Arsenal crush Aston Villa to win record FA Cup title

Holders Arsenal won the FA Cup for a record 12th time, outclassing Aston Villa 4-0 at Wembley with stunning goals from Theo Walcott and Alexis Sanchez setting up their one-sided victory.

Per Mertesacker and Olivier Giroud were also on target, once the match was effectively over as a contest, as the Londoners sealed their biggest winning margin in a final of the world’s oldest knockout competition.

Arsene Wenger also became the most successful FA Cup manager of modern times, guiding his side to a sixth triumph in their 19th final, another record.

Arsenal, who came from two goals down to beat Hull City 3-2 a year ago, were never in trouble against Villa and should have been ahead even before Walcott put them in front with a sizzling left-foot volley after 40 minutes.

Sanchez made it 2-0 against a hugely disappointing Villa, who hardly had a serious effort on goal, five minutes into the second half with a glorious dipping shot.

Mertesacker then converted a close-range header and Giroud, who came on as a late substitute, side-footed the ball home with the last kick of the game.

Arsenal’s victory was cheered by Southampton fans as it means they will now take the last remaining place in next season’s Europa League after finishing seventh in the Premier League.

Seven-time FA Cup winners Villa would have qualified for the Europa League with another victory.

Arsenal retained the FA Cup for the second time in their history, after achieving back-to-back wins in 2002 and 2003.

They rounded off the season with a 12-0 goal advantage over Villa after beating them 3-0 and 5-0 in this season’s Premier League matches.