Big stat says Arsenal will end trophy drought with FA Cup

There has to be a big fear among Arsenal supporters that the borough of Islington is getting ahead of itself, as street signs are already being put up warning locals in advance of a parade that will cause road closures on the day after the FA Cup final.

After all, this is an Arsenal team that hasn’t won a trophy since the 2005 FA Cup and a club that were similarly big favourites when fluffing their lines in the League Cup final against relegated Birmingham in 2011.

Against Hull this time, Arsenal’s odds are 9/20 to win the FA Cup inside the 90 minutes.

And there is a big statistic which intimates that the parade plans are far from premature and it relates to their semi-final victory over Wigan in the semi finals.

Looking back through the history of the last 11 FA Cup finals, nine have been won by the team that were first to secure their place at either the new Wembley or the Millennium Stadium.

Shortening this sample down further, five of the last six winners have come from the first semi final, with Chelsea the only exception after beating Liverpool in the 2012 final.

There are also some other factors that clearly give the Gunners an edge against opposition that currently count winning the third tier of English football as their biggest ever trophy.

Arsenal have come out on top in their last six meetings with Hull, including two successes in the Premier League this season without conceding.

Hull’s recent form is far from inspiring either, as they took just a single point from their last five Premier League outings, although with their survival all but secured, they may have already had one eye on Wembley.

Finally, their two January big-money striker signings Nikica Jelavic and Shane Long remain cup-tied for this final, meaning Jake Livermore is their seasonal top-scorer available to face Arsenal, with just three league goals.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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