FA Cup Final 2003 - Winners Arsenal

The 2003 cup final again took place in Cardiff on May 17th 2003, at the Millennium Stadium this making it the third time in Wales. Due to poor weather conditions the retractable roof was used making it the first FA Cup to be effectively played indoors.

The Lead Up to the FA Cup Final 2003

Both sides were equally matched in their previous encounters in the 02/03 season with both teams having home wins, Southampton had beat Arsenal 3-2 at St Mary's in November and reserve match saw Arsenal thump Southampton 6-1 with both Jermaine Pennant and Robert Pires scoring hat-tricks.

Arsenal

2002 FA Cup FinalArsenal started the third round with a home match against Oxford and won convincingly 2-0, the draw for the fourth round provided an away match against the lower league Farnborough Town beating them by 1-5. The more familiar Manchester United were beaten in the fifth round 2-0. Round six was a close call initially the match against Chelsea was a 2-2 draw followed by Arsenal winning the replay 3-2. The semi final took place at Old Trafford against Sheffield United who were beaten 1-0.

Manager
Arsene Wenger

  • GK David Seaman (Captain)
  • DF Ashley Cole
  • DF Martin Keown
  • DF Oleg Luzhny
  • DF Lauren
  • MF Robert Pirès
  • MF Ray Parlour
  • MF Gilberto Silva
  • MF Fredrik Ljungberg
  • FW Thierry Henry
  • FW Dennis Bergkamp 77'

Substitutes:

  • GK Stuart Taylor
  • DF Kolo Touré
  • MF Giovanni van Bronckhorst
  • FW Sylvain Wiltord 77'
  • FW Nwankwo Kanu

Southampton

Southampton kicked off their 02/03 FA Cup run with a home match against Tottenham Hotspur beating them 2-1, the fourth round was played at home against Millwall and ended in 1-1 draw, the following replay saw Southampton win 1-2. The fifth round was a comfortable 2-0 win against Norwich as, the sixth gave Southampton the same result against Wolverhampton Wanderers. The semi final was played at Villa Park and Southampton narrowly beat Watford 2-1.

Manager:
Gordon Strachan

  • GK Antti Niemi 66'
  • DF Wayne Bridge
  • DF Claus Lundekvam
  • DF Michael Svensson
  • DF Chris Baird 86'
  • MF Paul Telfer
  • MF Matthew Oakley
  • MF Anders Svensson 75'
  • MF Chris Marsden (Captain)
  • FW Brett Ormerod
  • FW James Beattie

Substitutes:

  • GK Paul Jones 66'
  • DF Paul Williams
  • DF Danny Higginbotham
  • MF Fabrice Fernandes 86'
  • FW Jo Tessem 75'

The FA Cup Final 2003 Result

Arsenal claimed their ninth FA Cup trophy with a 1-0 win against Gordon Strachan's Southampton. The solitary goal came from Robert Pires in the 38th minute.

Arsenal 1 – 0 Southampton
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Attendance: 73,726
Referee: Graham Barber (Hertfordshire)