5:00PM SATURDAY 17 MAY, WEMBLEY STADIUM CONNECTED BY EE
ARSENAL v HULL CITY
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Did you know much about The FA Cup growing up as a kid? I was always aware of The FA Cup, but it was quite surprising how important it was compared to Spain’s Copa del Rey. It was always played at the end of the season, at a neutral venue – Wembley – and the atmosphere always looked terrific. In Spain the Final is two-legged, usually involving the same teams, and although Barça v Real Madrid is a nice game, the tradition and organisation of The FA Cup is more special. Playing for Everton you missed the 2009 Final against Chelsea – that must have been hard for you to take… I suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury that February and yes, it was difficult to know I’d be missing out – and even more disappointing when we lost. I still travelled with the team and stayed in the hotel the night before and what I remember most was the tremendous atmosphere created by 90,000 fans. Missing that game makes me even more determined to win it with Arsenal this year. You’ve beaten Tottenham, Liverpool and Everton on the road to Wembley. What was the best performance? They were all very special games for different reasons. It was important to beat Spurs, our big rivals, and we did that comfortably. Liverpool was also a massive result for us, having lost
so heavily at Anfield in the League the previous week – and when we drew Everton at home, that was when I felt we had a chance of getting to The Final. We put in another excellent performance, made more special as it was against my former team. I don’t think anyone can say we don’t deserve our place in The Final after those wins.
us a lot by saving the first two; it took a lot of pressure off our takers and it was a great feeling to make The Final.
So, Wigan in the Semi-final… like the fans, did you expect to be playing Manchester City? We were at Bacary Sagna’s boy’s birthday party and kept checking the Man City v Wigan game on the internet. It was 1-0, then 2-0 and we were like, ‘what’s happening here?’ When City got a goal back, we thought that was it, we’d be playing them, but full credit to Wigan, it was an unbelievable result. They are a club with a good identity; good players and we also found them to be difficult opponents.
You mention pressure. There is massive pressure on Arsenal to win after this nine-year trophy drought. Do you feel it as players? When you play for a big club, there’s always pressure, but we know nine years without a trophy is not good enough for Arsenal Football Club. We need to change this, we need to put a trophy in the cabinet and we are all focused and determined to do it. We need this trophy as it would help the club – and this group of players – move forward. Once we have the experience of winning a trophy, it will create a lot of security in the team and a platform to go and win more silverware.
You stood eight minutes from elimination. What was going through your mind? I was thinking, ‘this is not right’. They hadn’t had a shot at goal and all of a sudden they were ahead through a penalty. We’d hit the post, their goalkeeper’s made some good saves and you start to wonder whether it’s going to be your day. We could sense the tension in the crowd but I felt that if we kept going the equaliser would come and it did. After hitting the bar in extra-time we were resigned to penalties, but Łukasz [Fabianski] helped
What happened in the Premier League? It’s been a hard one to take mentally because we were fighting for the title for the whole season then in the space of three or four weeks it was gone. But I don’t agree we can’t handle the big games; it didn’t happen against Bayern, against Napoli, against Dortmund. It didn’t happen at home. Yes, we lost three times against our rivals in quick succession, but we know 100 per cent that we can’t afford to lose in that manner again. We have to learn from those mistakes.
“WE NEED TO PUT A TROPHY IN THE CABINET”
Vice-captain Mikel Arteta says that Arsenal are worthy Finalists, and the Spaniard is hoping his side can now become worthy winners
You beat Hull 3-0 last month, so will that have any bearing on today’s FA Cup Final? It might have a little psychological effect, but Hull will also be looking at what they did wrong on the day and what they can do to put it right. They made it really hard for us for the first 20 minutes, so we can’t forget that. We have to play our football and not get frustrated if things are not going our way. If we do that we have every chance of winning. We also have some very important players back from injury, which can only help us because the likes of Jack [Wilshere], Mesut [Özil] and Aaron [Ramsey] bring quality and competition to the team. You lost your tooth at the KC Stadium – did you find it? [Laughs] Yes, I found it. We put it in milk straight away, but it couldn’t be saved! To be fair the dentist has done an unbelievable job; he’s put an implant in at the moment, which looks just like my old tooth, and I’ll be having it done properly this summer!
