Arsenal win 5-4 on penalties

The FA Cup Final
Saturday 21 May 2005
£1,000,000 to the winning club



Rio Ferdinand says Manchester United need to be more consistent if they want to win The FA Cup and the Premiership next year.

England star Ferdinand couldn't hide his disappointment after seeing his United side beaten on penalties by Arsenal in Cardiff.

And although Sir Alex Ferguson's team dominated the match and arguably played the better football, Ferdinand couldn't see an up side to the result.

He said: "Can I see any positives from it? At this moment in time, not really. In time maybe we can look back on the performance but at the moment I can’t look past the result.

“We played quite well but we didn’t put the chances that we had away. When you play in a Cup Final you want to win and we’re disappointed.

“I want to win trophies, that’s why I’m at Manchester United. We had a chance and we didn’t take it.

“We’re confident in our own ability, we had beaten Arsenal during the season. But the most important one we didn’t win."

Ferdinand himself had a goal ruled out for offside, while Jens Lehmann made spectacular saves from Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes.

Rooney also hit a post, while Lehmann of course saved a Scholes penalty in the shoot-out to clinch victory for the Gunners.

The win has been described as a smash and grab but some pundits, but Ferdinand says United can only blame themselves for missing so many chances.

He said: “It was a very good team performance but if you don’t score goals you don’t win games. The team hasn’t been as consistent as we should be. You need to be consistent to win league titles and trophies and we haven't been. The league table doesn’t lie."

Rio did have one word of praise, however - for United's fans who gave their team some tremendous backing.

He added: “The fans were fantastic, they were behind us and sung their hearts out. It’s sad that they have to make a long journey home with no reward. I’m disappointed in that respect. We did all we could out there to win but we didn't put our chances away. We have to put that right."