Akers' Final fling

Arsenal v Sunderland
The FA Women’s Cup sponsored by E.ON
The Final
1pm, Monday 4 May 2009
Pride Park, Derby County FC
Winning club will receive £5,000 from The FA

Vic Akers, who founded the Arsenal Ladies team 22 years ago, will on Monday take charge of the Gunners in an FA Women’s Cup Final for the last time.

Arsenal take on Mick Mulhern’s Sunderland at Pride Park with Akers hoping to collect his tenth winners' medal in the competition, before stepping down as manager of the north London outfit. Sunderland, in contrast, will be appearing in their first-ever FA Women’s Cup Final.

"It will be an emotional day for me," Akers predicted.

"But it would be quite special to clinch The Cup this season to make it ten wins in the competition overall and achieve something that maybe no other team will," he continued.

Achieving the improbable is something that Akers has somewhat perfected in his two-decade tenure at the club. He has guided Arsenal to 29 major trophies, including ten FA Women’s Premier League titles, three domestic trebles and an unprecedented quadruple, thanks to their success in the UEFA Women’s Cup in 2007.

The Gunners are searching for another League title and will take on Everton next weekend to decide the destiny of this season’s trophy, and despite having already lifted The FA Women’s Premier League Cup in February, Akers admits this campaign has not been his most straightforward.

"This has probably been my most difficult season in management if I'm honest, and to come out of it with The Premier League Cup, be in this Cup Final and still be challenging for The League title is a credit to all the players and the coaching team.

"Considering we've lost six international footballers inside eight months, be it to Chelsea, to the States or to pregnancy, the performances the girls have put in and the results they have been getting have been magnificent."

In those eight months Arsenal have lost the services of Lianne Sanderson, Anita Asante, Mary Phillip, Kelly Smith, Karen Carney and Alex Scott, while Julie Fleeting’s pregnancy has also rendered her unusable. However, in their absence, Arsenal have been treated to some key performances from a number of the club’s younger players, including Kim Little, Laura Bassett and Gemma Davison, while the experience of Jayne Ludlow and Rachel Yankey has also been of great benefit to their season.

Despite Akers imminent departure, and with an obvious eye on Monday's Final, he insists the club will always be driven by glory.

"Just because I'm stepping down as manager that will not stop this club pursuing success," he claims. "I’ll still be around, overseeing everything, making sure the right people are brought into the club and we’ll continue our quest for trophies."