Arteta is still searching for a first trophy in nine years of English football
Finally, what would it mean to you to lift The FA Cup today? To win a trophy is something I’ve dreamed about since the day I joined Arsenal and so it would be the best feeling ever. We’ve had a difficult end to the season, so to win The FA Cup would be great for the players, the fans, everyone at the club. We deserve a bit of success as a group for all our hard work this season. ■
FA CUP AND WORLD CUP
FOR CLUB AND COUNTRY A number of players have their eyes on silverware beyond today’s game, but this is not the first time FA Cup success has been followed by a turn on the world stage score West Germany’s opening goal. He recovered, though, to have an excellent game.
Greavesie takes an early shower
Wilson wings it for club and country He may have been one of the unsung heroes of ’66, but Ray Wilson was the only player to pick up two winners’ medals at Wembley that year. One of two attacking full-backs in the England team who enabled Alf Ramsey’s ‘Wingless Wonders’ concept to work, Wilson was part of an Everton backline who didn’t concede a single goal en route to the Twin Towers and won The Final after coming from 2-0 down to beat Sheffield Wednesday, whose unfortunate goalkeeper Ron Springett would be Gordon Banks’ understudy at the World Cup. Wilson was the oldest member of England’s line-up in 1966, winning his 50th cap in the semi-final against Portugal. His notoriously calm head briefly deserted him in the opening minutes of the Final, when his clearance fell straight into the path of Helmut Haller to 112 Arsenal v Hull City 17 May 2014
Wilson had played in all of England’s games in 1962 too, alongside Jimmy Greaves. The goal machine scored eight goals en route to Wembley and opened the scoring in The FA Cup Final, where Spurs retained the trophy with a 3-1 victory over Burnley. The World Cup in Chile ended just as memorably – if not as happily – for Greaves. Having scored in an earlier win against Argentina, his most notable act in the quarter-final defeat to Brazil in ’62 was getting down on all fours to remove a dog who had invaded the pitch. The four-legged foe promptly thanked the England striker by urinating on him.
Cooper man takes Mexico by storm Wilson’s successor at left-back, Terry Cooper, was arguably England’s outstanding performer at the 1970 World Cup. It’s a wonder he had any energy left after playing every minute of Leeds’ epic FA Cup Final defeat to Chelsea, which was settled in extra-time after a replay at Old Trafford. A prototype modern full-back, known as much for his overlapping forward surges and pinpoint crosses as his tenacious tackling, Cooper also used England’s defence of the World Cup to showcase his startling white boots to the world. Cooper’s most memorable moments in Mexico came in the group game against Brazil. He was beaten by Jairzinho who then crossed for Pelé’s header that produced arguably the greatest save of all time, from Gordon Banks. But it was also Cooper whose ball provided Jeff Astle with a gilt-edged chance to bring England level in the second half, only for the West Brom man to fire wide. TheFA.com
THE FA CUP WITH BUDWEISER 2014 FINAL ARSENAL v HULL CITY
Gary’s golden year There were no such troubles in front of goal for another East Midlander 16 years later. Gary Lineker was top scorer when the World Cup returned to Mexico, England again knocked out in the quarter-finals. He arrived at the Finals on the back of a personally successful, but ultimately trophyless, season. Lineker was FWA and PFA Player of the Year during his only year at Everton, opening the scoring in the 1986 FA Cup Final before Liverpool stormed back to win, the Reds also pipping the Blues in the title race. But Lineker put those disappointments behind him to claim the Golden Boot in Mexico, scoring a memorable hat-trick against Poland and three more goals in the knockout rounds.
