Midway through the second half, Southampton goalkeeper Antti Niemi was substituted, as he strained his calf muscle; he was replaced by Paul Jones.

In stoppage time, striker James Beattie had his header cleared off the line by Ashley Cole, in what was the final chance for Southampton.

[5] Farnborough began the match as the home team and conceded the first goal, scored by Arsenal defender Sol Campbell in the 19th minute.

Francis Jeffers scored twice before Rocky Baptiste added a consolation, beating Pascal Cygan for pace and despite having his first shot saved by goalkeeper Stuart Taylor, he managed to lift the ball over him and into the net.

After Ryan Giggs missed the chance to score past an open goal, midfielder Edu gave Arsenal the lead through a free kick which took a deflection off David Beckham's shoulder.

Striker Sylvain Wiltord scored the second goal of the match in the 52nd minute, running onto a pass from Edu and side-footing the ball past goalkeeper Fabien Barthez.

[11] In the semi-final against Sheffield United on 13 April 2003 at Old Trafford, Freddie Ljungberg scored the winning goal to help Arsenal reach their third successive FA Cup final appearance.

Brett Ormerod opened the scoring two minutes before half time and set up the second goal which saw the ball being taken over the line by Watford defender Paul Robinson.

[24] Although Southampton supporters were disappointed at the allocation share, chairman Rupert Lowe refused to criticise the FA's decision, by saying: "The reality is that too many people want to go and there are never enough tickets.

"[25] In the lead up to the final, the South Wales Echo reported that many tickets were being sold on the black market, for "20 times" the face-value price.

[26] Strachan believed the result had little bearing on their chances of winning the cup, noting: "There is little pressure on Southampton to lift the trophy.

"[27] The traditional Cup Final hymn, "Abide with Me" was sung by Tony Henry, an opera singer from South London.

[28] Sir Bobby Robson was invited as the FA's chief guest for the final and performed several duties ordinarily reserved for royalty, such as presenting the trophy to the winning captain.

Heavy rain on Friday night and forecasted showers in Cardiff meant the final would be the first to be played indoors; the stadium closed its retractable roof and floodlights were used to light up the ground.

[31] With Campbell suspended and Cygan absent due to a thigh strain,[32] Wenger picked Oleh Luzhnyi to pair up with Martin Keown, who was rested the previous Sunday away against Sunderland.

[35] Bergkamp's goal effort in the eighth minute was cleared off the line by full back Chris Baird, after Niemi fumbled Henry's initial shot.

[35] Southampton fashioned their first opportunity in the 15th minute through a high cross; in spite of unsettling the Arsenal defence, the unmarked Svensson volleyed over the bar.

[36] After the break, Southampton applied pressure and a poor clearance by Seaman invited a chance for Paul Telfer to shoot the ball from "35 yards out"; his pass found Ormerod, but was eventually intercepted by Luzhnyi.

[38] Beattie's on-target header was cleared off the line by Ashley Cole and out for another corner, which Pires kicked out in the final action of the game.

Wenger commented after the game that his team "got the trophy we wanted" while Strachan was in admiration of Southampton's performance: "I'm very proud of the way they competed.

"[41] Keown said the FA Cup win was "the best ever" and Seaman felt the disappointment of losing out to Manchester United in the league spurred the team on.

[41] Football pundits Alan Hansen, Peter Schmeichel and Mark Hughes unanimously agreed that Arsenal deserved to win the match.