Arsenal vs Aston Villa: FA Cup finalists have both suffered Wembley heart-break in recent times

A look back at the most recent defeats at the national stadium for today's finalists

A view of Wembley Stadium (Getty Images)

Arsenal take on Aston Villa in the FA Cup final today.

One will emerge victorious, writing their names into football history by winning the cup.

For the other, it will be a day to forget. And for both of these sides, it's a feeling they and their supporters have experienced all-too recently.

The new Wembley has not been good for Aston Villa; before this year's semi-final win over Liverpool they had played there twice and lost twice. Both of those defeats came in the same disappointing year of 2010.

First up, they reached the League Cup final. Thanks to a James Milner penalty they would take an early lead against Manchester United, only for Michael Owen to reply almost instantly before Wayne Rooney scored the winner in the 74th minute.

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Martin O'Neill had his side back at Wembley a couple of months later for an FA Cup semi-final with Chelsea but it was to be a day to forget. Didier Drogba broke the deadlock and as Villa sought an equaliser, Florent Malouda and Frank Lampard added injury time goals.

Arsenal though have suffered Wembley heart-break more recently. Whilst in recent times the national stadium has been good to Arsene Wenger's side, the memory of the 2011 League Cup final still casts a shadow.

Huge favourites against Alex McLeish's relegation-bound side, a mix up between Wojciech Szczęsny and Laurent Koscielny in the 89th minute allowed Obafemi Martins to steal in and score the winning goal in a 2-1 win for the Midlands side. The day that Arsenal were supposed to end their trophy drought turned into one of the most painful in the club's history.

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Whilst neither team will need any more motivation to win today's final - knowing what it feels like to lose under the Wembley arch can only spur them on.