Arsène Wenger simply must avoid defeat as Arsenal and Chelsea meet in real 'all or nothing' FA Cup final

The stakes fit the trophy’s stature, with the Arsenal manager at risk of a grisly end to his tenure

Growing murmurs suggest this could be Arsène Wenger's last game as manager of Arsenal (Getty)

While Arsène Wenger was this week reflecting on his rich history in the FA Cup, Antonio Conte had been preparing by reading up on it. The Chelsea manager was getting to know the legacy of what he is now getting his team up for, what he wants them to have “fire in their souls” for.

“I know very well the history of Arsenal in the FA Cup,” Conte said. “They won a lot of trophies in this tournament. I never won this trophy. I think, for this reason, it could be a good possibility for me, for my team.”

It is one of many contrasts between the two teams that enriches the contest and the competition, as they meet in English football’s most historic fixture, and one with stakes that grandiosely fit the trophy’s past traditions. It is an occasion where ‘all or nothing’ can be used with a certain amount of seriousness.

If Chelsea win, they will complete what would just be the 12th league and cup double in that history, the first in six years, and the second in their own history. If Arsenal win, they would again become the club to have won more FA Cups than anyone else, this time on 13. That would appropriately make Wenger the manager to have won more FA Cups than anyone else with seven, breaking a record and finally pulling away from Aston Villa’s George Ramsay.

Conte would just break a duck and win the first knock-out trophy of his career, but that would mean all the more, because it would so fully represent what a resounding success his first season in England has been as it culminates by completing one of the country’s most prestigious feats. Winning would mean everything.

For Wenger, it is not quite like that. The very fact he has won so many FA Cups means it has become slightly mundane for Arsenal in recent years, but that still doesn’t contradict the reality that a loss would feel so monumental. That, rather plaintively, is what this showpiece is about for Wenger. It is not so much about winning but avoiding defeat, and thereby avoiding another intense round of what he on Friday described as “artificial debate”. Given the growing murmurs that this could yet be his last game, too, there is the danger he could finish with nothing.

Conte disputed the idea Wenger would leave after the game, as he lauded his Arsenal counterpart as “one of the best managers in history”, but it would be impossible for anyone to dispute the idea that the heightened stakes of this match also reflect the heightened status of the FA Cup again. It is something of a quirk of the modern game, as well as an inversion of the last few years.

Indeed, it is ironically precisely because the Premier League has become so all-consuming and attracted so many of the premium managers that the FA Cup has become elevated once more. Since more of the six big-name big-club managers simply have to 'fail' in the league, they also know that can be significantly tempered by success in the cup. It’s difficult not to think that was why this season’s semi-finals involved the highest aggregate league positions ever.

Wenger certainly seems to feel that way.

“The 18 other managers in the league would like to be in our position on Saturday, believe me,” the Arsenal boss said. “I don’t think that the Cup has lost anything. We have played against Sutton but we have as well played at Southampton and against Man City in the semi-final where they gave everything and we gave absolutely everything to be in the final.”

The trouble for Wenger is that the circumstances around this match also seem to reflect the trajectories and traits of the sides. Just as Conte is looking to claim a symbolic double, he has every single player available, with all of them on supreme form. Just as Wenger is looking to avoid what would be no doubt be discussed as another nadir, he has issues in defence with the suspension of Laurent Koscielny and the likely if surprising selection of David Ospina in goal, with his team having just depressingly missed out on Champions League qualification for the first time in 20 years.

Conte will claim the Double with a Wembley win (Getty)

From a fair few perspectives and angles, this looks like it could be a healthy and maybe even crushing Chelsea win, all to nothing.

Conte of course claimed - with a straight face - that the motivation derived from such a situation should make Arsenal favourites, but Wenger was unwilling to get into that, other than making a bit of a joke.

“He can think what he wants. If he can justify it during the game it is even better.”

More seriously, he referred to that rich history he has in the competition, and what he felt was a similar situation in 2005.

“It’s true that in neutral opinions Chelsea will be favourites. But we have gone into finals like that as well. I remember in 2005 we had no players available any more. I played with Dennis Bergkamp up front against Manchester United who had [Cristiano] Ronaldo, [Wayne] Rooney, [Ryan] Giggs, [Paul] Scholes. We won, maybe without deserving it, but we won it.”

This is the other quality to a knock-out final, the other element that has historically so elevated this showpiece: on the day, anything can happen. One single match with such silverware at stake can influence a lot, can intensify a lot, so that the unexpected happens, so that something inspired happens.

That’s the rich history of this competition. Whatever happens under the arch, this match has all the elements to further enrich that history.