2016-17 FA Cup · The Final
2017 FA Cup Final: Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea
The 2017 final gave Arsenal a record 13th FA Cup and Arsene Wenger a record seventh win as a manager, but its opening goal was allowed only after the referee over-ruled a flag for offside and ignored a handball appeal.
Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-1 at Wembley in a final decided by Aaron Ramsey's late header, a Victor Moses red card, and an opening goal that survived appeals for handball and offside.
Saturday 27 May 2017 · Wembley Stadium
What you will not find elsewhere
The opening goal was flagged offside and appealed for handball; the referee allowed it because Ramsey never touched the ball
Alexis Sanchez's fourth-minute goal began with a block on David Luiz's clearance that Chelsea appealed was handball, and the assistant referee had flagged for offside because Aaron Ramsey was ahead of the last defender. The FA's own live report says referee Anthony Taylor appears to have over-ruled his assistant and given the goal, and the FA's official match report records that Ramsey did not move to the ball. It was a goal that survived two appeals, not a simple offside miss.[2][1][6]
The FA's own announcement says the Wembley winners receive 1.8m pounds and runners-up 900,000 pounds
The Football Association's pre-match announcement of Anthony Taylor's appointment lists the final prize money as Winners receive £1.8m and runners-up £900,000. Secondary coverage often gives the totals as 3.4m pounds and 1.6m pounds; those are the cumulative payments for the whole cup run, not the final cheque. The same document also confirms the match would be played at 5.30pm on Saturday 27 May 2017.[3][5]
A 13th FA Cup and a seventh win for Wenger, both records
Arsenal's 2-1 victory made them the most successful club in FA Cup history with 13 titles, one ahead of Manchester United's 12. It was also Arsene Wenger's seventh final win as Arsenal manager, taking him past George Ramsay's six with Aston Villa.[1][5]
The footage
The match report
The 2017 Emirates FA Cup final was the 136th final of the competition, played at Wembley on Saturday 27 May 2017. Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-1 to win a record 13th FA Cup and make Arsene Wenger the most successful manager in the tournament's history with seven wins.[1][5]
Arsenal led inside four minutes through Alexis Sanchez. The goal was contentious: Sanchez blocked David Luiz's clearance with his arm and ran the ball past Aaron Ramsey, who was in an offside position but did not touch it, before beating Thibaut Courtois. Chelsea appealed for handball and offside; the assistant referee's flag was over-ruled after discussion.[2][1][6]
The Gunners dominated the rest of the first half. Mesut Ozil chipped an effort that Gary Cahill cleared off the line, Danny Welbeck headed an Ozil corner against the post and Ramsey turned the rebound onto the same upright, and Welbeck later forced another goal-line clearance from Cahill.[1][6][5]
Chelsea were better after the interval but went down to ten men on 68 minutes when Victor Moses, already booked, dived in the penalty area under pressure from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and was shown a second yellow card.[1][2][5]
In the 76th minute Diego Costa controlled Willian's cross and fired low past David Ospina to level the score. Arsenal's response was immediate: Olivier Giroud had just replaced Danny Welbeck when he hooked a left-footed cross from the byeline into the path of Aaron Ramsey, who headed the winner.[1][5]
Ozil struck the inside of the near post in the closing stages and Ospina denied Costa from close range, but Arsenal held on to their 2-1 lead.[1][5]
The victory gave Arsenal a 13th FA Cup, surpassing Manchester United's 12, and made Wenger the first manager to win seven. Chelsea, who had already won the Premier League, were denied the Double.[1][5]
How the match unfolded
- 4'Alexis Sanchez opens the scoring. The goal is initially flagged offside and Chelsea appeal for handball, but referee Anthony Taylor over-rules his assistant.[1][2]
- 9'Aaron Ramsey is shown the first yellow card of the final.[1][2]
- 16'Mesut Ozil lifts an angled effort over Thibaut Courtois, but Gary Cahill clears it off the line.[5][6]
- 19'Danny Welbeck heads an Ozil corner against the post and Aaron Ramsey turns the rebound onto the same upright.[5][2]
- 29'Welbeck is denied again by another goal-line clearance from Cahill.[5][6]
- 54'Rob Holding is booked for holding back Diego Costa.[1][2]
- 57'Victor Moses is shown a yellow card for a foul on Danny Welbeck.[1][2]
- 59'N'Golo Kante is booked for a foul on Aaron Ramsey.[1][2]
- 61'Chelsea make the first substitution: Cesc Fabregas replaces Nemanja Matic.[1][2]
- 68'Victor Moses is sent off for a second yellow card after diving in the penalty area under pressure from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.[1][2]
- 72'Willian comes on for Pedro as Chelsea reorganise with ten men.[1][2]
- 76'Diego Costa controls Willian's cross and fires low past David Ospina to make it 1-1.[1][2]
- 78'Olivier Giroud replaces Danny Welbeck for Arsenal.[1][8]
- 79'Aaron Ramsey heads Olivier Giroud's cross past Courtois to restore Arsenal's lead.[1][2]
- 81'Granit Xhaka is booked for a foul on Willian.[1]
- 82'Francis Coquelin replaces Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.[1]
- 83'Francis Coquelin is booked within a minute of coming on.[1]
- 88'Michy Batshuayi replaces Diego Costa.[1]
- 90'Three minutes into added time, Mohamed Elneny replaces Alexis Sanchez.[1]
Match facts
- Date
- Saturday 27 May 2017
- Venue
- Wembley Stadium, London
- Half-time
- 1-0
- Competition
- 2016-17 FA Cup
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: Preston North End (a) won 2-1
- Fourth round: Southampton (a) won 5-0
- Fifth round: Sutton United (a) won 2-0
- Quarter-final: Lincoln City (h) won 5-0
- Semi-final: Manchester City (Wembley) won 2-1 (a.e.t.)
