Aston Villa will now face Arsenal in their first FA Cup final since losing to Chelsea 1-0 in 2000, after defeating Liverpool 2-1 on Sunday at Wembley.
Christian Benteke followed Philippe Coutinho’s opening goal at the half-hour mark six minutes later to level and Fabian Delph supplied the winning striker in the second half as Tim Sherwood’s men dashed Steven Gerrard’s hopes of a fairy-tale ending at Liverpool.
Now Villa prepare for Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal side, and the pressure is all on them, says Tim Sherwood, with Arsenal looking to defend their crown and secure their 12th FA Cup title.
“We will be the underdogs, the pressure is on Arsenal,” Sherwood said.
“It’s going to be tough. Arsenal are the holders and probably the best footballing side in the league.
“They can make this pitch look very, very big so we’re going to have to get a plan ready. We think we can cause them problems.”
Sunday’s win continues the Villa’s recent revival under new manager Sherwood, who has now engineered five victories in the team’s last eight matches.
“It’s a great occasion for the football club,” Sherwood said.
“Obviously nothing is won yet but not a lot of people gave us a chance coming here against Liverpool.
“We believed it and when we stepped on that pitch we realised our fans believed it as well and that means an awful lot to us.
“They were magnificent, especially when we went behind, they dragged us back into the game.
“I thought we dominated the football after that and caused Liverpool a lot of problems.”
In the meantime Villa must still navigate a relegation battle. With five matches left to play Sherwood’s team are 15th, with just a four-point cushion on third-from-bottom Leicester City, who have a game in hand on the Birmingham club.
Hull City, in 17th, are in the same position, with Sunderland in 16th three points within Villa with a game in hand, as well.
"It's on the back burner now and it's important we get some points to secure our Premier League status next season," Sherwood said.
Villa will be without Nathan Baker for the relegation fight after Sherwood revealed the defender had suffered a recurrence of a knee injury and is unlikely to play again this season.
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