Mathieu Debuchy has likened the FA Cup to France’s equivalent, the Coupe de France, ahead of Arsenal’s final with Aston Villa this Saturday.
The defender has had an injury hit debut season in North London, since arriving from Newcastle United, but is in contention for a start in English football’s most prestigious cup competition after recovering from a shoulder injury.
The Gunners face an Aston Villa side that finished just one place above the relegation zone following a disastrous and goal shy season. The Birmingham outfit improved after the appointment of Tim Sherwood as manager, but are still underdogs going into their first FA Cup final in 15 years.
The Villains upset the odds in the semi-final, overcoming Liverpool courtesy of goals from Christian Benteke and Fabien Delph. This season’s competition has been full of shocks, with Premier League champions Chelsea and runners-up Manchester City exiting to Bradford and Middlesbrough respectively.
Based on the unpredictable nature of the competition, Debuchy has stated it is similar to the Coupe de France, a tournament the 29-year-old won as part of a double with Lille in 2011. A second division side will contest in the final once more, as Auxerre face Ligue 1 champions PSG at the Stade de France.
Guingamp were the last Ligue 2 side to lift the trophy, coming from behind to defeat Rennes in 2009 due to an Eduardo brace. More recently, third tier Quevilly reached the final three years ago but subsequently lost to French giants Lyon.
Arsenal’s right-back feels these upsets are enough to warrant a comparison between the two tournaments:
“The [competitions] have a lot of things in common,” Debuchy told Arsenal’s official website.
“In France, often some small teams manage to go very far in the competition, even reach the final. We've seen it recently.
“The FA Cup is pretty much the same - sometimes clubs from the lower divisions have a good FA Cup campaign. Because of this, I think they are similar competitions. It is extremely difficult to win a cup tie.”
The FA Cup holders have faced Championship sides in successive semi-finals, overcoming Wigan on penalties before dismissing Reading in extra-time. The French international dislocated his shoulder on his return from a lengthy ankle problem, but proclaimed retaining the trophy is worth any suffering:
“It was a very important match for the club and for the players as well,” he said. “We really wanted to reach the final, to have the opportunity to win the cup again.
“Personally, I was coming back from injury and to play 120 minutes was extremely hard, especially in extra time.
“I struggled a bit but the most important thing was to reach the final for the second year in a row. We want to keep the trophy.”