2014 FA Cup final

The 2014 FA Cup final was an association football match between Premier League clubs Arsenal and Hull City at Wembley Stadium in London, England, on 17 May 2014. It was the 133rd FA Cup final overall and the showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (FA Cup), organised by the Football Association (FA). Hull made their first appearance in an FA Cup Final, while Arsenal equalled Manchester United's record of 18 final appearances.

Each club needed to win five matches to reach the final. Arsenal beat three of their divisional rivals and needed to win a penalty shoot-out to defeat cup holders Wigan Athletic. In contrast, four of Hull's opponents were from the lower divisions; they played one replay in the fifth round against Brighton & Hove Albion.

The final was refereed by Lee Probert in front of 89,345 spectators. Hull scored two goals in the opening ten minutes from James Chester and Curtis Davies, but Arsenal came back with goals from Santi Cazorla and Laurent Koscielny to level the match by the end of normal time, necessitating extra time. Aaron Ramsey scored the winner 11 minutes from the end of the additional period. The victory secured a joint-record 11th victory in the competition for Arsenal. Because Arsenal had already qualified for the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League via their league position, Hull qualified for the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League, entering at the third qualifying round.

The FA Cup is an annual knockout tournament involving professional and amateur men's football clubs in the English football league system. It is the world's oldest football competition. The 2014 final was the 133rd to be played since it was first held in 1872.

Arsenal were making their 18th appearance in an FA Cup Final, equalling the record set by Manchester United. They had last played in the FA Cup final in 2005, when they defeated Manchester United 5–4 in a penalty shoot-out after the match finished goalless. Conversely, this was Hull City's first appearance in an FA Cup Final since the club was founded in 1904. Arsenal's top scorer during the season was Olivier Giroud with 16 goals in the league and 6 in other competitions, followed by Aaron Ramsey with 10 in the league and 6 others. Hull's leading scorer was Matty Fryatt with 6 goals, 4 of which had come in the FA Cup. Arsenal won both of the league matches between the sides during the 2013–14 season. The fixture at Arsenal's home ground, the Emirates Stadium in London, in November 2013 ended 2–0, while the return game at the KC Stadium in Hull the following April saw Arsenal record a 3–0 victory.

As a Premier League club, Arsenal entered the competition in the third round, where they faced their north London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, at the Emirates Stadium. Santi Cazorla opened the scoring for Arsenal in the 31st minute when he struck Serge Gnabry's pass first time past Hugo Lloris, the Tottenham goalkeeper. Midway through the second half, Tottenham's Danny Rose hesitated in possession, allowing Tomáš Rosický to win the ball and lift it over Lloris to double Arsenal's lead. With less than 10 minutes remaining, Arsenal's Theo Walcott was taken off the pitch injured on a stretcher; he was later ruled out for more than six months with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament. The match ended 2–0 and Arsenal progressed to the fourth round. There, they were drawn at home again, this time against Coventry City of League One. Lukas Podolski gave Arsenal a 2–0 lead within the first half-hour, scoring from Mesut Özil's pass before doubling his tally by heading in a pass from Per Mertesacker. Giroud and Cazorla both scored close-range goals in the last 10 minutes of the second half, to give Arsenal a 4–0 victory.

For the fifth round, Arsenal were drawn against Liverpool at home, against whom they had lost 5–1 in the Premier League the previous week. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain opened the scoring in the 16th minute from inside the Liverpool penalty area after Yaya Sanogo's shot was blocked by Steven Gerrard. Podolski doubled their lead two minutes after half-time from 15 yards (14 m), when he converted a cross from Oxlade-Chamberlain. In the 59th minute, Podolski fouled Luis Suárez and Gerrard scored the resulting penalty. Despite dominating the closing stages of the match, Liverpool failed to score again and the match ended 2–1. In the sixth round, Arsenal were again at home where they faced Everton. Özil scored from a Cazorla pass to give Arsenal the lead in the 7th minute, but Everton equalised through Romelu Lukaku from close range in the 32nd. Midway through the second half, Oxlade-Chamberlain was fouled by Gareth Barry to concede a penalty; Mikel Arteta scored on the second attempt after his first successful strike was ruled out as Giroud was deemed to have encroached on the penalty area. Giroud then scored twice in three minutes late on to secure a 4–1 win for Arsenal.

In their semi-final at Wembley Stadium, which was a neutral venue, Arsenal were drawn against the defending FA Cup holders, Championship side Wigan Athletic. After a goalless first half, Wigan took the lead after Callum McManaman was brought down in the Arsenal penalty area by Mertesacker and Jordi Gómez converted the subsequent penalty. With eight minutes of the match remaining, Mertesacker scored with a header from a mishit shot by Kieran Gibbs. Regular time ended with the scores level at 1–1, and with no goals in extra time, the match went to a penalty shoot-out. Łukasz Fabiański saved Wigan's first two penalties from Gary Caldwell and Jack Collison and as all subsequent strikes were scored, Arsenal won 4–2 and proceeded to the final. In doing so, Arsenal matched their achievement from the 1949–50 FA Cup, when they reached the final without leaving London.