Arsenal win the World Cup Only one FA Cup-winning team has produced two World Cup winners in the same year: Arsenal, and their two French midfielders Patrick Vieira and Emmanuel Petit. Petit created the Gunners’ opening goal in the 2-0 victory against Newcastle United at Wembley, then turned scorer for Les Bleus’ trophy-clinching third goal versus Brazil in the Final, put through by his club-mate. Petit started all but one of France’s games at the World Cup, while Vieira had played in just one match before this telling substitute appearance.
Reds rise to the occasion And, finally, three of Liverpool’s 2006 Cup winners made an impact in the World Cup that year. Final hero Steven Gerrard scored twice in Germany, including a screamer against Trinidad and Tobago, before missing a penalty in the shootout with Portugal. Peter Crouch was also on the scoresheet against Trinidad in the group stage, marking his header by introducing the ‘Robot’ celebration to a global audience; while Harry Kewell scored the goal against Croatia that sent Australia into the knockout stages for the very first time. With over ten World Cup hopefuls available to tread the Wembley turf this afternoon, could it be a double Cup-winning year for some come this summer in Brazil? ■
DAVID MEYLER
“THE FA CUP IS JUST A MAGICAL COMPETITION” Hull’s midfield powerhouse David Meyler is on a hat-trick of goals in consecutive FA Cup matches, but he would gladly swap scoring for lifting the trophy Has it been hard focusing on the Premier League with this match looming? We’re all excited. Most of us will never have the opportunity to get here again, that’s how rare it is. It could be a fabulous achievement if we win it, but I think in a way our FA Cup run has really helped our League season, too. The Cup form all year has been superb and throughout the rounds we’ve got stronger and stronger. We’ve transferred that confidence to the League.
Does it feel like you’re playing for the underdogs this afternoon? It’s a one-off game but we’re going to be the underdogs because we’re up against Arsenal who have obviously beaten us in the League and haven’t won a trophy for nine years. It could be a fantastic season for them, finishing in the top four and winning The FA Cup, but we’re going to try and stop that and make it as tough as possible for them. Like I said, I’m confident we can do it too.
As an ex-Sunderland player was the Sixth Round doubly special for you? I don’t think I had anything to prove. Perhaps I didn’t get the run of games that I really wanted [at Sunderland] but I guess it was a big game because I was playing against a lot of my friends and still know pretty much everyone at the club, from the groundsman to the kitchen staff. I suppose to beat them, to score and to reach the Semi-Final all in one afternoon made it that little bit more special.
What are your own childhood memories of The FA Cup Final? My first strong memory is [Eric] Cantona scoring for United against Liverpool [in 1996], because I was a Liverpool fan as a boy. The white suits, I remember that. Then there was the 1999 Semi-Final replay when [Dennis] Bergkamp missed the penalty and [Ryan] Giggs just picks the ball up and runs and runs and United go on to win the Treble. They’re the two outstanding memories for me. It’s a fantastic tournament. Most people don’t even get to play in a Semi-Final, never mind a Final, so this is an incredible opportunity. Mostly, though, it’s an incredible opportunity to win a trophy, which is what you want in your career. I can guarantee you that almost every footballer dreams of playing in a Semi-Final and a Final in The FA Cup. It’s just a magical competition. Look at us, look at what we’ve done. It’s a fabulous day out for the players, the fans, the chairman but it will count for nothing if we don’t win it.
