04 May 2005
Arsenal v Chelsea: FA Cup Final 2002 highlights

Highlights of the 2002 FA Cup Final including fantastic strikes from Ray Parlour and Freddie Ljungberg.


As we continue to look ahead to Sunday’s Community Shield encounter between Arsenal and Chelsea, we though we might just raid the video vaults to give you a taster of what could be on offer this weekend.

We’ve gone back to the 2002 FA Cup Final when the same two teams met in Cardiff with the honours, on this occasion, going to the Gunners.

Not only did they take the glory, but they also produced, through Ray Parlour and Freddie Ljungberg, two of the finest strikes ever seen in a Cup Final.

Parlour’s bullet famously embarrassed Tim Lovejoy while Ljungberg’s pearler seemed to defy time as it curled, inexorably, towards it target.

Ljungberg recalled his strike, saying: "I remember picking up the ball in the middle of the park and running with it. I took on John Terry and I think he fell over, so I beat him and then I looked up and went for the curler. I didn't know it was in straight away but if did feel good when it left my foot.

"Actually, in my opinion the best thing about the goal was Lee Dixon. He was stood behind the goal warming-up and I think he must have seen that it had the curl on it to come back in, because he ran off celebrating before it went in. You can see it if you see the goal on video - it's great!"

Well, now’s your chance…click the links above.

PS, Chelsea fans, look out for an in-depth Frank Lampard interview as we continue our build-up to Sunday’s game.