The FA Cup
Semi-Final
Arsenal v Manchester United
03 April 2004
Villa Park, 12.00 noon

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"I realised when I first started playing in The FA Cup that this was a very special competition. In my first season at Arsenal I played in every FA Cup tie, we beat Sunderland after a replay, but went out to Leeds United in the Fourth Round when they beat us 1-0 at Highbury.

"I was only 20 and The FA Cup made a big impression on me. My team-mates had explained what it meant in England but it was hard to understand what they meant until I experienced it and thankfully I’ve been lucky enough in my career to taste the ultimatethrill in this competition, winning The Cup, not once, but three times.

"I have some amazing memories of this competition. For me, nothing can beat the feeling of walking out at Wembley to play Newcastle in 1998.

"It was only my second season at the club and to experience an FA Cup Final at Wembley in front of 80,000 people was unbelievable.

"That game also secured an historic ‘double’ for the Arsenal and the feeling at the end of that match as we walked around Wembley with the trophy, knowing we'd won the ‘double’, was out of this world.

"It's just like football, to follow our unbelievable experience in 1998 with our departure from the competition the following season - to Manchester United of course.

"That was one of the lowest moments of my Arsenal career, and even now when I see the names Manchester United and Ryan Giggs, I can’t help thinking about that match.

"Thankfully we had the opportunities in the competition after that famous semi-final to put the bad memories behind us and it was only two seasons before we reached another Final, this time against Liverpool.

"We thought we played really well [in 2001] and created chance after chance on a beautiful afternoon. Unfortunately we only had one goal to show for our dominance and it didn’t prove enough as Michael Owen scored two great goals. That defeat was hard to take.

"The following year we achieved a Cardiff victory and I think The Final against Chelsea will always be remembered for two of the best goals the FA Cup Final has ever seen.

"I don’t think we played brilliantly in last year’s Final, but Southampton take credit for not allowing us any freedom and we were relieved to hang onto a trophy that we desperately don’t want to lose this season.

"So that brings us to this season and today’s match, which everyone has been calling the final before The Final. 

"Our Semi-Final defeat against United in 1999 has been put behind us with two Cup Final wins since then, but that’s not to say the lads who played back then won’t still carry a little bit of that hurt inside them, and we will do everything in our powers to make sure that’s not an emotion we taste again this afternoon."

For more new, views and information on this season's FA Cup Semi-Finals, read the two official match-day programmes. To buy your copy, click here...