The FA Cup is the oldest national football competition in the world, and no team has won it more often than us.
Our love affair with the cup started in 1930 when we lifted the trophy for the first time. Since then, we’ve lifted the famous trophy on 13 more occasions, the most recent in 2020.
WHEN DID ARSENal WIN THEIR FIRST FA CUP?
Our first taste of glory in the FA Cup came on April 26, 1930, 41 years after we made our debut in the competition as Royal Arsenal. We defeated Chelsea, Birmingham City, Middlesbrough, West Ham United and Hull City to reach the final, where goals from Alex James and Jack Lambert sealed a famous victory at Wembley over Huddersfield Town.
Six years on and we were lifting the trophy once again, a Ted Drake goal enough to see off Sheffield United, but it would be another 14 years before we tasted success again, defeating Liverpool 2-0 in the 1950 final thanks to a double from Reg Lewis.
Relive our 1936 FA Cup triumph
WHY WERE ARSENAL'S 1970S FA CUP WINS FAMOUS?
The FA Cup returned to the Highbury trophy cabinet in 1971. Having already secured the league title at White Hart Lane, we were looking for a historic double at Wembley against Liverpool.
As the game drifted into extra-time, Steve Heighway opened the scoring for the Reds before George Graham equalised. Two minutes later, Charlie George’s incredible long-range effort beat Ray Clemence, resulting in an iconic celebration as we lifted the FA Cup in our famous yellow jersey.
Our victory in 1979 proved to be just as dramatic. Back at Wembley and back in yellow, first-half goals from Brian Talbot and Frank Stapleton had us cruising against Manchester United, but goals from Gordon McQueen and Sammy McIlroy in the 86th and 88th minute turned the game on its head as United battled back.
But United’s celebrations were short-lived as Alan Sunderland scored the winner in the 89th minute, prompting another iconic Wembley celebration and a fifth FA Cup title.
HOW MANY FA CUPS DID ARSENE WENGER WIN?
After winning the trophy in 1993, thanks to another dramatic 119th-minute winner by Andy Linighan against Sheffield Wednesday, we tasted FA Cup success for the first time under Arsene Wenger in 1998. Having just won our first Premier League title, goals from Marc Overmars and Nicolas Anelka against Newcastle United gave us a famous domestic double.
It was in the 2000s when Wenger’s love affair with the FA Cup truly blossomed. Having lost the 2001 final in Cardiff, Wenger would lift back-to-back cups in 2002, thanks to two sensational strikes from Ray Parlour and Freddie Ljungberg against Chelsea, and in 2003, against Southampton, courtesy of a Robert Pires goal.
Two years later we were back in Cardiff where we became the first team to win the FA Cup on penalties against Manchester United. Jens Lehmann saved Paul Scholes’ spot-kick as we remained perfect from 12 yards – Patrick Vieira netted the winning penalty after a resilient display over 120 minutes.
It would be another nine years before we got our hands back on the trophy. Back at Wembley, we faced Hull City in the 2014 FA Cup final. Disaster struck as we went 2-0 down after just eight minutes, but Santi Cazorla’s sublime free-kick sparked a comeback.
Laurent Koscielny levelled before Aaron Ramsey’s extra-time finish turned the game on its head and gave us an 11th FA Cup.
We successfully defended our title in 2015 thanks to a devastating performance in yellow. Theo Walcott, Alexis Sanchez, Per Mertesacker and Olivier Giroud put Aston Villa to the sword on a memorable day at Wembley that saw us win 4-0.
In 2017, we became the most successful side in the competition with a 2-1 victory over Chelsea, when goals from Sanchez and Ramsey secured our 13th cup. The title was also Arsene Wenger’s seventh FA Cup, making him the most successful manager in the tournament’s illustrious history.
Read more about how we won three FA Cups in four years.
WHEN DID MIKEL ARTETA WIN HIS FIRST TROPHY AS ARSENAL MANAGER?
While the 2017 FA Cup proved to be Wenger’s final trophy as our manager, the 2020 FA Cup represented a chance for Mikel Arteta to get his first piece of silverware as our head coach.
Having beaten Manchester City in the semi-final, we faced Chelsea in a repeat of the 2017 showpiece. A double from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang saw us come from a goal down to win 2-1 and clinch our record-extending 14th FA Cup.
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