Arsenal fans overjoyed with FA Cup success over Chelsea

Sanchez burst onto the ball in the box after appearing to block it with his arm, with Aaron Ramsey approaching the ball from an offside position.

Conte said the second-half sending off of wing-back Victor Moses, after he received a second yellow card from Taylor for diving, was another turning point in the match although he did not know whether there had been contact between Moses and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Despite being all at sea Chelsea did threaten with Costa denied by a perfectly-timed tackle by Per Mertesacker who was making his first start for Arsenal for 13 months.

The final goal for Arsenal came just before the three minutes for the end of the game with a header from substitute Olivier Giroud’s cross.

Francis Coquelin dedicated Arsenal’s FA Cup triumph over Chelsea to long-serving manager Arsene Wenger and then declared “we hope he will stay”.

The Wales worldwide credited Wenger’s decision to switch to a new system, using a back three, as they won their last six games of the season in all competitions to end the campaign on a high.

“Handballs against Manchester United and Bournemouth and then they scored this was the same but we were unlucky”.

It was all done in front of Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke, a staunch supporter of his manager in the face of mounting criticism, and with a decision still pending on Wenger’s future. But he still has yet to win a cup in an impressive coaching career.

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte insists their FA Cup final defeat shouldn’t take the shine off a successful season.

“When they equalized it looked like things were against us, but we dug deep”, Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck said.

“Per Mertesacker for me is a flawless example for any young professional football player”, Conte said.

Having now claimed his seventh FA Cup, Wenger will be relieved to have ended a hard season on a high, as the Gunners put their top-four failure to one side and won English football’s most famous cup competition for the third time in four years.

In his first full game for more than a year, the giant German worldwide went toe-to-toe with Chelsea bully-boy Diego Costa and never took a backward step.

“There’s a board meeting Tuesday”, Wenger said on the pitch before collecting the trophy.

“Honestly I think the goal after three minutes, in this way, I think this goal [should have been] disallowed”.

Underdogs Arsenal enjoyed a dream start although there was a huge debate about whether Sanchez’s effort should have stood.

“There is disappointment for the final result, but our season was incredible”. Taylor consulted his assistant and eventually gave the goal.

As Chelsea defenders hesitated, Ramsey stopped and allowed Sanchez to run on and beat Thibaut Courtois with the outside of his boot, although the goal was not initially given. “He put it on a plate for me to score the victor”.