Triumphant Per Mertesacker dreamt of lifting the FA Cup - but was never going to do it on his own.
His first thought after Arsenal's 4-0 Wembley demolition of Aston Villa was to find Mikel Arteta - the man who received the trophy last year following victory over Hull - and drag him up to the Royal Box.
The two men were handed the trophy together, with German World Cup winner Mertesacker explaining: "Mikel deserves it. He is our captain but was out for a long time through injury. It is a difficult situation for a player but we are a great collective and appreciate each other. It gives him and us a great lift for the start of next season and to come back even stronger. He is our skipper and he deserves it."
Arsenal 4-0 Aston Villa
The FA Cup Final
Wembley Stadium connected by EE
Saturday 30 May 2015
The free-flowing Gunners were in control from start to finish and never allowed disappointing Villa even an inch of hope.
Said Mertesacker: "Obviously we had a much better start than last season when we conceded two early goals lo Hull. This season we felt quite comfortable with the game. They had a couple of chances here and there Fortunately Theo scored the opener and that was good for us. And then such a wondergoal from a striker like Alexis helped us a lot.
"Theo did really well in our last game so you cold see he is on a good run at the moment. We wanted to take that; that is why the manager picked him I guess because he has got great confidence and showed that again.
"We are delighted for him but the whole unit did well throughout the whole season especially in the cup. It looks like it is our competition."
This was the biggest FA Cup win in 20 years and Mertesacker added: "It is a good mark. We want to build on that; finally I think we have something to celebrate. Back to back FA Cup titles, that is not something that comes along often. We deserved it.
"We finished quite convincingly in third spot in the league.. Obviously we want to compete more and compete for the first spot next season.
"We weren't good enough of the first half this season, we have to admit that. But we are going to celebrate on Sunday with the fans, then holiday. Next season will be a tough one as well."
