Arsenal 4-0 Aston Villa: Theo Walcott, Alexis Sanchez, Per Mertesacker and Olivier Giroud find the net as Arsene Wenger's side stroll to second successive FA Cup final victory

It was less an FA Cup final and more an exhibition. Sometimes, the battered, old competition can provide a showcase end-of-season finale which reminds you of all that was once good about the game.

The Arsenal players celebrate with the FA Cup trophy following an impressive 4-0 victory against Aston Villa at Wembley




ROB DRAPER AT WEMBLEY


The Arsenal players celebrate with bottles of champagne after winning the 12th FA Cup of the club's history 

And on other occasions it simply demonstrates how far the elite have moved away from rest and how it is not almost implausible to think of matching them. 

 

GOAL! ARSENAL 1-0 Aston Villa

40min: It's been coming and it's thoroughly deserved for Arsenal. Theo Walcott has moved out on to the left but that doesn't stop him scoring as he latches on to an Alexis Sanchez header across goal, allowing the ball to bounce once before crashing home a fine effort at the near post.

Theo Walcott roars with delight following Arsenal's 4-0 FA Cup final victory against Aston Villa on Saturday evening



The England international shows his focus on the ball as he rifles Arsene Wenger's side into a 1-0 lead after 40 minutes


Veteran goalkeeper Shay Given (left) makes a stunning save from Laurent Koscielny's powerful header shortly before Walcott's goal



Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey came close to handing Arsenal a 1-0 lead but blazed his effort over the bar from eight-yards out



The midfielder watches his effort fly over Shay Given's bar as Arsenal saw a number of early chances come and go



Theo Walcott thought he'd done enough to give Arsenal the lead with this close range effort before Kieran Richardson's (left) block



The 26-year-old looks on in disbelief as Richardson gets the block in to keeps the scores level during the first 45 minutes

Theo Walcott scores the first goal for Arsenal five minutes before half-time


Given is unable to stop Walcott's powerful volley as Arsenal finally made the most of a dominate first half display



Walcott wheels away in celebration of the stunning opening strike as Arsenal take a 1-0 lead into the break

Only one of the teams on show at Wembley yesterday has won the European Cup and yet, such is the way of football finances in the new era in the Champions League era, that team, once proudly the best in Europe, barely had a kick yesterday.

They couldn’t even really harry and hustle Arsenal. At no stage did they disrupt their steady flow of passing. All they could do was stand back and admire. And when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain crossed for Olivier Giroud in the dying seconds to score the fourth from close range, with not a Villa defender near him, it was a final indignity.

It is hard to remember a more one-sided FA Cup final. Millwall lost to Manchester United 3-0 but they were true underdogs, from the Championship; Chelsea’s 4-0 defeat 21 years ago is probably the benchmark for humiliations of this size.

Not that Arsene Wenger will greatly care, celebrating a record-equalling sixth FA Cup win, an extraordinary achievement for a man almost unknown in our game 19 years ago; a more recent addition to our shores also shone in Alexis Sanchez, simply magnificent and delivering a goal worthy of the famous old trophy.

Santi Cazorla capped a wonderful season with a display of authority and grace; Francis Coquelin, struggling at Charlton six months ago, was his willing partner in midfield; while Theo Walcott, selected up front, missed a few but scored a delightful opener. There were many others you might mention in dispatches. Arsenal was simply far, far too good.

It took almost until half time until Villa’s goal was finally breached but the preceding minutes had made that moment something of a inevitably. Villa had started full of energy and hope, pressing high up the pitch and enthusing their vociferous fans for five to ten minutes at least. 

Walcott points to the crowd as he's followed by jubilant team-mates Alexis Sanchez and Nacho Monreal (right)

The Arsenal fans celebrate Walcott's goal as the Gunners star sprints towards the corner, closely follower by Ramsey and Hector Bellerin 

Theo Walcott celebrates opening the scoring on front of the Arsenal fans

Walcott is congratulated on his goal by Hector Bellerin and Aaron Ramsey

Walcott gave Arsenal the lead following a good knockdown from Sanchez (17) 

However, it was an exceedingly short-lived period of the game. Very quickly the midfield areas were dominated Santo Cazorla and Francis Coquelin, the latter in particular impressing once again with both his tenaciousness and his passing.

The first-half became an exhibition as Arsenal’s passing and a unrelenting procession towards Sahy Given’s goal. Villa couldn’t even harry and hassle particularly well: Alan Hutton, Christian Benteke and Tom Cleverley all earned themselves first-half cautions attempting tactical fouls.

It slowed Arsenal for a second of two but did nothing ultimately to prevent the surge of yellow. Villa had Shay Given to thank on 16 minutes with a diving one-handed save to palm away Laurent Koscielny’s header after Alexis Sanchez had dropped the ball onto his forehead.

Hector Bellerin then burst down the right and crossed for Aaron Ramsey, who turned his shot into the side netting. Mesut Ozil lifted a delightful ball into the path of Ramsey and, having benefitted from a rebound of Ron Vlaar, should have done better with his skewed shot which flew wildly over from close range on 20 minutes.

