1998 FA Cup Final

Event	FA Cup 1997–98
Arsenal Newcastle United 2 0
Date	16 May 1998
Venue	Wembley Stadium, London
← 1997 1999 →

The 1998 FA Cup Final was contested by Arsenal and Newcastle United at Wembley. Arsenal won 2–0, with goals by Marc Overmars and Nicolas Anelka to complete their second league and cup double.

It was Arsenal's seventh success in the competition - placing them third on the list of clubs with the most FA Cup triumphs, equal with Aston Villa but behind Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.

It was Newcastle United's first domestic cup final since the 1976 League Cup Final and first FA Cup Final since 1974.

Arsenal's success made them only the second English club to win the league championship and FA Cup double twice. Manchester United were the other club to achieve this, having won the double in 1994 and again in 1999. Unlike Manchester United, however, Arsenal won their second double with an entirely different set of players.

[edit] Match summary

The 1998 FA Cup Final was Arsenal's chance to win the League and FA Cup double for the second time in their history, since their first such achievement in 1971. It was manager, Arsene Wenger's first Cup Final at Arsenal. It was a hot sunny day at Wembley and their opponents Newcastle United, were underdogs, having finished in 13th place that season under Kenny Dalglish. It was the club's first FA Cup Final since 1974.

The game came to life in the 23rd minute, when a perfect through-ball by Ray Parlour found Marc Overmars, who resisted the challenge of defender Alessandro Pistone to prod the ball through the legs of the onrushing goalkeeper Shay Given and give Arsenal a 1-0 lead.

Early in the second half, Newcastle were given a great chance to equalise when Martin Keown slipped on the ball. Alan Shearer pounced on the opportunity but his left-foot shot hit the foot of the post, and rebounded back out. The contest was all over in the 69th minute when another great pass by man of the match Parlour found the teenage striker Nicolas Anelka (who was arguably in an offside position). Anelka raced through and slid the ball past Given to give the Gunners a 2-0 lead. Newcastle were left to rue another missed chance when Nikos Dabizas hit the bar with a header, but it was to be Arsenal's day. Sportingly, the Newcastle fans applauded the Arsenal team as they made their way up the Wembley steps to collect the trophy.

[edit] Match details

16 May 1998 15:00 BST	Arsenal	2 – 0	Newcastle United	Wembley Stadium, London Attendance: 79,183 Referee: Paul Durkin (Dorset)
	Overmars  23' Anelka  69'	Report

Arsenal

Newcastle United

ARSENAL: GK 1 David Seaman RB 2 Lee Dixon CB 6 Tony Adams (c) CB 14 Martin Keown LB 3 Nigel Winterburn RM 15 Ray Parlour CM 4 Patrick Vieira CM 17 Emmanuel Petit LM 11 Marc Overmars CF 12 Christopher Wreh 62' CF 9 Nicolas Anelka Substitutes: GK 13 Alex Manninger DF 5 Steve Bould MF 7 David Platt 62' MF 18 Gilles Grimandi FW 8 Ian Wright Manager: Arsène Wenger

NEWCASTLE UNITED: GK 1 Shay Given RB 2 Warren Barton 76' CB 6 Steve Howey CB 34 Nikos Dabizas LB 12 Stuart Pearce 73' RM 7 Rob Lee (c) CM 4 David Batty CM 11 Gary Speed LM 23 Alessandro Pistone AM 14 Temuri Ketsbaia 86' CF 9 Alan Shearer Substitutes: GK 15 Shaka Hislop DF 19 Steve Watson 76' MF 10 John Barnes 86' MF 27 Philippe Albert FW 40 Andreas Andersson 73' Manager: Kenny Dalglish

[edit] External links

• BBC Match Report
• Line-ups

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