That fourth goal ‘a kick in the privates’ for Sherwood

ARSENE Wenger revealed his pride at making history as Arsenal stormed to FA Cup final glory with a 4-0 thrashing of Aston Villa on Saturday.

Goals from Theo Walcott, Alexis ­Sanchez, Per Mertesacker and Olivier Giroud ensured Arsenal retained the trophy with the biggest margin of victory in an FA Cup final since 1994.

As an added bonus, Wenger become the first manager in the post-War period to win the competition six times, a tally matched by only George Ramsey, who won the last of his with Villa in 1920.

There was another significant slice of history for Arsenal as they lifted the famous old trophy for the 12th time, moving them ahead of Manchester United as the most successful club in the competition. “I’m very proud,” Wenger told reporters. “If it has not been done before that means it is hard to do. Everyone wants to achieve things that are difficult.

“Personally I have managed in seven (FA Cup) finals now and won six, so I’m proud of that. “It is great for the club as well because we won it 12 times.”

After spluttering to a tense extra-time victory in last year’s final against Hull, Wenger was delighted with the way his side tore into Villa right from the kick-off.

“It was a convincing one. We were at it from the first minute until the last,” Wenger said. “I never felt the focus or quality dropped. We scored just before and after halftime and of course that was too much for Villa with the quality we had today.”

After the high of leading Villa to Premier League survival and their first FA Cup final appearance since 2000, it was a painful low note to end the season on for boss Tim Sherwood. “They deserved to win, no arguments about that. They have outstanding, world-class footballers and today we couldn’t nullify them or impose ourselves either.”

“I can’t make any excuses. To be honest you have to take your medicine at 3-0 and then to concede one at the death was a kick in the privates.

“I feel sick and so do the boys. It’s a learning curve for us. We need to build a new team. They need to learn how to be winners.” — AFP