Arsenal Football Club won their 12th FA Cup trophy yesterday evening after thrashing Aston Villa 4-0 at Wembley thanks to goals from Theo Walcott, Alexis Sanchez, Per Mertesacker and Olivier Giroud.
The Gunners‘ secured their 12th, whilst Arsene Wenger personally secured his 6th, putting him joint level with George Ramsay for most FA Cup wins.
So how did Arsenal get to the FA Cup Final at Wembley?
SillySeason takes a look into their FA Cup 2014/2015 journey from the third round, all to way to the final.
Surprisingly, Arsenal started their FA Cup venture how they ended it last year. Against Hull City.
After beating them 3-2 at Wembley in last year’s final, Arsenal were confident they could beat them yet again this time around, and they did with ease.
Goals from Per Mertesacker and Alexis Sanchez were enough to give Arsene Wenger’s men the win and it saw them progress to the fourth round where they were drawn away to Championship side Brighton & Hove Albion.
Arsenal faced Brighton a few years ago in the FA Cup and picked up a 3-2 win, the exact same thing they did this time around.
Goals from Theo Walcott, Mesut Ozil and Tomas Rosicky made sure The Gunners would progress to the fifth round, but it was another thrilling affair against the Championship side.
Brighton had a never-say-die attitude and push Wenger’s men to the final whistle, but a standout performance from Rosicky was enough to ensure Arsenal would be in the hat for the next round.
The fourth round was a pivotal one in this year’s FA Cup. On the same day, Chelsea, Manchester City, Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur were all knocked out of the competition, making Arsenal one of the clear favourites.
In the next round, they were drawn against Middlesbrough, the team that eliminated City at the Etihad Stadium in the previous round.
However, a brace from Olivier Giroud was enough to give Arsenal a comfortable win and put them in the hat for the Quarter-Finals, where they faced none other than Manchester United.
Easily the toughest task for Arsenal in this season’s FA Cup, but it was a task they passed thanks to a former-United play.
The Gunners travelled to Old Trafford on a Monday night knowing that their record was abysmal against The Red Devils, especially away from home.
Arsenal also had already lost to United earlier on in the campaign at the Emirates Stadium, but it was to be their night in the FA Cup Quarter Final.
Nacho Monreal was a surprise goalscorer and gave Wenger’s men a 1-0 lead, but saw it quickly cancelled out by a Wayne Rooney header after an inch-perfect cross from Angel Di Maria.
However, it was Danny Welbeck who had the last laugh after he made the most of a woeful back-pass from Antonio Valencia. The right-back sold David De Gea short and Welbeck sneaked in to poke past the Spaniard before rolling into the empty net.
Told he was not good enough for United by Louis Van Gaal, ‘Dat Guy’ had the last laugh and stole the show for Arsenal.
Wembley bound yet again.
Last year’s Semi-Final saw Arsenal struggle against a Championship side and this year was no different.
The Gunners were taken to a penalty shoot-out by Wigan Athletic last time around, and they were taken to Extra-Time this year by Steve Clarke’s Reading.
However, a Adam Federici howler prevented the game from going all the way and gifted Arsenal progression to the final for a record breaking 19th time.
Alexis Sanchez was the hero on the day scoring both goals for the North London outfit.
Aston Villa or Liverpool were going to be their opponents, and it was the former that got over the line thanks to a Fabian Delph winner.
Ironic that Arsenal’s biggest win in this season’s tournament came in the final.
They narrowly won it last year, but this time around, there were no mistakes. Comfortable as you like for Wenger and co. thanks to goals from Walcott, Alexis, Mertesacker and Giroud.
Arsenal should have had the game won by half-time but thanks to Shay Given, they only went in with a one-goal advantage, but the second half turned their way.
A wonder-goal by Alexis followed by a header and a near-post finish gave Wenger his 6th FA Cup victory and the club’s 12th.
Arsenal Football Club – FA Cup 2015 Champions.
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles