2014-15 FA Cup · The Final
2015 FA Cup Final: Arsenal 4-0 Aston Villa
The governing body's own published report of this final mis-times two of its four goals and records a substitution that never happened, so this page checks the official account against three independent records before printing a word of it.
Arsenal beat Aston Villa 4-0 at Wembley to retain the FA Cup and become the most successful club in the competition's history with a 12th win. Even the FA's own match report could not agree with itself on when the goals went in.
Saturday 30 May 2015 · Wembley Stadium
What you will not find elsewhere
The FA's own report of this final mis-times two goals and has Giroud replacing Giroud
The governing body's published match report is the document this page would most like to trust, and it disagrees with itself. Its prose says the opening goal came in the 39th minute; its own goals column at the foot of the same page records Walcott 40. Its prose says Per Mertesacker scored on the hour mark; its goals column records Mertesacker 71 - nine minutes out against the 62 given by the Press Association's report, the FBref event log and the standard record. And its substitution column reads 12 Olivier Giroud for Giroud 77: Giroud in fact replaced Walcott. The 71 figure has already propagated, repeated as fact by at least one retrospective site. We publish 40, 50, 62 and three minutes into added time, the points on which three independent accounts agree, and we keep the FA's contradictions on the page rather than tidying them away.[1][4][7][5]
Three meetings, one season: Arsenal 12, Aston Villa 0
The final was the third time these clubs met in 2014-15, and the aggregate across the season makes grim reading for Villa. Arsenal won 3-0 at Villa Park in September, with three goals in less than four first-half minutes; 5-0 at the Emirates in February; and 4-0 at Wembley. That is 12 goals without reply across three matches, which is why what the bookmakers and the neutrals expected before kick-off is exactly what happened. The FA's own report framed the only real question as which Villa would turn up - the side that had beaten Liverpool in the semi-final or the side that had switched off once safety was secured. It was the second.[5][1]
The third goal was not necessarily the header most accounts describe
Nearly every record of this final, the FA's own report included (easily heading home a Cazorla corner), describes Per Mertesacker's goal as a header. The Press Association's match report, carried by ESPN, describes something different: Mertesacker slipped away from Christian Benteke to meet the corner, failed to connect with his head, and the ball brushed off his shoulder into the net. The goal stands either way, and Mertesacker is the scorer in every account, but a page that claims to check its facts should say the two descriptions do not agree on how it went in.[1][4]
The footage
The match report
Arsenal retained the FA Cup at Wembley on Saturday 30 May 2015, beating Aston Villa 4-0 in the 134th final of the competition in front of 89,283 people. A 12th Cup took Arsenal past Manchester United's 11 and made them the most successful club in the history of the world's oldest cup competition, and it gave Arsene Wenger a sixth win as a manager, drawing him level with George Ramsay's record. At four goals it was the biggest win in an FA Cup final for 21 years.[1][5][4]
Villa came to their first final since 2000 as survivors, having stayed in the Premier League only after Tim Sherwood replaced Paul Lambert in February, while Arsenal arrived as holders. The league season had already told its story: Arsenal had won 3-0 at Villa Park and 5-0 at the Emirates, and Villa won the pre-match coin toss for choice of colours, keeping their claret and blue and sending Arsenal into their yellow and blue away kit.[5][4]
Arsenal were on top from the first whistle. Given palmed away a Sanchez header on 13 minutes and later saved from Koscielny, while Villa's response was to foul: Cleverley was booked on 14 minutes, Hutton on 33 and captain Delph on 37. The goal, when it came on 40 minutes, was made on the left - Monreal crossed, Sanchez won the header against Ron Vlaar, and Walcott volleyed the dropping ball past Given.[1][5][4]
Five minutes into the second half Sanchez produced the moment of the match, a strike from around 25 yards that flew past Given into the roof of the net. He had a header ruled out for offside, and on 62 minutes Mertesacker forced in Cazorla's corner for 3-0. Villa's only serious appeal was a penalty claim when Agbonlahor went down under Coquelin's challenge, which Jon Moss waved away. In the third minute of added time Oxlade-Chamberlain crossed for substitute Giroud to flick in the fourth with the outside of his boot.[1][4][5]
The Football Association's own published report of this final disagrees with itself about all of this. Its prose has the first goal arriving in the 39th minute while its own goals column says 40; its prose has Mertesacker scoring on the hour mark while its goals column says 71; and its substitution column has Giroud coming on for Giroud. The times published on this page - 40, 50, 62 and three minutes into added time - are the ones that three independent accounts agree on.[1][4][5][7]
The trophy was presented by the Duke of Cambridge. Because Arsenal had already qualified for the Champions League by finishing third in the Premier League, a UEFA rule change meant the Europa League place that beaten finalists would once have inherited went instead to Southampton, the highest-placed league club without European football. Arsenal were back at Wembley that August and beat Chelsea 1-0 to retain the Community Shield.[1][5][6]
For Villa a proud Cup history stayed in the past tense. Seven-times winners, they have not lifted the trophy since 1957, and they never laid a glove on this final: two shots in total, none on target, and all five bookings of the afternoon were theirs. George Ramsay, the manager Wenger caught here, won every one of his Cups with Villa.[4][8][1]
How the match unfolded
- 13'Shay Given makes an acrobatic leap to palm away an Alexis Sanchez header, the first of several first-half saves that keep Aston Villa level.[1]
- 14'Tom Cleverley collects the first booking of the final for a foul on Nacho Monreal. From the free kick Laurent Koscielny's header is saved by Given.[5][4]
- 17'Hector Bellerin turns past Kieran Richardson and pulls a low cross back for Aaron Ramsey, whose shot hits the side netting.[5]
- Midway through the first halfMesut Ozil crosses for Theo Walcott, six yards out, and Richardson's sliding tackle denies him a certain goal.[5][4]
- 33'Alan Hutton is booked for a late tackle on Sanchez as Villa continue to stop Arsenal by foul means.[5][4]
- 37'Villa captain Fabian Delph is booked for repeated fouls. The standard record's own prose places this a minute later than its line-up table.[5][4]
- 40'Goal. Monreal crosses from the left, Sanchez wins the header against Ron Vlaar and Walcott volleys the dropping ball past Given. The FA's own report says the 39th minute in its prose and 40 in its goals column.[1][5][4]
- 45'Half-time. Arsenal lead 1-0 after two minutes of added time.[5]
- 50'Goal. Sanchez, stumbling towards the left touchline under pressure, twists back to face goal and fires a strike from outside the area into the roof of the net. The FA calls it around 25 yards; the standard record says 30.[1][5][4]
- 52'Villa send on Gabriel Agbonlahor for Charles N'Zogbia. Moments later Sanchez heads in, but the flag is up for offside. The standard record times the substitution a minute later.[1][5]
- 62'Goal. Per Mertesacker meets Santi Cazorla's corner and the ball goes in off the Arsenal captain - the FA's report calls it a header, the Press Association says it brushed in off his shoulder. The FA's goals column mis-times it at 71.[1][4][5]
- 68'Leandro Bacuna replaces the injured Richardson. Two minutes later Carlos Sanchez comes on for Ashley Westwood.[1][5]
- 77'Arsenal make two changes: Olivier Giroud for Walcott and Jack Wilshere for Ozil. The FA's substitution column records the first of these as Giroud for Giroud.[1][5]
- 83'Agbonlahor goes down under Francis Coquelin's challenge on the edge of the Arsenal area. Jon Moss waves away the penalty appeal and books Agbonlahor for his protests.[5][4]
- 90'Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain replaces Sanchez for the closing minutes.[1][5]
- 93'Goal. In the third minute of added time Oxlade-Chamberlain crosses from the right and Giroud flicks the ball past Given with the outside of his boot to complete the scoring.[1][5][4]
Match facts
Where they played
Both sides as they lined up. Choose any player to read what they did in this final.
Select a shirt for that player's note.
Route to the final
Arsenal
- Third round: Hull City (h) won 2-0
- Fourth round: Brighton & Hove Albion (a) won 3-2
- Fifth round: Middlesbrough (h) won 2-0
- Quarter-final: Manchester United (a) won 2-1
- Semi-final: Reading (Wembley) won 2-1 after extra time
Aston Villa
- Third round: Blackpool (h) won 1-0
- Fourth round: Bournemouth (h) won 2-1
- Fifth round: Leicester City (h) won 2-1
- Quarter-final: West Bromwich Albion (h) won 2-0
- Semi-final: Liverpool (Wembley) won 2-1
Line-ups
Arsenal · 4-2-3-1
- Wojciech Szczesny Goalkeeper. Kept a clean sheet
- Hector Bellerin Right back. His low cross set up Ramsey's early chance
- Per Mertesacker Captain. Scored the third goal from a corner
- Laurent Koscielny Centre back. Had a first-half header saved by Given
- Nacho Monreal Left back. His cross started the opening goal
- Francis Coquelin Holding midfield. Survived Villa's late penalty appeal
- Santi Cazorla Named man of the match. His corner made the third goal
- Aaron Ramsey Central midfield. Twice went close in the first half
- Mesut Ozil Substituted for Wilshere on 77 minutes
- Alexis Sanchez Scored the second goal from distance and had a header ruled out for offside
- Theo Walcott Opened the scoring, having missed the 2014 final through injury
Aston Villa · 4-3-2-1
- Shay Given Goalkeeper, 39 years old and playing his first FA Cup final for 17 years
- Alan Hutton Right back. Booked for a late tackle on Sanchez
- Jores Okore Centre back
- Ron Vlaar Centre back. Beaten in the air by Sanchez for the opening goal
- Kieran Richardson Left back. His sliding tackle denied Walcott a first-half goal; went off injured
- Ashley Westwood Midfield. Booked for a foul on Sanchez and later substituted
- Tom Cleverley Midfield. Collected the first booking of the final
- Fabian Delph Captain. Booked for repeated fouls in the first half
- Charles N'Zogbia Substituted early in the second half
- Jack Grealish His first FA Cup final, having flourished after Sherwood's arrival
- Christian Benteke Centre forward. Villa finished without a shot on target
Trivia and detail
- Shay Given, Villa's goalkeeper, was 39 and playing in his first FA Cup final for 17 years. The FA's own report records that he belied his age with an acrobatic leap to palm away a Sanchez header on 13 minutes.[1]
- The final had an official mascot chosen by a Blue Peter competition: Billie, a horse inspired by the white horse that controlled the crowds before the 1923 final, the most famous image in the competition's history.[5]
- Abide with Me was sung by a 64-person choir assembled by the Songs of Praise programme, one supporter from every club that reached the third round, including a 99-year-old Newcastle United fan and a Liverpool supporter who survived the Hillsborough disaster.[5]
- Each club received a ticket allocation of 25,000, with a further 17,000 going to members of Club Wembley. Prices ran from 50 to 120 pounds.[5]
- Referee Jon Moss continued to teach one day a week as an executive head at a school in Halifax even after turning professional, and described his appointment as the realisation of a dream. His son Joe, then 14, had just refereed his first game.[2]
- George Ramsay, whose record of six FA Cup wins as a manager Wenger equalled in this final, won all six of his with Aston Villa in a reign that ran from 1884 to 1926.[4]
- The BBC restored its traditional all-day coverage of the final for the first time in seven years, and its BBC One audience peaked at 8.8 million.[5]
- Jack Wilshere, a second-half substitute, was later charged with misconduct by the FA for leading an anti-Tottenham chant on the victory parade. He admitted the charge and was fined 40,000 pounds.[5]
How well do you know the 2015 final?
Five questions. Every answer is sourced from the material on this page.
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Who scored the opening goal of the 2015 FA Cup final?
-
What was the final score?
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How many FA Cups had Arsenal won after this victory, taking them past Manchester United's record?
-
Who was named man of the match?
Answer
Santi Cazorla. Cazorla ran the midfield and delivered the corner from which Mertesacker made it 3-0.[5]
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Who refereed the final?
What is not settled
Honesty matters more than tidiness. These details are contested or unrecorded, and we have not guessed at them:
- The minute of every goal is agreed by the Press Association, FBref and the standard record, but not by the FA's own match report, which gives 39 for Walcott in its prose and 40 in its goals column, and 71 for Mertesacker against the agreed 62. We publish 40, 50, 62 and three minutes into added time.
- Alexis Sanchez's second goal is measured at around 25 yards by the FA and the Press Association, and at around 30 yards by the standard record.
- Whether Mertesacker's goal was a header, as the FA's report describes it, or went in off his shoulder, as the Press Association describes it, is not settled.
- Giroud's goal is timed in the third minute of added time by the Press Association and the standard record, and in the fourth by FBref.
- The substitution times differ by a minute between the FA's report and the standard record: Agbonlahor came on at 52 or 53, and Carlos Sanchez at 70 or 71. We publish the FA's figures.
- Villa's booking minutes are given as 33 for Hutton and 37 for Delph by the Press Association's timeline and the standard record's line-up table; the standard record's own prose places Delph's a minute later.
- No footage has been verified for this final yet, so the television shows no signal rather than an unchecked embed. An official Emirates FA Cup channel upload has been proposed and awaits verification.
How we know
Every claim on this page is tied to a numbered source below. These are the contemporary records behind it, each one fetched and matched word for word before publication rather than taken on trust:
- The FA official match report, 30 May 2015 · The Football Association
- The FA, 21 April 2015, referee appointment announcement and interview · The Football Association
- The FA, 30 May 2015, post-match reaction · The Football Association
Where a primary record and a modern account disagree, we show both rather than choosing the tidier number.
Sources
- Arsenal 4-0 Aston Villa: FA Cup Final match report · The Football Association
- Jon Moss 'cannot wait' to referee 2015 FA Cup Final · The Football Association
- Ramsey 'loves winning feeling' as Gunners retain Cup · The Football Association
- Arsenal 4-0 Aston Villa: FA Cup final cruise · Press Association, carried by ESPN
- 2015 FA Cup final · Wikipedia
- 2015 FA Community Shield · Wikipedia
- Arsenal vs Aston Villa Match Report, 30 May 2015 · FBref
- Arsenal vs. Aston Villa Box Score and Stats, 30 May 2015 · Fox Sports