Talk us through the celebration…. It’s pretty infamous now (Meyler headbutted the corner flag after scoring) but it was suggested to me by a buddy back home in the week before. It was just a bit of a crack, I didn’t really mean anything by it. I’m not planning a reprise at Wembley! Was there any point in The FA Cup run when you looked around and thought this could be Hull’s year? I think it was really after Matty Fryatt scored from outside the area [against Sunderland] to make it 3-0 in the quarters. That pretty much killed the game, but it’s only then the realisation hits you that you’re only 90 minutes from The Sheffield United – when Final. When we drew Sheffield we could have got Manchester City – your mind does wander a little bit. Will the experience of playing at Wembley for the Semi-Final help this afternoon? Of course. It shouldn’t matter a hell of a lot, because we’re all professionals and play in front of 40,000 or 50,000 week-in, week-out; we should be used to that, but it’s still a huge occasion. What we have to do is play the game and not the occasion, it’s just eleven men against eleven men. We’ll go out there and play our brand of football and I’m confident that we can win it. confident 86 Arsenal v Hull City 17 May 2014
Has there been a real buzz in the city since the club reached The Final? Definitely, everywhere you go people Definitely, are talking about it and coming up to me and talking to me about my goals quarter-final and Semi-Final. in the quarter-final The whole competition has given everyone a huge boost. Can you make it three goals from three matches this afternoon? I shouldn’t think many people have done that, but if I score and we lose it won’t matter at all, I’ll be devastated. I’ve got a lot of family and friends coming over for the game but I’ve already told them that if we lose I won’t want to see them. I’ll see my mother and father after the game but I’ll be heartbroken if we don’t win it. This is why we play. There’s no pressure on us, the pressure is on them to produce. ■ TheFA.com
THE FA CUP WITH BUDWEISER 2014 FINAL ARSENAL v HULL CITY
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GIANT KILLERS
THE UNDERDOG RISES AGAIN The Ronnie Radford award for this season’s biggest FA Cup Giant Killers goes to… Sheffield United
If one thing defines the romance of The FA Cup above all others it is undoubtedly its famous tales of giant-killing acts. Davids overcoming Goliaths and unlikely heroes given their moment in the footballing spotlight. For the past three seasons The FA has been giving fans the opportunity to vote for their most memorable Cup upset each campaign, and with it the honour of receiving the Ronnie Radford Award. Launched in 2010-11, The Ronnie Radford Award – named after the former Hereford United midfielder who famously scored a 30-yard screamer in that 1972 replay against Newcastle United to haul the then-trailing Bulls back into the tie – honours the team that produces the biggest Cup upset during the season. As ever, this year’s competition has also thrown up its fair share of shock results. Conference Premier side Macclesfield Town’s resounding 4-0 First Round victory over League One side Swindon Town. Fifth-tier Kidderminster Harriers’ 3-2 victory at Peterborough United in the Third Round or Rochdale’s 2-0 ousting of Leeds United – all of which were contenders for the 2013-14 award. But with a whopping 62 per cent of the vote, the overwhelming victors this
Ryan Flynn and Jamie Murphy: the heroes of the Third Round
season are Sheffield United for their 2-1 win at Premier League Aston Villa in the Third Round. It would be the first of many upsets inflicted by the Blades as Nigel Clough’s men marched all the way to Wembley Stadium for a Semi-Final with Hull City. As well as the win at Villa Park, it was a run that would see them dispose of Colchester United, Cambridge United, Fulham, Nottingham Forest and Charlton Athletic. But it was undoubtedly the memorable day at Villa Park that stuck in the memories of supporters. The Blades stunned the home side when they took the lead through a deflected Jamie Murphy strike. Nicklas Helenius fired in an equaliser for the Villans, but Ryan Flynn unleashed a left-foot strike into the top corner for the winner and a place in Round Four. It was a result that manager Clough admitted his late father Brian would have been proud of. “My dad wanted to win everything,” said the former England man. “Is this a reminder of what The Cup can be? It is for us. “You saw how much it meant. It’s still a special, special competition.” Sheffield United will receive their award here at Wembley Stadium today. ■
2013-14 Ronnie Radford Trophy nominees MACCLESFIELD TOWN 4-0 Swindon Town First Round 16.7% Peterborough United 2-3 KIDDERMINSTER HARRIERS Third Round 11.51% ROCHDALE 2-0 Leeds United Third Round 9.56%
Ronnie Radford Award past winners CRAWLEY TOWN 2-1 Derby County (Third Round 2011) SWINDON TOWN 2-1 Wigan Athletic (Third Round 2012) Norwich City 0-1 LUTON TOWN (Fourth Round 2013)
Aston Villa 1-2 SHEFFIELD UNITED Third Round 62.23%
100 Arsenal v Hull City 17 May 2014
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