Saturday's FA Cup final showdown at Wembley -- 12.30 p.m. ET, ESPN+ (U.S. only) -- is the third installment of a recent trilogy pitting Arsenal against Chelsea, with the score locked at one win apiece.
The two previous finals did not follow their prevailing prematch narrative. In 2017, Chelsea headed into the FA Cup showpiece having won the Premier League under Antonio Conte, amassing 18 points more than Arsenal, who finished outside the top four for the first time since taking charge in 1996. They faced a crisis at centre-back, too, with Shkodran Mustafi, Gabriel and Laurent Koscielny, meaning Per Mertesacker was drafted in to anchor a back three despite playing just 37 minutes all season.