ARSENAL 2 CHELSEA 1
No climb of the famous Wembley stairs. An impromptu gathering on the field instead, but that doesn't wipe the Cheshire grins off the Arsenal players' faces. Aubameyang leads the celebrations. A parting gift? We shall see. In the mean time, they will be partying in North London once again... Good night form GN HQ.
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Dejection for Chelsea and delight for Arsenal as unprecedented FA Cup ceremony takes place. Aubameyang lifts the trophy for Arsenal to get the party started.
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Aubameyang is the difference as he nets twice to win Arsenal their 14th FA Cup. Chelsea will be counting the cost as captain Azpilicueta, goalscorer Pulisic and sub Pedro all took serious looking injuries.
FULL-TIME: ARSENAL HAVE WON THE FA CUP!
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It's all over as ref Taylor blows the whistle - eventually. Mikel Arteta has his first major trophy and Arsenal their 14th FA cup title. Congrats to the Gunners! It will go down in history as another Arsenal win but will be remembered in the short-term for questionable refereeing and - again - the lack of VAR to clarify those decisions.
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Not quite done yet as Chelsea's Pedro receives treatment. 99 minutes on the clock now... What's the record for a '90' minute final?
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Martinez smothers a chance to quell what could be Chelsea's last chance. That was a shaky moment as Chelsea looked like they could get in at the death. They attempt to wind down the clock with another sub at the end...
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Again Chelsea come and again they are denied by a resolute Arsenal defence, who look like chalk to the cheese of the opening 15 minutes of the game.
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As you were. A heavy kick allows Martinez to collect. Bit of a waste, that.
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Into injury-time and Chelsea force a corner.
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Arteta Looking to wind down the clock with a double substitiution. Lampard running out of time here. Chelsea continue to push but two lines of four men in red is the order of the day now from Arteta.
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So, as it stands, Arsenal with get their hands on a record-extending 14th FA Cup, and a spot in the Europa League as a wee bonus after a dreadful finish in the Premier League. Can Chelsea raise themselves in the final five to force extra-time?
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Shout for Martinez handling the ball outside the area has the fake crowd up in ... arms? decibels? Anyway, the ref is having none of it and doesn't even check with VAR. Three-player swing for Chelsea does take place as Ross Barkley, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Tammy Abraham come on. They will defo go on the attack in the remaining minutes. Bit obvious that, now I think about it...
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That red card has taken the oomph out of the game as Arsenal take that one step further back and look to ride out the remaining 10 minutes or so.
RED CARD: MATEO KOVACIC - CHELSEA
That might be that. Kovacic is shown a harsh second yellow and now Chelsea need to mount a comeback with one man less. Apparently touching Granit Xhaka's boot is a yellow card offence now. Ref Anthony Taylor did not cover himself in glory then... 15 mins to go.
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Arteta talked before the game how an FA Cup win could persuade Aubameyang to stay at Emirates. On this showing, his class will only alert more suitors and urge them to make a move to lure him away to better pastures.
GOAL! ARSENAL 2 CHELSEA 1
That may force Frank's hand. Calamity in the midfield frees Nicolas Pepe. He allows Aubameyang to break free and he finds the net past Willy Caballero. Cup No. 14 on its way to Emirates as it stands. What can Chelsea do now?
ARSENAL 1 CHELSEA 1
Chelsea have already used two subs, and with extra-time looming, Lampard will have to be careful how he uses his remaining three men. He can only use them at one time under new rules.
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More jangles than a jangly thing as a hopeful ball across the Arsenal goal is left by all, and they only just just get it away before two men in blue were ready to swoop at the back.
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You get the feeling one goal could win this now as Mason Mount can't reach a hopeful cross before - at the other end - Lacazette fails to find Aubameyang in the Chelsea area. Nerves jangle. Which side will hold theirs best?
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Despite the subs and injuries, Chelsea have started the second half the brighter. Pedro using his pace well to get the better of 20 going on 40 Rob 'Robert' Holding. Now warming of Martinez's hands in the Arsenal goal yet, mind.
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Ellie has us all thinking about legs now and Christian Pulisic - scorer and architect of Chelsea's opener - is holding his in pain. Looks like a hammy and the injury count is mounting for Chelsea. His day is over too.
Now, forgetting the legs and back to the game, who has the legs (grrr!) to go all the way here? Fairly quiet opening five mins to the second half apart from the injury. Pedro on for Pulisic BTW.
Despite their concerns onfield, Chelsea will be worried about the welfare of captain Azpi, who looks to have taken a serious knock, with the 'new' season only weeks away. There is the small matter of a Champions League match against Bayern Munich coming up too (insert sad face emoji).
SECOND HALF: ARSENAL 1 CHELSEA 1
Chris Sutton on the BBC is less than happy about Arsenal's leveller, claiming Aubameyang dived (I expect nothing less from former Blue Chris). Ellie in Bristol has messaged me to say the Gunners deserve to be level as Kieran Tierney has nice legs! Insightful stuff, Ellie!
HALF-TIME: ARSENAL 1 CHELSEA 1
A welcome breather for all after a whirlwind 45 mins (plus 5 mins added for silly drinks break). Can Arsenal come out the blocks and put this to bed? Or will they suffer a similar wobble to the opening half. We shall see in a few moments.
