2003 FA Cup Final

2003 FA Cup Final
Event	FA Cup 2002–03
Date	17 May 2003
Venue	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Man of the Match	Thierry Henry (Arsenal)
Referee	Graham Barber (Hertfordshire)
Attendance	73,726
	← 2002 2004 →

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The 2003 FA Cup Final saw the holders Arsenal, beat Southampton. The match took place on Saturday, 17 May 2003 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and ended 1–0 with a 38th minute goal by Robert Pirès separating the sides.

It was the third consecutive year the final was played at the Millennium Stadium, due to the ongoing reconstruction of Wembley Stadium, the final's usual venue. There were 73,726 spectators at the game and due to poor weather conditions, the game was effectively played indoors.

Arsenal had won the FA Cup on eight previous occasions (1930, 1936, 1950, 1971, 1979, 1993, 1998, and 2002). Three of these wins had yielded a League / FA Cup "double" (1971, 1998, and 2002), and one win yielded an FA Cup/League Cup "cup double" (1993). Southampton had won the FA Cup on one previous occasion (1976), and reached the final in 1900 and 1902. The 2002–03 season saw Arsenal finish second and Southampton eighth in the Premier League.

The two Premiership matches played between the clubs that season resulted in a home win each time. Southampton had beaten Arsenal 3–2 at St. Mary's Stadium on 23 November, with James Beattie (2) and Agustin Delgado scoring for the home side. On 7 May, Arsenal won 6–1, with Jermaine Pennant and Robert Pirès both scoring hat-tricks, although both teams fielded weakened sides for this match.

Goalkeeper David Seaman captained Arsenal in the absence of the injured Patrick Vieira. It was to be his last appearance for the club. In defence for Southampton, Chris Baird made only his second competitive start, having made his debut in March. Chris Marsden captained Southampton in the absence of the injured club captain, Jason Dodd. It was the first FA Cup Final in which a goalkeeper came on as a substitute – Paul Jones replacing the injured Antti Niemi.

Graham Barber from Tring, Hertfordshire was the referee, with Nigel Miller and Keith Stroud as his assistants, and Mike Dean as the fourth official.

Arsenal had finished second in the Premier League that season, but had led the table by eight points as recently as 2 March and a loss of form during the final weeks of the season had ended their hopes of a unique fourth double as well as the chance of becoming the first club to win the double in successive seasons.

[edit] Match details

17 May 2003 15:00 BST	Arsenal	1–0	Southampton	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 73,726 Referee: Graham Barber (Hertfordshire)
	Pirès 38'	Report

Arsenal

Southampton



GK	1	David Seaman (c)
RB	12	Lauren
CB	5	Martin Keown	30'
CB	22	Oleg Luzhny
LB	3	Ashley Cole
RM	7	Robert Pirès
CM	15	Ray Parlour
CM	19	Gilberto Silva
LM	8	Fredrik Ljungberg
SS	10	Dennis Bergkamp		77'
CF	14	Thierry Henry	66'
Substitutes:
GK	13	Stuart Taylor
DF	28	Kolo Touré
MF	16	Giovanni van Bronckhorst
FW	11	Sylvain Wiltord		77'
FW	25	Nwankwo Kanu
Manager:
Arsène Wenger



GK	14	Antti Niemi		66'
RB	32	Chris Baird		86'
CB	5	Claus Lundekvam
CB	11	Michael Svensson	90'
LB	3	Wayne Bridge
RM	33	Paul Telfer	60'
CM	8	Matthew Oakley
CM	12	Anders Svensson		75'
LM	4	Chris Marsden (c)	77'
CF	36	Brett Ormerod
CF	9	James Beattie	31'
Substitutes:
GK	1	Paul Jones		66'
DF	6	Paul Williams
DF	19	Danny Higginbotham
MF	29	Fabrice Fernandes		86'
FW	21	Jo Tessem		75'
Manager:
Gordon Strachan