FA Cup Final: Lampard and Arteta face off in season-defining derby
By the time the English domestic season is finally completed at Wembley on the 1 st of August with the FA Cup final, it will have been 362 days since the season’s curtain-raiser, the Community Shield, was played out in glorious sunshine in front of 90 000. While neither Arsenal nor Chelsea were involved that day, it will nevertheless be close to a year since their first competitive match of the 2019/20 season when they finally do battle on a stage they will be no stranger to despite the absence of spectators. 7 of the last 11 finals have contained at least one of the two London sides, with victory in all 7 (4 for Chelsea, 3 for Arsenal) showing that both are well accustomed to cup final success and are unlikely to shy away from the challenge. This same pairing produced an exhilarating final back in 2017 where the Gunners triumphed 2-1 thanks to an Aaron Ramsey winner despite being underdogs on the day, and if performances over the past 12 months are anything to go by, Saturday pr...