Capital clubs ready for Cardiff

London rivals Arsenal FC and Chelsea FC meet tomorrow in the 121st FA Cup final at the Millennium stadium in Cardiff with one side looking to take the first step towards a league and cup double, and the other aiming to rescue what has so far been a season of underachievement.

Capital gains
A capacity 72,500 spectators will be in the Welsh capital on Saturday afternoon to see if Arsène Wenger's side can lift their first trophy since the 1998 FA Cup defeat of Newcastle United FC completed the second double in the club's history. Now a third beckons, with Arsenal needing just one point from their remaining two Premiership fixtures to be crowned champions of England.

London derby
Standing in the north Londoners' way are Chelsea, making a seventh appearance in the final and looking to take the trophy back to the west of the capital for a fourth time, having won it in 1970, 1997 and 2000. These two clubs have never met before in the final and, on paper, there is little to choose between them, although both managers do have selection and injury headaches to concern them.

Breaking his duck
For Chelsea's Italian manager Claudio Ranieri, looking for a hat-trick of domestic cup triumphs following past successes in Italy with AC Fiorentina and then in Spain with Valencia CF, victory tomorrow would represent his first silverware as coach of the club since he replaced compatriot Gianluca Vialli at the start of the 2000/01 season.

Striking situation
However, he faces going into the biggest game of his English managerial career without the services of the Premiership's joint-leading goalscorer and the scourge of Arsenal, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. The Dutch international striker - who has hit 23 league goals this season and 30 in all competitions - suffered a calf strain warming up before last Saturday's league game at Middlesbrough FC, and is rated as doubtful for the game. Finnish international striker Mikael Forssell, who most probably would have replaced him in the starting lineup, is also absent with a knee injury.

No time for sentiment
Wenger has selection dilemmas of a more positive nature, including whom he should start in goal. Deputy goalkeeper Richard Wright has played in every round of the competition to date, but faces the prospect of losing his place in the team to the vastly more experienced England No1 David Seaman. And in front of him could be Sol Campbell, who has recovered from the hamstring injury that he sustained in the semi-final victory over Middlesbrough to threaten Martin Keown's place in defence alongside club captain Tony Adams.

Midfield duel
In attack for Arsenal, Thierry Henry has recovered from a slight hamstring strain and will be up against his international team-mate Marcel Desailly. More fascinating still will be the midfield duel between two other Frenchmen, Arsenal's Patrick Vieira and his partner-in-crime in the Gunners' engine room from the 1998 double year, Emmanuel Petit.

Score to settle
Fortunately for Arsenal, they have two men in sparkling form: Swedish international Fredrik Ljungberg, scorer of five goals in his last four league games, and Dennis Bergkamp. The Dutchman has a score to settle with the famous old competition. Four years ago he missed out on the final through injury and the next year missed a 90th-minute penalty in the semi-final defeat by Manchester United FC.

Extra motivation
For his part Ljungberg looked the probable matchwinner of last season's final before two late Michael Owen goals subjected Arsenal to an undeserved 2-1 reverse against Liverpool FC. It is the memory of those final ten minutes in Cardiff last May that could well drive Arsenal forward to victory on Saturday.

Seven previous wins
Arsenal will be appearing in their 15th final, having previously won it on seven occasions and the side arrive in Wales on an extraordinary run. They are unbeaten in the league since December and have won their last eleven Premiership fixtures in a row. In domestic matches they are also undefeated away from Highbury all season and have scored in every Premiership match of the season. Chelsea have been warned.

'Their form has come good'
Arsenal travel to Old Trafford next Wednesday for a title showdown with Manchester United, but their league victory at Bolton Wanderers FC last Monday has meant that they can fully concentrate on tomorrow's final. And, to add spice to Saturday's game, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has tipped Chelsea to emerge victorious. "I think there will be a determination for them [Chelsea] to win the FA Cup this year," he said. "Their form has come good at just the right time and I think they are all goalscorers in the team

All to play for
For Chelsea, who will be led out by recently retired Italian international Roberto di Matteo, winning is everything. Although they have already qualified for next season's UEFA Cup, a season without any silverware would represent a campaign of failure for Ranieri and his men.