The Germany defender Per Mertesacker won his first trophy with Arsenal last year, and then went on to lift the World Cup with his national team. Now he is very keen to keep his run going by claiming the FA Cup again when Arsenal take on Aston Villa in the final.
Mertesacker had to withdrawn during the Reading game with an injury, but is looking forward to more “honour” before the end of the season. “I twisted my ankle but obviously I am delighted that we are back at Wembley – that is a fantastic achievement for this group for the second consecutive time,” he said. “We are really proud.
“It was a really tough game and we knew before that they would fight for their lives and give absolutely everything to keep us away from their goal and they did it fantastically. We are just delighted that we made it again.
“It is a little progress and it would be a great honour, back to back FA Cup wins. We were knocked out of the Champions League and that was a big blow for us but after that we responded and it is a great achievement. Let’s continue our great run.
“We just wanted to win and do something fantastic for the team and the group. You can see everyone is absolutely happy and delighted.”
Now the team has to get over the euphoria of the Cup and focus on upsetting Jose Mourinho this weekend. We may not be able to win the League but it would be a great honour for us to come second this year, as well as win the Cup!
Onwards and Upwards!