FA Cup Final 2020 : Showdown At Wembley

England’s Premier knockout cup competition has reached its finale. After 7 rounds of 123 teams battling it out in the competition proper, the 139th FA Cup Final is upon us. The two London giants Arsenal and Chelsea will fight it out at the prestigious Wembley Stadium on the 1st of August 2020. 

ROAD TO THE FINAL

ARSENAL - 

ROUND	OPPONENT	SCORE
3rd Round	LEEDS UNITED	1-0
4th Round	BOURNEMOUTH	2-1
5th Round	PORTSMOUTH	2-0
Quarter-finals	SHEFFIELD UNITED	2-1
Semifinals	MANCHESTER CITY	2-0

CHELSEA - 

ROUND	OPPONENT	SCORE
3rd Round	NOTTINGHAM FOREST	2-0
4th Round	HULL CITY	2-1
5th Round	LIVERPOOL	2-0
Quarter-finals	LEICESTER CITY	1-0
Semifinals	MANCHESTER UNITED	3-1

STATISTICS

Chelsea have won 3 of the last 5 meetings while Arsenal have defeated them once. The other

match saw both the teams locked at 2-2. The last time these teams faced off in a Cup tie was

the Europa League Final 2019 in Baku where Chelsea obliterated Arsenal 4-1. Much has

changed for the Blues since then while Arsenal have quite sadly remained the same, if not  worse, finishing outside the top 6 for the first time since the 1994/95 season. These two

teams last faced off in a FA Cup Final in 2017, where Arsenal had reigned supreme, beating the Blues 2-1 courtesy of goals from Aaron Ramsey and Alexis Sanchez, both of whom aren't even at the club anymore.

KEY PLAYERS

ARSENAL -

           1. Pierre Emerick Aubameyang - The Arsenal captain was only behind Leicester's Jamie Vardy in the race for the Premier League Golden Boot with 22 goals this season. He was Arsenal’s main man by a fair margin. His goal-scoring exploits and exhilarating pace are one of the key reasons why a lackluster Arsenal have a chance to finish the season with some silverware. He will be aiming to find the net again as usual in Wembley and avenge their loss in Baku just more than a year ago.

2. Kieran Tierney - The Scott had a slow start to life in North London but has picked up form since the restart. He has been instrumental in defense for Arsenal. The young lad has commendably shown character in providing some solidity to the leaky Arsenal defense. Chelsea's gonna look out for him on the left flank.

CHELSEA -

1. Christian Pulisic - The American has been a revelation post lock down. He has been a constant threat against any kind of defense. He will definitely be the danger man, possessing the ability to create openings and chances for both himself and his teammates against a shaky Arsenal defense which has been giving away cheap goals since the start of the season.

2. Mateo Kovacic - Kovacic’s loan deal was made permanent this season and he has reciprocated exceptionally, being a calm presence in the middle of the park. He is good at both breaking up play and stringing key passes. His performance will be crucial to Chelsea if they are to win this all important encounter.

OUR PREDICTION 

Arsenal have proved to play well in FA Cup’s, even when they have had torrid times, they have won the FA Cup. This is Arsenal’s only chance of playing in Europe next season.

Chelsea’s season is almost over. After this they play Bayern Munich in the return leg of the Champions League wherein there's hardly any chance of going further having lost the first leg by 3-0 to the Bavarian giants.

Even though Chelsea have better players and have finished in the top 4 of the Premier League, we are going with Arsenal as this is the one and only remaining game to secure their berth in the Europa League and add to it, the form of Aubameyang. Arsenal will be eager to end the season on a high.