Watch live online as Arsenal attempts to claim its second straight FA Cup, facing Aston Villa in the Final of the longest-running domestic football cup competition, to be played Saturday, May 30, at Wembley Stadium in London, England.
To find out how to watch the Arsenal vs. Aston Villa FA Cup Final live online, see the information at the bottom of this article. Kickoff time is 5:30 p.m. in London. That’s 12:30 p.m. United States Eastern Time, 9:30 a.m. Pacific. The match should provide football fans with a welcome break from the ongoing FIFA corruption scandal which as dominated soccer news this week.
The FA Cup was first contested in 1871-1872, in a tournament with just 15 English soccer clubs entering. The competition this year started out with 700 teams — and is now down to just two. One of those two, Arsenal, is the defending cup holder and if they can pull out another triumph Saturday will set a record with 12 FA Cup tournament championships.
Aston Villa has won the FA Cup seven times — but not since 1957, with three of the club’s trophies coming in the 19th century. The last time Aston Villa appeared in an FA Cup Final was 2000, losing to Chelsea 1-0.
Under their outspoken, 46-year-old English manager, Tim Sherwood, Villa will be hoping to stage what would be a tremendous upset over the powerful Arsenal side, managed by 65-year-old Frenchman Arsene Wenger, whose cool air of detachment could not present more of a contrast with the rambunctious Sherwood.
Under Wenger, who took over the Arsenal reins in 1996, the Gunners have qualified for the UEFA Champions League every season since the 1998-1999 campaign — making it into the world’s top international club tournament again this year with a solid third-place finish in the Barclays Premier League.
Aston Villa’s Premier League season was not quite as successful, narrowly avoiding relegation with 38 points in 17th place, just three points — or one win — clear of now-demoted Hull City.
But Villa will come into the FA Cup Final with a healthy Christian Benteke , the 24-year-old Belgian striker who netted 13 goals for Villa in just 29 Premier League games. Benteke, who also scored one of Villa’s two goals in the team’s 2-1 semifinal FA Cup win over Liverpool, was still hobbled by injury when Arsenal blew out Villa 5-0 back on February 1.
At the same time, Arsenal will be without their own striker, Danny Welbeck, whose nagging knee injury limited him to just four goals in 27 Prem contests, and will hold him out of the FA Cup Final.
Fox Sports Go will carry the Arsenal vs. Aston Villa FA Cup Final live online from Wembley on Saturday. To watch the thrilling match, log in with credentials from any major cable or satellite provider at this link . To watch on mobile devices download the Fox Sports Go app.
[Images: Aston Villa and Arsenal Football Clubs]