Real Madrid achieved the record of becoming the only consecutive UEFA Champions League winners coming out 4-1 winners against Italian giants, Juventus, while Arsenal won the English FA Cup for a record 13th time by defeating Chelsea.
However, breaking records is as far as the similarities go between both winning sides. While Real were also crowned Spanish Primera Liga champions, Arsenal had for the first time in 20 seasons, failed to qualify for the Champions League, finishing 5th in the English Premier League (EPL).
Ironically, having EPL champions Chelsea as their FA Cup final opponents, also made the Gunners the underdog in the final played on a beautiful summer day on the last Saturday of May, in Wembley Stadium, London.
With injuries and suspensions leaving Arsenal with a makeshift defence, only the most hardcore of supporters would have been willing to put money on their team taking the FA Cup.
Almost all pundits had predicted a Chelsea win, seeing their dominance in the league over the course of the season, compared with Arsenal’s erratic and inconsistent form, especially since January.
But where belief may have been wanting, Arsenal supporters never wane in the love to just back the team to the hilt. And that we did, all around the world as the video below would attest to.
In Malaysia, watching the game at the biggest cinema screen in the country, also made it a record breaking night of a different kind for Arsenal Malaysia, the local chapter of the Gunners’ supporters club.
The FA Cup Final match viewing at MBO Cinema’s Big Screen, in the Starling Mall, Damansara Uptown, was the largest ever gathering of fans at a cinema viewing of a football match in the country, with the 400-seat capacity filled up.
Still, the action on the pitch overcame any other thoughts on the minds of the Gunner fans, and the Big Screen experience just enhanced the joy of watching Arsenal play with such a commanding presence that the scoreline could have been much bigger than 2-1 to the Arsenal.
Now that the season has ended, and with Arsene Wenger signing a new two-year contract, it is left to be seen where the momentum and potential as shown in Wembley can take the team.
The summer transfer season has started, and it will likely see the usual speculation of players linked with the Gunners, but it may be a lot less than in the past, considering there is no Champions League action awaiting Arsenal in September.
Still, I recall the last time Arsenal qualified for the UEFA Cup, the second tier competition in Europe which is now called the Europa League, 20 seasons ago. The lower expectation helped the unassuming Gunners blast away to the EPL and FA Cup double in the very next season.
One can only hope. The odds are stacked against the Arsenal, but that was the case in Wembley too.
K Anand is Executive Editor at FMT
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