Chelsea
- Third round: Peterborough United (h) won 4-1
- Fourth round: Brentford (h) won 4-0
- Fifth round: Wolverhampton Wanderers (a) won 2-0
- Quarter-final: Manchester United (h) won 1-0
- Semi-final: Tottenham Hotspur (Wembley) won 4-2
Line-ups
Arsenal · 3-4-2-1
- David Ospina Goalkeeper, preferred to Petr Cech
- Rob Holding Right centre back, booked in the second half
- Per Mertesacker Captain, centre back, first start since April 2016
- Nacho Monreal Left centre back
- Hector Bellerin Right wing-back
- Aaron Ramsey Central midfield, booked early and scored the winner
- Granit Xhaka Central midfield, booked late
- Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Left wing-back
- Alexis Sanchez Right attacking midfield, scored the opening goal
- Mesut Ozil Left attacking midfield
- Danny Welbeck Striker
Chelsea · 3-4-3
- Thibaut Courtois Goalkeeper
- Cesar Azpilicueta Right centre back
- David Luiz Centre back
- Gary Cahill Captain, left centre back
- Victor Moses Right wing-back, sent off for diving
- N'Golo Kante Central midfield, booked
- Nemanja Matic Central midfield
- Marcos Alonso Left wing-back
- Pedro Right forward
- Eden Hazard Left forward
- Diego Costa Striker, scored Chelsea's goal
Trivia and detail
- Per Mertesacker made his first start for Arsenal since April 2016 and captained the side.[1]
- David Ospina was preferred to Petr Cech in goal for the fourth time in the cup run.[1]
- The match was the second FA Cup final meeting between Arsenal and Chelsea; Arsenal had also won the first, in 2002.[5]
- It was the first FA Cup final to use a spidercam during the match.[5]
- Alexis Sanchez was named man of the match.[5]
- A minute's silence for the victims of the Manchester Arena bombing was held before kick-off, and both clubs cancelled planned open-top bus victory parades.[2][5]
- Abide with Me was led by representatives from eight clubs who had provided standout moments in the competition.[4]
How well do you know the 2017 final?
Five questions. Every answer is sourced from the material on this page.
-
Who scored Arsenal's opening goal in the 2017 FA Cup final?
-
Which Chelsea player was sent off in the second half?
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Who crossed for Aaron Ramsey's winning goal?
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What record did Arsenal set by winning the 2017 final?
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Who refereed the 2017 FA Cup final?
What is not settled
Honesty matters more than tidiness. These details are contested or unrecorded, and we have not guessed at them:
- The exact minute of Olivier Giroud's introduction is reported as 77 by the FA's live updates and 78 by Wikipedia and worldfootball.net; we record 78.
- Sky Sports times Diego Costa's equaliser at 77 minutes, where the FA's official match report, the FA's live updates, ESPN and Wikipedia give 76.
- Whether Alexis Sanchez handled the ball deliberately before his goal is a matter of judgement; the referee over-ruled the offside flag and allowed the goal.
- The precise length of the discussion between Anthony Taylor and his assistant before the opening goal is not recorded.
- No footage has been verified for this final yet, so the television shows no signal rather than an unchecked embed.
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, 27 May 2017 · The Football Association
- The FA live text updates, 27 May 2017 · The Football Association
- The FA match officials announcement, 26 April 2017 · The Football Association
- The FA pre-match entertainment announcement, 19 May 2017 · The Football Association
Where a primary record and a modern account disagree, we show both rather than choosing the tidier number.
Sources
- Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea · The Football Association
- Emirates FA Cup Final match updates: Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea · The Football Association
- Taylor-made for FA Cup Final · The Football Association
- Club heroes' Cup call-up · The Football Association
- 2017 FA Cup final · Wikipedia
- Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea: Aaron Ramsey's winner seals FA Cup triumph for Arsene Wenger · Sky Sports
- Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea (27 May, 2017) Final Score · ESPN
- Arsenal FC - Chelsea FC 2:1 (FA Cup 2016/2017, Final) · worldfootball.net