FA Cup: Arsene Wenger’s record in finals at Arsenal ahead of Wembley showdown with Chelsea

Updated 25/05/2017 at 15:31 GMT

Arsenal will play their 12th final under Arsene Wenger when they take on Chelsea in the FA Cup final on Saturday – but how have the Gunners fared under the Frenchman?

Arsene Wenger lifts the FA Cup trophy after Arsenal's win over Hull City

Image credit: Reuters

To date, the Gunners have won six of their 11 finals with Wenger at the helm – while their FA Cup final record reads as six wins from seven.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger holds the trophy as he rides a bus with his players during a victory parade after winning their FA Cup final soccer match yesterday, in north London, Britain, May 31, 2015

Image credit: Reuters

Here, we take a look at Wenger’s cup-final record as he targets a record seventh FA Cup trophy…

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FA Cup 1998 – Arsenal 2-0 Newcastle

Fresh from their first Premier League triumph, Arsenal duly delivered the league and cup double with a comfortable victory over Newcastle.

Marc Overmars put on the afterburners to hand Arsenal the lead midway through the first half, while a 19-year-old Nicolas Anelka grabbed the second midway through the second.

It was their seventh FA Cup overall, and proved to be the first of six (soon to be seven?) under Wenger.

UEFA Cup 2000 – Arsenal 0-0 Galatasaray (Galatasaray win 4-1 on pens.)

Wenger’s first tilt for European glory came in the 2000 UEFA Cup, but it ended in penalty heartache as Galatasaray won the shootout 4-1.

The Turkish outfit scored all four of their penalties, with Gheorghe Popescu scoring the all-important winner after Davor Suker and Patrick Vieira missed from the spot.

2000 UEFA Cup final

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FA Cup 2001 – Arsenal 1-2 Liverpool

The Michael Owen final – pretty much. The first FA Cup final to be played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff – with Wembley under reconstruction – proved to be a cracker.

Fredrik Ljungberg gave Arsenal the lead with just 18 minutes to go, but Owen turned the game on its head with goals in the 83rd and 88th minute to snatch victory for Liverpool.

FA Cup 2002 – Arsenal 2-0 Chelsea

The last time these two met in an FA Cup final produced two memorable goals.

Ray Parlour’s pearler in the 70th minute was somewhat topped by Ljungberg’s scorcher 10 minutes later.

Debates will have rumbled on over which was better, but regardless, it handed Arsenal their second league and cup double under Wenger.

Wenger 2002

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FA Cup 2003 – Arsenal 1-0 Southampton

A largely forgettable final was decided by a first-half Robert Pires goal, sealing back-to-back FA Cups for Wenger.

And though the Gunners missed out on the Premier League that season, it was essentially the same squad which went on to enjoy an invincible campaign in 2003-04.

FA Cup 2005 – Arsenal 0-0 Man Utd (Arsenal win 5-4 pens.)

Arsenal held on during 120 minutes of football before clinching the FA Cup courtesy of a penalty shootout.

United had eight shots on target to Arsenal’s one, but all that mattered in the end was the Gunners’ near-perfect penalties.

Only Paul Scholes missed for United, but a masterclass from the spot saw Arsenal lift the cup – with Vieira’s last-ever kick for the club proving to be the vital penalty.

Arsenal, the 2005 FA Cup winners

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Champions League 2006 – Arsenal 1-2 Barcelona

Arsenal’s biggest final in their history ended in despair, but it also started horribly when Jens Lehmann was shown a straight red after 18 minutes for bringing down Samuel Eto’o outside the box.

However, Sol Campbell then headed Arsenal into the lead before the break, but Barcelona fought back in the second half as goals from Eto’o and substitute Juliano Beletti handed Frank Rijkaard their second European Cup.

FOOTBALL 2005-2006 UEFA Champions League Barcelona-Arsenal

Image credit: Imago

League Cup 2007 – Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea

The last time Arsenal met Chelsea in a domestic final was in the 2007 League Cup. It was ultimately a feisty affair with Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor sent off for Arsenal in the 96th minute – with John Obi Mikel also given his marching orders during the same incident.

It was will also be remembered for the match where John Terry was knocked out cold in the Arsenal bok after going for a diving header – instead, he took Abou Diaby’s boot to the face, but still made it back for the celebrations as Didier Drogba’s double sealed victory for the Blues.

FOOTBALL 2006-2007 Carling Cup Arsenal-Chelsea Fighting

Image credit: Eurosport

League Cup 2011 – Arsenal 1-2 Birmingham City

Arsenal went into the 2011 League Cup final as heavy favourite, with opponents Birmingham also fighting at the wrong end of the Premier League table (they ended up getting relegated).

Nikola Zigic fired Blues into the lead but Arsenal responded through Robin van Persie before half-time.

The match was heading to extra time, but an error from Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szvzesny allowed Obafemi Martins to steal in with a famous winner for Birmingham in the 89th minute.

Arsenal, Birmingham

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FA Cup 2014 – Arsenal 3-2 Hull (A.E.T)

The Gunners were made to sweat for their first trophy since the 2005 FA Cup. Hull took an early 2-0 lead thanks to goals from James Chester and Curtis Davies, but Arsenal fought back to level at 2-2 with Santi Cazorla and Laurent Koscielny both on target.

The match headed to extra time, and it was Aarom Ramey who proved to be the hero, netting the winner 11 minutes from time.

FA Cup 2015 – Arsenal 4-0 Aston Villa

Arsenal’s last taste of silverware came two years ago in the same tournament. It was almost exhibition stuff as they demolished Villa 4-0 thanks to goals from Theo Walcott, Alexis Sánchez, Per Mertesacker and Olivier Giroud.

Victory was Wenger’s sixth FA Cup triump overall, putting him joint-first alongside George Ramsay (Aston Villa).