The final game in the English footballing calendar—and for some, the most prestigious of the lot—is the FA Cup final. Arsenal face Aston Villa at Wembley on Saturday to decide who lifts the famous trophy.

The Gunners won it last year—their first piece of silverware in nine years—by beating Hull City 3-2 in a dramatic comeback, while Villa last won it in 1957, coming closest recently in 2000 by finishing runners-up.

Here, we take a tactical look at the what factors can and will decide this game.



Arsenal: Olivier Giroud or Theo Walcott?

Arsene Wenger fielded two extremely hungry players—Theo Walcott and Jack Wilshere—last weekend against West Bromwich Albion, and both of them combined to rip Tony Pulis' side to shreds.

Walcott and Wilshere are now seriously pushing for a starting spot in this Arsenal XI, which will resemble something of a 4-2-3-1, and Wenger has a few difficult decisions to make.


Aaron Ramsey has been on the right side of late, and that's where Wilshere played last weekend. Walcott fights Giroud for a role up front, with Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil secure in their positions as left-winger and No. 10, respectively.

As usual, the back line is dependent on whether Laurent Koscielny can overcome a slight knock, while fans will call for Wojciech Szczesny in goal but likely get David Ospina. Danny Welbeck is the only one who looks to be completely out of contention with injury, per WhoScored.com.



Aston Villa: Brad Guzan or Shay Given?

Villa's XI ahead of this one is nowhere close to settled, with injuries and selection issues dogging Tim Sherwood's preparations.

First, Sherwood has shown a preference for Given in goal of late due to the fact he was designated Villa's "cup" goalkeeper. He wanted the Irishman to remain sharp ahead of the final, so the manager started him over Brad Guzan in the league games.


But Given picked up an injury last week, and it could force a now-rusty Guzan back in goal. Kieran Richardson is a question mark due to fitness concerns as well, leaving the possibility of Alan Hutton at left-back (uh oh!).

Christian Benteke, Fabian Delph, Jack Grealish and Leandro Bacuna are all set to start, while Gabby Agbonlahor will fight Charles N'Zogbia for a spot up front next to Benteke in Sherwood's 4-3-1-2 formation.

Nathan Baker may oust Jores Okore for a spot in defence, as the Okore/Ron Vlaar partnership has been iffy. It forces Vlaar to the left side, and he's poor there.



This Arsenal team is stacked full of technical talent, but it may be the case that an old-fashioned, more direct game can get the better of Villa on the day.

Against Southampton, Sherwood's side were a total mess at the back. He asks for an attacking stance and therefore a high line, and the Graziano Pelle-Sadio Mane combination took them apart in minutes, with Shane Long helping from the other flank.


Wenger would be wise to copy this combination, either with Ozil flicking passes into Walcott (striker), or Giroud (striker) heading on for Alexis and Walcott (wingers) to chase. Okore was the one who failed to challenge Pelle aerially in the Southampton match, but if Baker comes in to the side, he should dominate this area.

Villa are extremely unlikely to park the bus despite Sunderland and Swansea City enjoying success with that strategy at the Emirates recently. The avenues will be there for the Gunners to exploit.



The obvious threat to Arsenal is Benteke, a monstrous man in form and one heavily linked with a summer transfer to Liverpool, per John Percy of the Telegraph. But he's only part of the problem Arsenal face, as Villa's entire left side is now a potent, attacking force.

If Richardson returns, he will greatly help balance the attack, but even if not, Villa use quick interchanges and strong combination play on the left to work chances and angles.


Grealish drifts from a No. 10 position to the left, and Delph drifts from a central-midfield role into a temporary wide role. They can both cross to Benteke, or they can join him to combine as a trio and work space and chances—see the second goal against Liverpool in the FA Cup semi-final as a prime example there.

This movement opens space on the right side, as players are drawn to the left, which is why Tom Cleverley has found his goalscoring boots of late. He's got acres to surge into and often just a one vs. one to negotiate.

Villa are a strong attacking outfit now despite the end-of-season stumbling. We could well be in for an end-to-end, attacking, entertaining game thanks to the very nature of Sherwood and Wenger's approaches.


Arsenal look set to defend their FA cup title title. Go Gunners1!

Culled from: bleacherreport.com

Common Aston Villa, let's go there!

Arsenal aaaall the way! #COYG! Let them know wazzup

Villians will try But GUNNERS i see.