Gareth Messenger

Wind back the clock to 2002, and one of the telling moments of the FA Cup final between Arsenal and Chelsea on this day came at the end. The experienced Tony Adams sought out the young whipper-snapper John Terry to console him and tell him “your time will come”.

He certainly wasn’t wrong.

The 2002 final marks the midpoint of three decades of football that had Arsenal as the dominant force from the capital in part one and Chelsea taking over in part two. In the 15 years leading up to that FA Cup showdown, Arsenal had the silverware from successes under George Graham and Arsene Wenger.

They were days away from clinching their fourth league title across that period in addition to a cluster of cups. At the time Chelsea had not won a title since the 1950s and the occasional cup was cherished but did not give the feeling they were in a position to become a leading force.

It seems strange to think Arsenal were for so long a bogey team for Chelsea. Victory in the 2002 FA Cup final, delivered by wonder-strikes from Ray Parlour and Freddie Ljungberg, came during an era where Chelsea spent the best part of a decade without a serious win of any sort in this fixture.

There were a couple of moments of light relief in the League Cup but otherwise, it was a barren spell until Roman Abramovich appeared in the summer of 2003 to transform everything.

Meanwhile, Arsenal prepared to leave Highbury for the Emirates and impose a period of self-imposed financial restraint, and the shift began.

Now, Chelsea thanks to the millions of Abramovich, have added plenty more to their once barren trophy cabinet, winning multiple league titles, the Champions League, Europa League and both domestic cups on numerous occasions. Arsenal, meanwhile, has had to settle for the FA Cup every now and then.

Although Ray Parlour's stunning strike made the difference, this day in 2002, was just the beginning of a paradigm shift between these two London clubs.