Villa beaten 4-0 by Arsenal in the FA Cup final

Aston Villa's hopes of winning the FA Cup for the first time since 1957 were ended by a 4-0 defeat to Arsenal in the final at Wembley on 30 May.

A crowd of 89,283 watched as Arsenal, the holders, retained the trophy with goals from Theo Walcott, Alexis Sánchez, Per Mertesacker and Olivier Giroud.

How the final was lost

Villa held out until five minutes before half-time, when Nacho Monreal crossed from the left, Sánchez headed the ball on and Walcott volleyed in. Ten minutes later, Sánchez struck a superb shot from around 30 yards into the roof of the net to double the lead.

Mertesacker headed a third midway through the second half, and Giroud added a fourth from close range in stoppage time.

It was a record 12th FA Cup win for Arsenal, and a sixth for their manager Arsène Wenger, putting him level with Villa's own George Ramsay as the most successful manager in the competition's history.

A remarkable run

For Villa, the defeat was a disappointing end to a remarkable cup run. The club beat Blackpool, Bournemouth, Leicester City, West Bromwich Albion and Liverpool on the way to Wembley, coming from behind to beat Liverpool 2-1 in the semi-final.

It was Villa's 11th FA Cup final and their first since 2000, when they lost 1-0 to Chelsea in the last final at the old Wembley. They have won the cup seven times.

Sherwood's season

The run to the final came under Tim Sherwood, who was appointed in February with the club in the relegation zone after Paul Lambert was sacked. Sherwood guided Villa to safety in the Premier League, and the cup run gave supporters a rare highlight in a difficult season.

Before the final, the two sides had met twice in the league this season, with Arsenal winning both games, 3-0 at Villa Park and 5-0 at the Emirates Stadium.

No Europe

Because Arsenal have already qualified for the Champions League, the Europa League place that normally goes to the FA Cup winners passes to Southampton, the highest-placed Premier League team not already in Europe, under a change to UEFA's rules. That means Villa will not play in Europe next season despite reaching the final.

The summer ahead

Attention will now turn to the summer and to keeping the squad together. Captain Fabian Delph and top scorer Christian Benteke have both attracted interest from other clubs, and owner Randy Lerner is still looking for a buyer for the club.

Thousands of Villa fans made the trip to Wembley, filling their half of the stadium with claret and blue. For many of them, the day out will be remembered fondly despite the result, as a reminder of what the club can achieve.