By Tony Attwood and Christophe Jost
These days it is not so hard as it used to be to knock up appearances at Wembley Stadium since FA Cup semi-finals and the Community Shield games are played there as well as the final. But even so what Mikel Arteta and Arsenal have done of late really is rather amazing.
For we must remember that Arteta has appeared of late at Wembley in cup semi-finals and finals with Arsenal as a player and as a manager. I don’t have the wherewithal to check if that has happened before, but I rather suspect not. At least not this many times.
What is certain is that Arsenal have now won the FA Cup four times in seven seasons. The only other team to do this was Blackburn Rovers at the turn of the 19th / 20th century when of course the competition to win the cup was far less intense.
Again I don’t have all the data available, but the number of clubs involved in the FA Cup in earlier times was often around 100 to 200, whereas today the number is around 750. But I am not sure too many, if any, have exceeded Mikel Arteta’s recent record in FA Cup matches at Wembley in such a short period of time.
The previous FA Cup record we had of note for a particular person was seven FA Cup win in 20 years for Mr Wenger as manager. Maybe Mikel Arteta fancies chasing down that all time record.
And even his achievements have been surpassed by Arsenal as a club.
Here’s Arsenal’s Wembley appearance record of late. First the semi-finals
| Year | Round | Winners | Losers | Score |
| 2014 | Semi-final | Arsenal | Wigan Athletic | 1–1 (4-2) |
| Final | Arsenal | |||
| 2015 | Semi-final | Arsenal | Reading | 2–1 |
| Arsenal | ||||
| 2017 | Semi-final | Arsenal | Manchester City | 2–1 |
| Arsenal | ||||
| 2020 | Semi-final | Arsenal | Manchester City | 2–0 |
And the finals
| Year | Winners | Losers | Score |
| 2014 | Arsenal | Hull City | 3-2 |
| 2015 | Arsenal | Aston Villa | 4-0 |
| 2017 | Arsenal | Chelsea | 2-1 |
| 2020 | Arsenal | Chelsea | 2-1 |
And then the Community Shield
| Year | Winner | Score | Losers | Crowd |
| 2014 | Arsenal | 3–0 | Manchester City | 71,523 |
| 2015 | Arsenal | 1–0 | Chelsea | 85,437 |
| 2017 | Arsenal | 1–1 (4–1 on pens) | Chelsea | 83,325 |
| 2020 | Arsenal | 1–1 (5–4 on pens) | Liverpool | 0 |
Mikel Arteta himself played in the semi-finals and final of the FA Cup in 2014 and 2015, and the Community Shield match of the same years.
As a manager he managed Arsenal to the victories in the FA Cup and Community Shield of 2020.
So Arsenal have now obviously won the FA Cup four times in seven years. The only other team to do this was Blackburn at the turn of the 19th / 20th century when the competition itself was far less intense. No other team has even reached four finals in just seven seasons.
The top ten teams for appearances in the semi-finals are
| Team | Appearances | Won | Lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | 30 | 21 | 9 |
| Manchester United | 30 | 20 | 10 |
| Everton | 26 | 13 | 13 |
| Chelsea | 24 | 14 | 10 |
| Liverpool | 24 | 14 | 10 |
| Aston Villa | 21 | 11 | 10 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 21 | 9 | 12 |
| West Bromwich Albion | 20 | 10 | 10 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 18 | 8 | 10 |
| Newcastle United | 17 | 13 | 4 |
And for the final itself here are the figures taken from Wiki’s table of cup finals.
| Club | Wins | First final won | Last final won | Runners-up | Last final lost | Total final appearances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | 14 | 1930 | 2020 | 7 | 2001 | 21 |
| Manchester U | 12 | 1909 | 2016 | 8 | 2018 | 20 |
| Chelsea | 8 | 1970 | 2018 | 6 | 2020 | 14 |
| Tottenham Ho | 8 | 1901 | 1991 | 1 | 1987 | 9 |
| Liverpool | 7 | 1965 | 2006 | 7 | 2012 | 14 |
| Aston Villa | 7 | 1887 | 1957 | 4 | 2015 | 11 |
| Newcastle U | 6 | 1910 | 1955 | 7 | 1999 | 13 |
| Manchester C | 6 | 1904 | 2019 | 5 | 2013 | 11 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 6 | 1884 | 1928 | 2 | 1960 | 8 |
| Everton | 5 | 1906 | 1995 | 8 | 2009 | 13 |
| West Bromwich | 5 | 1888 | 1968 | 5 | 1935 | 10 |
| Wanderers | 5 | 1872 | 1878 | 0 | — | 5 |
I’d say that is all rather jolly.
- Arsenal finally back on track after 2 years of avoidable chaos
- Arsenal’s victories in cup and shield were predictable, for anyone who wanted to look
- The “Community” Shield line up, Arsenal CS history and a four word commentary
- Which of the “big six” have won the most trophies in the last seven years?
Ceballos is coming back for one more year. Real good news !
Gabriel has signed but silence is still the watch word.
I’m not that enamoured with loans that appear to be continuous.
If Ceballos is good enough for Arsenal, then we should press for a sale.
Otherwise he could become a vital member of the first squad, following which R Madrid could demand his return.
Not a satisfactory situation.
Ehehn. So, Danni Cebbalos is coming back to Arsenal this summer for one more year. And is that really a good news for Arsenal? Maybe Yes or No depending which of the options divide one ascribed himself to. But for me, I prefer to sit on the fence not taking side but to watch what kind of quality game Cebbalos will bring to Arsenal to play for the club next season when he comes that will be higher in difference to the last average quality game he brought to Arsenal last season that he played for the club. But take it from me, I am not castigating him. Because he could improved on his last season average quality performance forArsenal to perform highly in quality for the clung next season. But consistency is the key but not just one or two top quality performance show up in games for Arsenal in the PL that matters. Because the PL season campaign is long and Arsenal will need top quality players who can perform consistently for the club at the top level of the game throughout the entire course of the season. campaign. But according to the rumours that are emanating front the media and being pedeled, the rumours making rounds in the corners is having it that Arsena could sign one of Houssem Aouer 22 from Lille. again. Or Barca’s Philippe Cortinoh 28 all central attacking midfielders whose quality is believed to be higher than that possessed by Cebbalos. But, Aouer is reported to have been Covid-19 struck. Maybe that has made Arsenal to cool their interest in him. And the money that will bring Cortinoh to the Ems this summer if he becomes available and Arsenal are to sign gimmick this summer could be colossal. So, it isn’t surprising then to see Arsenal went for a cheaper option in Cebbalos, But to think of it, I have been browsing on the internet visiting almost all sites that needed visiting since morning to see if I will come across any current or fresh Arsenal transfer news to read, but I must have missed the latest news on Cebbalos as it is has been the recycled old Arsenal summer transfer news that I have come across and have been reading.
After reading my last comment posting when it has been published, I have seen there are many typographical errors in spellings on it. So, UA I apologize for this my errors in spellings which in the first place should have rendered my comment not good enough for publishing. For, I could be laughed at. But despite this, the UA still did me a favour by going ahead to published my comment. I think henceforth, I will try to prove read my comment postings several times to stop any possible errors making on them and correct them before clicking on the Post Comment button to send.
It’s interesting seeing Arsenal fans long for CL qualification. The entitled brats mocked 20 consecutive entries.
@Rosicky,
yep, right on. what was that again ? 4th place Not a trophy ?
Tony, i think we are officially the Cup Kings Of England! FOREVER FORWARD