Arsenal's FA Cup 2005 Winning XI vs the side that thrashed Southampton

When the two are compared their is little difference between the side that won Arsenal's last piece of silverware and the team today so is this the season Arsenal break their duck?

Arsenal’s much publicised wait for silverware has been, well just that, much publicised which got me thinking about who would have been in that Arsenal team on the day they beat Manchester United on penalties to win the FA Cup at the Millennium Stadium in 2005.

Then it got me thinking about how well Arsenal have performed so far this term and just how the two teams might compare?

Here are the two line-ups, firstly from the FA Cup Final and then from Arsenal’s 6-1 thrashing of Southampton last weekend.

2005 FA Cup Final (21^st May 2005)

GK: Jens Lehmann

RB: Lauren

LB: Ashley Cole

CB: Phillipe Senderos

CB: Kolo Toure

CM: Gilberto Silva

CM: Cesc Fabregas

CM: Patrick Vieira

RW: Robert Pires

LW: Jose Antonio Reyes

CF: Dennis Bergkamp

Arsenal 6-1 Southampton (15^th September 2012)

GK: Wojciech Szczesny

DR: Carl Jenkinson

DL: Kieran Gibbs

DC: Per Mertesacker

DC: Thomas Vermaelen

MC: Francis Coquelin

MC: Mikel Arteta

MC: Santi Cazorla

RW: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

LW: Gervinho

CF: Lukas Podolski

When you look at both teams as a comparison it is hard to see how the 2005 side was much better; you would certainly swap the centre-backs that is for sure and while Lehmann, Cole and Lauren were all very good for The Gunners the trio of Szczesny (or Mannone), Jenkinson and Gibbs are still very young, indeed Jenkinson was just 13 when Lauren was playing in his future position.

While players like Pires, Vieira and in particular Bergkamp appear irreplaceable the Ox looks like becoming a great Premier League talent while Santi’s is fast becoming a fan favourite and Lukas Podolski is just starting to show us how clinical he can really be.

Coquelin is young and has excelled so far while Gervinho is relishing in the forced absences of Arshavin and Walcott, decimating teams in his wake.

Without tempting fate too much, surely this year is the year it all ends, is the wait finally over?

Mathew Nash

@hitcmathewnash Google+more stories from Mathew Nash

I’m Mathew Nash a 23 year old graduate in Sports Studies and I have an insatiable love for sport. With a particularly keen interest for the madcap world of football I have always been known amongst friends as a beacon for bizarre sporting trivia and knowledge. My other passion is for writing and hopefully combining the two will create a superb and entertaining marriage that will create, divide and share opinion.