Whether your team is in the final or not most English football fans would agree that the FA Cup is a wonderful competition and a joy to watch.
So to see my beloved Arsenal smash Aston Villa 4-0 to retain their title and record a 12th FA Cup, as well as becoming the most successful side in the competition's 144-year history, was sensational viewing. Four different goalscorers - Theo Walcott, Alexis Sanchez, Per Mertesacker and Olivier Giroud - shows the decent depth we have in our squad and, with a few more top quality additions, maybe, just maybe, we can mount a more serious title challenge in the 2015/16 campaign.
As the build-up continued to unfold throughout the day I found myself drifting between excitement and nerves. One moment I would think we are definitely going to retain our title and that Villa would be no match for us. The next I would be thinking actually anything can happen in cup football so we couldn't take anything for granted.
In last year's final the Gunners were already 2-0 down in under 10 minutes but it was clear they had learnt their lessons this time as they started a lot better this time around and really took the game to their opponents.
Arsene Wenger's men nearly opened the scoring after 14 minutes when defender Laurent Koscielny, who scored in last year's final, saw his header superbly palmed away by Shay Given in the Villa goal.
Arsenal continued to push forward with Aaron Ramsey twice shooting off target before Kieran Richardson produced an expert piece of defending to block a shot from Walcott.
The Gunners finally made their dominance count and broke the deadlock five minutes before the break. Nacho Monreal curled in a cross which Sanchez headed down for Walcott to power a shot beyond a helpless Given to give Arsenal a deserved half-time lead.
Arsenal doubled their advantage within five minutes of the restart as Sanchez, who has been one of the club's stand-out performers this season, scored a goal worthy of being listed among other truly great FA Cup goals. The Chilean maestro thundered a dipping long-range strike into the roof of the net.
The scoreline could've got worse for Villa soon after had Given not come to the rescue to deny Santi Cazorla, but the Irish shot-stopper could do nothing about Arsenal's third after 62 minutes. Mertesacker was left unmarked to head home Cazorla's corner to send the Arsenal faithful into raptures and put the result beyond doubt.
Giroud added the icing on the cake when he turned in fellow substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's cross to complete a fine day for the Gunners.
Arsenal's performance was one of style and skill and Wenger got his tactics absolutely spot on. There is no denying that we should have performed a lot better in the Premier League and Champions League but let's not take anything away from the side, who produced a superb cup final performance.
To win the competition for two years on the spin is no mean feat and Wenger, who now joins George Ramsey on six FA Cup wins to become the joint most successful manager in its history, deserve huge credit for this. There is still plenty work to be done if Arsenal are to challenge Chelsea a lot more seriously for the league this season and if we are to avoid the silly blips we have had. But all in all it was a truly great final in terms of both the performance and result.
I love the FA Cup so much and there is something really special about the tournament. Whether it is a third-round tie between a Premier League giant and a Football League or non-league minnow, or an FA Cup final, the competition still causes plenty of excitement for me not just as an Arsenal fan but as an admirer of the great game of football. This is why it means so much for my team to have won it again.
I won't get carried away as I know there is still plenty work ahead for Wenger and his troops and that things have been far from perfect but looking at the cup final alone I couldn't have asked for more.
What made this year's all the more sweeter than last year's was being live at the Emirates for the third-round victory over Hull, the club winning away at Old Trafford, and a wonderful performance in the final.
It means we will begin our season in the 2015/16 campaign with a clash against Chelsea in the Community Shield so let's try and make sure Wembley once again proves a venue of good fortune for us.
As for the blogs, this isn't the final one of the season as I will look back at the season as a whole by way of review, throwing in my own personal club awards and looking at some of the individuals within our squad. But for now let's keep savouring the feeling we had at the full-time whistle yesterday and remember we are Arsenal, and no matter what I will always be proud to support this magnificent club.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
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