Villa boss Tim Sherwood gestures to his players to calm down as Arsenal dominated for large parts of the first 45 minutes

Villa youngster Jack Grealish (right) stretches for the ball, but is just beaten to it by Gunner defender Koscielny

An exquisite pass from Cazorla freed Ozil on 25 minutes and, six yards from goal, Walcott struck cleanly and straight at goal. Celebrations were almost already in progress when Kieran Richardson hurled himself to block the ball from going in.

Yet it was hard to see Villa surviving. The freshness and vitality Sherwood has given them at times this season, not least on this stage against Liverpool, had evaporated. They looked a desperate team, struggling to keep pace with their superiors.

In the end it fell to Walcott to provide the breakthrough on 40 minutes. He had started at centre forward but had moved wide left to start the move that would result in his goal, releasing Nacho Monreal, who crossed for Alexis Sanchez, who had taken Walcott’s placed centrally. The Chilean rose above Richardson, heading the ball across goal and Walcott fairly plucked it from the air, a majestically-timed volley driving the ball past Given.

But Sherwood is nothing if not a motivator of men. His half time team talk needed to re-inspire his team, to revive those levels on enthusiasm he had previously managed to draw from these players. Yet we will never know whether his rhetoric was sufficient, for, almost immediately from the re-start, Villa fell under the spell of one of the great additions to the Premier League this season in Alexis Sanchez.

Alexis Sanchez watches on as his thunderous strike swerves past Given in the Villa goal to give Wenger's side a 2-0 advantage

39-year-old stopper Given look back as Sanchez's stunning strike flies into the back of the net during the early stages of the second half

GOAL! ARSENAL 2-0 Aston Villa

50min: It's a strike good enough to win any final, and it looks like it has all but won Arsenal the FA Cup.

Alexis Sanchez cuts inside from the left before taking a couple of touches and letting fly with an absolute missile down the centre of Given's goal.

The Irish keeper should perhaps do a little better, but then there was so much power behind the strike. What a goal!

The Gunners striker jumps for joy in front of the disappointed Villa fans as Arsenal inch closer to another FA Cup final victory 

Only five minutes had passed from the half time break when the Chilean produced one of those extraordinary moments which seem especially to grace FA Cup finals and are recalled years hence. He twisted one way, away from Hutton and then turned another way, almost in the same movement. Cleverley attempted to close him but , 30 yards out, there seemed little tangible danger. But the shot Sanchez unleashed – swerving, dipping and travelling ferociously fast – was bulging in the back of the net almost before Given had moved.

Arsenal players leapt on their team-mate in a frenzy of celebration but for Villa all hope was punctured. The feeling is almost palpable on big occasions like this. Belief can only be sustained so far, even amongst the most fanatical. On came Gabby Agbonlahor. It was a gesture rather than a rallying cry. Given the first half onslaught, about the only thing Villa had to cling on to was that it remained only 1-0. Now that shred of comfort had been taken from them.

That said, forty minutes had to be played out and you feared for them when, on 62 minutes, Per Mertesacker rose to meet a Cazorla corner, unmarked by a seemingly disinterested Villa defence. The German headed home with extraordinary ease. Arsenal celebrated because they knew the FA Cup was now safe in their hands and they could effectively retire early for their holidays. Indeed, by the time Jack Wilshere and Olivier Giroud came on on 75 minutes, it seemed more a nod to their seniority than out of necessity. The hard work had all been done.

The Chilean international is congratulated by his Arsenal team-mates after firing the north London side into a commanding 2-0 lead


Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny looks to the sky as the Polish star celebrates his side's second goal


German defender Per Mertesacker heads Arsenal into a 3-0 lead after beating Villa striker Benteke in the air

GOAL! ARSENAL 3-0 Aston Villa

62min: Game over folks. Moments after Walcott is denied when racing in on goal, Per Mertesacker out-jumps Benteke to head home from a corner. 

  

  Per Mertesacker heads home Arsenal's third goal from a corner


The 30-year-old German sprints towards the sidelines as his goal all but secures Arsenal's FA Cup final victory on Saturday 



Mertesesacker slides towards Cazorla in celebration as Villa boss Sherwood (right) puts his hands on his head in disappointment



One Arsenal fan shows off an FA Cup trophy painted on his chest as the Gunners faithful celebrate a brilliant day at Wembley

Francis Coquelin embraces Spanish defender Monreal as the Arsenal players celebrate Mertesacker's second half header


Substitute striker Olivier Giroud came on to tap Arsenal into a 4-0 lead before his side lifted the famous trophy



The 28-year-old Frenchman looks towards the Villa fans as Given sits on the floor and Arsenal secure another FA Cup final victory


Gunners winger Walcott looks to get away from the clutches of Jores Okore during the early stages at Wembley

Tim Sherwood manager of Aston Villa reacts on the touchline after his team conceded a third goal


Prince William (left) shakes hands with Villa boss Sherwood ahead of the 5.30pm kick-off at Wembley