London: Bruised but unbowed, Arsene Wenger hopes to end the most painful season of his long tenure as Arsenal manager with a record-breaking FA Cup final victory over double-chasing Chelsea.
Though he has been barracked by his own fans and failed to secure Champions League qualification for the first time in 20 years, Wenger can make history by becoming the first manager to win seven FA Cups.
With his contract due to expire and no news forthcoming about his future, Saturday’s game could provide an opportunity for a golden send-off — not that Wenger will be disclosing his plans in advance.
“Would it be a nice farewell? No, what I want is to win the next game,” he said this week.
“I love to win and I love to do well for my club. I want to win the cup for my club. It’s not about me, it’s about us winning the trophy and giving everything to achieve it.”
It is not the first time Wenger finds himself looking to the world’s oldest cup competition for solace, with the FA Cup having enabled him to apply silver finishes to the season in both 2014 and 2015.
But he has never before gone into a final knowing it is his last hope of salvaging anything from the season, after Arsenal missed out on the top four and fell by the wayside in the League Cup and Champions League.
While the Frenchman continues to be targeted by the vociferous ‘Wenger Out’ brigade, Arsenal’s recent form means they approach the game with something of a spring in their step.
They won seven of their last eight league matches, winning all of the last five, and lost out to Liverpool in the race for fourth place by only a point.
Their most recent Wembley outing will also stand them in good stead, with Arsenal having seen off Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City 2-1 in the semi-finals courtesy of an extra-time winner by Alexis Sanchez.
Wenger’s switch to a back three — mirroring Chelsea — has helped Arsenal find a second wind, but the defence he aligns beneath the Wembley arch will be far from a first-choice triumvirate.
Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain said winning
Saturday’s FA Cup final would not banish the hurt of Arsenal missing out on the Champions League.
‘Wenger deserves to stay’
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte does not believe the FA Cup final will be Arsene Wenger’s last game as Arsenal manager.
Conte believes it is unfair to suggest Wenger’s time at the Emirates Stadium will soon be up and says the achievements of the Frenchman’s 21-year Arsenal tenure should not be overlooked.
“I know very well Arsenal’s history in the FA Cup and also with Arsene,” Conte said of Wenger, who is bidding to win a record seventh FA Cup.
“They won a lot of trophies in this tournament. I never won this trophy and I think for this reason, tomorrow could be a good possibility for me and my team to lift the trophy.
“For sure I don’t trust that tomorrow will be the last game for Arsene. I think he deserves to work with Arsenal. Because he showed in this 20 years to be a great manager. He did a good job and only this season they missed the Champions League. In England, this target, sometimes you can undervalue this. But Arsenal played for 19 years in a row in this competition.
