both sides ended the match with 10 men after Claudio Yacob and Jack Grealish were sent off, and play was halted by a pitch invasion in the closing stages.
Semi-final – v Liverpool (N) 2-1
Villa produced a stunning fightback against Liverpool to book their place in the final. Philippe Coutinho put the Reds in front in the 30th minute at Wembley, but Benteke converted Delph’s cross to equalise with his ninth goal in six appearances. The turnaround was completed when Benteke and Grealish combined to set up Delph. Liverpool pressed for an equaliser and Steven Gerrard thought he’d got it when his header was cleared off the line by Kieran Richardson. Mario Balotelli headed another chance over late on, but Villa were deserved winners.
