1993 FA Cup – Arsenal
The 1993 FA Cup Final was contested by Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday at Wembley. The first match, played on 15 May 1993 finished 1–1, with Arsenal winning the replay on 20 May; 2–1 after extra-time.
It was Arsenal’s sixth success in the competition and their first for 14 years. It was Sheffield Wednesday’s first appearance in the FA Cup final for 27 years. They also reached the Football League Cup final that season, also losing 2-1.
The first game was not one of the greatest of Cup Finals. The problem was perhaps that these two teams knew each other too well, having played in the League Cup Final only five weeks earlier, and in a league game a fortnight before the FA Cup Final. Arsenal took the lead in the 20th minute, when Ian Wright headed in a cross. Sheffield Wednesday equalised in the 61st minute, when David Hirst turned in a low drive, past the advancing Arsenal goalkeeper, David Seaman.
The replay on the Thursday night was a much better encounter. Once again, Ian Wright opened the scoring for Arsenal, running onto a through ball to prod the ball past Chris Woods, into the corner of the net. This was his fourth goal in FA Cup Finals at Wembley, just one behind the record-holder Ian Rush. Wednesday attacked Arsenal in the second half, and their persistence paid off when Chris Waddle’s shot deflected off Arsenal defender Lee Dixon into the net. The game went into extra time, and just when it seemed that the FA Cup Final would need to be decided on penalties, central defender Andy Linighan rose highest from a corner to head the ball goalwards. Goalkeeper Chris Woods fumbled and Graham Hyde could only help the ball into the top of the net. Arsenal had won the trophy for the first time since 1979.




































