Ahead of the match, we looked at five memorable cup matches between Arsenal and Chelsea
Chelsea 0–2 Arsenal, FA Cup Final (4 May 2002)
Arsène Wenger’s side conquered Chelsea on their way to a domestic double in 2002.
The London sides met in the FA Cup final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, where two brilliant goals crowned Arsenal winners in Wales.
An exciting finale came to life when Ray Parlor opened the scoring on 69 minutes, with the midfielder’s effort curling brilliantly into the top corner.
Ten minutes later, Freddie Ljungberg put the game beyond doubt with another glorious goal, putting him past Carlo Cudicini. After scoring the final defeat to Liverpool a year earlier, Ljungberg became the first player in 40 years to score in consecutive finals.
Arsenal completed their domestic double a few days later as Sylvain Wiltord’s winner crowned them Premier League champions at Manchester United.
Arsenal 1–2 Chelsea, Champions League quarter-final, second leg (6 April 2004)
Arsenal were on their way to winning the Premier League unbeaten when the teams met in the quarter-finals of the Champions League in 2003/04. A brilliant Gunners team became English football’s first Invincibles in 115 years, only to suffer an embarrassing European exit.
Chelsea had not beaten Arsenal in 17 attempts, while a 1-1 draw in the first leg made Arsenal favorites ahead of the return fixture at Highbury. Jose Antonio Reyes put Arsenal ahead in the second leg, but Frank Lampard equalized to level the aggregate score.
Then, with just three minutes to go, Chelsea delivered a bolt from the blue. Wayne Bridge scored a dramatic winner after a neat one-two with Eidur Gudjohnsen.
Wayne Bridge. Hoogbury. April 6, 2004. 🤩#onthisday pic.twitter.com/c9ET18U38G
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 6, 2020
Chelsea, buoyed by a billionaire takeover last summer, had begun to shift the balance of power in the capital.
Chelsea 2–1 Arsenal, League Cup Final (24 February 2007)
A fiery finale ended with three red cards as John Obi Mikel, Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure all saw red after a mass brawl late at the Millennium Stadium.
That clash was the highlight of a fascinating final, which saw under-strength Arsenal take the lead through Theo Walcott. Chelsea hit back and equalized through Didier Drogba just eight minutes later, even though it was an inexperienced Arsenal team on top.
#OTD in 2007 Drogba scored a stunning double against Arsenal to secure us a fourth League Cup! 🫡#CFC | #CarabaoCupFinale pic.twitter.com/OWoWx8gIlL
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 25, 2024
Chelsea’s senior side, however, won the trophy late. Drogba, so often Arsenal’s nemesis during his time in West London, headed in Arjen Robben’s cross six minutes from time.
Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea, FA Cup Final (27 May 2017)
Arsène Wenger became the most successful manager in FA Cup history after winning the trophy for the seventh time in 2017.
Alexis Sánchez’s controversial early goal put Arsenal ahead at Wembley after referee Anthony Taylor overruled his assistant who had flagged Aaron Ramsey for offside in the build-up. There were also arguments from Chelsea that Sánchez had dealt with.
The days before VAR, eh?
Chelsea’s afternoon went from bad to worse when Victor Moses was sent off to go diving. The ten men were level again when Diego Costa sent in the equalizer, but Arsenal made their man advantage count moments later. Aaron Ramsey arrived unnoticed and headed in the winner.
Chelsea 4-1 Arsenal, Europa League Final (29 May 2019)
Eden Hazard ended his Chelsea career in style with two goals and a man-of-the-match performance to sink Arsenal in Baku.
In the first ever meeting between the teams in a European final, Chelsea crushed their London rivals, with Hazard exceptional throughout. After a goalless first half, Olivier Giroud opened the scoring for Chelsea against his former side, before Pedro doubled the lead on the hour mark.
Hazard, who had set up Pedro’s goal, scored the third from the penalty spot to put Chelsea into cruise control. A thumping effort from Alex Iwobi pulled one back from Arsenal, but it was Hazard who had the final say after good work from Giroud.
Read – Moments that defined the modern rivalry between Chelsea and Arsenal
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