‘The FA Cup is everything to me’ – Keown backs Man City to break Chelsea hearts at Wembley | OneFootball

For Martin Keown, the FA Cup was never just another competition. It was the dream that first made him fall in love with football.

Long before three winners’ medals with Arsenal, before Wembley triumphs and title celebrations, Keown was a young boy sat in front of the television in his parents’ corner shop, mesmerised by English football’s grandest domestic occasion.

“Oh, for me, the FA Cup is everything,” Keown told Hayters ahead of this weekend’s final between Manchester City and Chelsea. “It’s the reason why I came into the game.

“As a young boy, my parents had a corner shop and my mum was selling alcohol, Newcastle Brown Ale. There were fans coming in wanting to buy it. My mum didn’t understand the relationship.

“It was the day of Liverpool versus Newcastle and they said to her: ‘Watch today’s Cup final. It’s all on the television.’

“So my mum led me to the TV. I think It’s A Knockout was on at 11 o’clock in the morning and I stayed there until 10 to five watching Liverpool win. Kevin Keegan scored two goals, Steve Heighway got the third, and I said to my mum: ‘That’s me. That’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to play in a Cup final.’”

Keown did far more than that.

The former Arsenal and England defender went on to win the FA Cup three times during one of the club’s greatest eras, although he insists the defeats hurt just as deeply as the victories inspired.

“To fulfil that ambition was something special,” he said. “I went on to win it three times. I did lose it as well, so that can hurt – that pain.

“But as Don Howe (Arsenal’s former coach) used to say: ‘You get 10 chances, like green bottles hanging on the wall. Don’t waste those opportunities to get to Wembley and win it.’

“So I took every opportunity I could. But it’s very difficult just to get to a final and to win it, so I have a lot of pride in holding on to those medals.”

Keown believes the magic of the FA Cup remains intact, even if the football landscape has changed dramatically since his childhood.

“At that age, you could almost set the diary around the FA Cup final,” he said. “You knew every final and who’d played in it. West Ham, Southampton, you remembered all of them.

“But in those days you have to remember, it was just one game a year live on television, where you saw people win or lose. So it was a huge occasion.

“And it still means a lot to supporters and clubs to get to Wembley and play in the Cup Final.”

This year’s showpiece, however, comes with a familiar favourite. Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City are once again back under the arch and Keown expects them to have too much for Chelsea.

“With Pep, his record in the FA Cup is incredible,” he said. “I think it’s four finals on the bounce. We managed three finals at Arsenal and thought we’d done well.

“So to make four finals is remarkable. It’s becoming an every-year event for them and I think that takes a bit out of the nerves.

“Pep might be in his last season. There’s uncertainty around that, but it creates an energy for City that I don’t think Chelsea are going to be able to overcome.”

While Chelsea have shown flashes of quality in big matches this season, Keown is unconvinced interim Chelsea head coach Calum McFarlane and his side can suddenly discover consistency on the biggest stage.

“There are so many issues with Chelsea right now,” he said. “You could say it’s a big game and they turn up for the big games, but I’m not sure it’s a tap you just turn on or off.

“So I think Manchester City should be the winners and Bernardo Silva probably signs off on another trophy.”

Keown also believes the scheduling of the FA Cup final has lost some of its traditional prestige.

“There’ll still be two league games to play afterwards,” he said. “I’m not sure that’s right. I think the FA Cup Final should be the last game of the season, as it always used to be.”

The Wembley weekend also carries significance for Arsenal, with Mikel Arteta’s side continuing their pursuit of City in the Premier League title race.

Keown admits Arsenal’s earlier FA Cup exit to Southampton may inadvertently have helped their title challenge, even if no elite side would ever prioritise competitions that way.

“You don’t pick and choose which competitions you want to be in,” he said. “You go out and give it everything in each competition.

“But the fixture list makes it really difficult. Arsenal are trying to win the Champions League and the Premier League all at once and up against Man City. It’s one hell of a battle.”

MARTIN KEOWN was talking ahead of a month like no other, with five major football finals live on TNT Sports  & HBO Max kicking off with the Emirates FA Cup this Saturday.

Enjoy a full day of FA Cup coverage live on TNT Sports & HBO Max from 9am