2002 FA Cup Final Arsenal were appearing in the final of the FA Cup for the fifteenth time, and for the second consecutive year. They had won the cup seven times previously (in 1930, 1936, 1950, 1971, 1979, 1993 and 1998) and were beaten in the final seven times, the most recent in last season's showpiece event. By comparison, Chelsea were making their seventh appearance in a FA Cup final. The club won the cup three times (1970, 1997 and 2000) and lost the same number of finals (1915, 1967 and 1994). Arsenal and Chelsea had previously met fourteen times in the FA Cup,
1871–72 in English football 1871–72 in English football The world's first national-level football competition the Football Association Challenge Cup (now better known as the FA Cup), was played for the first time in 1871–72. As such, this marks 1871-72 as the first 'season' of English football, although the use of the term is an anachronism. Furthermore at that time, with no other football associations operating, the FA Cup attracted entrants from all over the UK; it was not for many years that both the FA and the FA Cup came to be solely English institutions. The first FA Cup final was won 1–0 by