Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-1 to win record 13th FA Cup

Arsenal won a record 13th FA Cup with a 2-1 victory here over Premier League champion Chelsea, which missed out on the English double.

Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez got the Gunners off to a strong start in this battle of London clubs at Wembley Stadium on Saturday when he opened the scoring at the four-minute mark with a right-footed shot past net minder Thibaut Courtois, Efe news reported.

That lead held up until well into the second half, and Chelsea's situation became even more dire after Nigerian winger Victor Moses was sent off in the 68th minute for diving.

Spanish striker Diego Costa, however, scored the equalizer for the Blues in the 76th minute by sending a curling shot that bounced past Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina and into the bottom left corner of the goal.

Arsenal went back on top again though just three minutes later when Olivier Giroud, who had come on as a substitute just moments earlier, chipped a ball in front of the goal that found midfielder Aaron Ramsey for an easy score on a header.

With the win, Arsenal salvaged a disappointing season in which it failed to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in two decades.

Chelsea, for its part, came up just short in its bid for the London club's second-ever league/cup double.

--IANS

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