HALF-TIME: ARSENAL 1 CHELSEA 1
What a turnaround from Arteta's men. It looked like they were in for another long night - just like the Europa League final last year - but they steadied the ship and Lampard's Chelsea will be the more grateful for the whistle and the interval.
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But Lacazette fires wide as half-time approaches.
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Just outside the box this time as Pepe is bundled over. Dangerous times indeed for Chelsea.
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Willy Caballero flaps at a Nicolas Pepe cross as Chelsea coontinue to live dangerously.
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After a shaky start, Arsenal have turned the tables and now have Chelsea pinned back. Every man in blue in their own half at the moment.
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Chelsea forced into an early change as Cesar Azpilicueta limps off. Andreas Christensen replaces him, this match has had more swings than a golf course so far.
That drinks break has worked wonders for Arsenal. Now I don't mean to jinx anything where David 'Sideshow Bob' Luiz is concerned but he has finally got the Arsenal back line organised against his former club and they are looking strong.
GOAL! ARSENAL 1 CHELSEA 1
Pierre Emerick Aubameyang makes no mistake from 12 yards in what could be his last game for Arsenal. What a farewell gift it would be if he could bring them a 14th FA Cup.
PENALTY ARSENAL!
Aubameyang is held back by Chelsea skipper Cesar Azpilicueta and the referee points to the spot - VAR confirms.
NO GOAL! ARSENAL 0 CHELSEA 1
Nicolas Pepe is denied by the offside flag... It was a pretty goal in the top gorner from distance. But...
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Annoying drinks break time (another American influence?). Certainly upper hand to Chelsea so far
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Arsenal have finally discovered where the Chelsea goal is and make a couple of interesting forays into the Blues' half. No end product as yet though
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I said no matter the result earlier, but interestingly Chelsea have never lost an FA Cup final in which they have taken the lead. I think that makes them strong favourites to take their ninth title today!
These are dangerous times for Arsenal as their defence is all over the place. Martinez makes another save from Pulisic and Chelsea already have five dangerous attacks in the stats book.
That was a cool finish from Pulisic. He has now made history no matter the result as he is the first American to net in an FA Cup final. And he started the move to, playing in Mount, who got it to Olivier Giroud, and the Frenchman just nudges it over to the advancing Pulisic to sidefoot past Martinez. Silky.
GOAL! ARSENAL 0 CHELSEA 1
And as I finish typing that, you can chuck it out the window. An American has opened the scoring in an FA Cup final!! Moments after Mason Mount forces a save from Emiliano Martinez, Christian Pulisic opens the scoring.
Both teams get their sizing-up done early on with tentative passing and testing of the defenders with hopeful balls in. While Arsenal and Chelsea would like to stamp an early authority on the game, they will be to aware of how a simple lapse can have you chasing the game early on.
ARSENAL 0 CHELSEA 0
Despite the lack of fans, the piped-in crowd noise is doing its best to create an atmosphere at the cavernous Wembley. And there will be no shortage of nerves jangling from fans of both sides as they will remember too clearly some haphazard performances earlier this campaign.
Handshakes done. Minute silence for coronavirus victims done. We are under way.
Emeli Sande sings 'Abide With Me' from the roof of Wembley. A pre-recorded stunt so we know there were no gust-of-wind-related accidents.
Three-time FA Cup winner and Arsenal Invincible Lauren spoke to Gulf News earlier in the week to explain how the FA Cup is in Arsenal's DNA. With the Gunners going for win number 14 in the event, I guess he is right...
Over here in Dubai, the fans are definitely coming out of the woodwork after some pretty mediocre football earlier in the season from both sides had them in hiding.
"It is one of the biggest dates on the footballing calendar and we are thrilled the fans are out in force," says Craig Leader, manager of Crown & Lion, Byblos Barsha Heights, Dubai. "There was a while when we were worried if the match would go ahead or if we would be permitted to have guests in to watch it. But thanks to the UAE authorities and the general public's adherence to the safety protocols, it is game on."
So, 15 minutes to go to kick-off. Who do you fancy? I hope you have found your favourite spot to watch the big game. The bars and cafes around London will be even more packed than usual as 90,000 or fans will be looking for room to watch the game rather than in their usual spot at Wembley, which is empty due to the coronavirus pandemic.
TEAM NEWS: ARSENAL
Martinez, Holding, Luiz, Tierney, Bellerin, Ceballos, Xhaka, Maitland-Niles, Pepe, Lacazette, Aubameyang.
Substitutes: Papastathopoulos, Torreira, Nelson, Willock, Nketiah, Kolasinac, Macey, Smith, Saka
CHELSEA
Caballero, Azpilicueta, Zouma, Rudiger, James, Jorginho, Kovacic, Alonso, Mount, Giroud, Pulisic.
Substitutes: Arrizabalaga, Christensen, Kante, Barkley, Abraham, Pedro, Hudson-Odoi, Tomori, Emerson.
There will be a bit of history made today as the two fledgling managers pursue their first major silverware. Lampard will be hoping to continue his recent good run that took Chelsea into the top four and the Champions League spots in the Premier League, while Arteta will take comfort and courage from the comprehensive win over mentor Pep Guardiola and Manchester City in the semi-finals.
Welcome one and all to the eeirly quiet Wembley showpiece of the season as Frank Lampard's Chelsea prepare to do Battle with Mikel Arteta's Arsenal for the FA Cup!
