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It will go down as one of the strangest FA Cup finals on record.

Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Chelsea in 2020 was played at a near-deserted Wembley while the Gunners received the trophy on the pitch, instead of climbing the famous steps to the Royal Box for the presentation as is tradition.

Despite fans being prevented from attending the domestic showpiece becaue of Covid, it was a day Matt Smith will never forget.

Aged 19 and without a competitive first-team appearance to his name, the boyhood Arsenal fan was named on the Gunners substitutes bench after Mesut Ozil was left out by Mikel Arteta.

After the full-time whistle confirmed the first and – as of right now – only major trophy of Arteta’s reign, Smith received a winners’ medal and had his picture taken with fellow substitute Bukayo Saka on the pitch with the FA Cup.

Six years on and Smith, who now plays in midfield for Wigan Athletic, returns to Emirates Stadium on Sunday when the League One strugglers face Premier League leaders Arsenal in the fourth round of the FA Cup (16:30 GMT kick-off).

“It was mad really because it was when the whole thing surrounding Ozil was going on,” Smith, 25, tells BBC Sport about his memories of the 2020 final.

“He wasn’t in the squad so I was getting on the bench. I was on the bench for the quarter-final at Sheffield United, the semi-final with Manchester City and then the final.

“When you’re that young you don’t really understand the importance of being part of the FA Cup final or the memories it’s going to give you for the rest of your life.

“It’s only now I realise how grateful I was to be involved in something so special like that.

“I remember getting my suit for the final and it being way too big for me. I didn’t want to say anything because I was young.

“All the other players’ suits were tailored but mine was massive – they must have done it wrong.

Smith grew up with posters of former Gunners captain Cesc Fabregas on his bedroom wall.

“My whole family are massive Arsenal fans,” he says. “When I was younger I used to watch a lot of Arsenal games with my dad – we went to most home games.”

After joining at the age of seven, Smith spent 15 years at Arsenal, going on to captain the under-18s while also appearing in the 2018 FA Youth Cup final with Saka.

“He was a year below me but he was so good that he would always play in a higher age group,” Smith says of Arsenal’s current number seven.

Yet such was Smith’s potential that he was invited to train with the first team as a 17-year-old, while his name appeared frequently on the team sheet as a substitute towards the end of 2019-20.

“I’d grown up watching these players on television and suddenly I found myself training with them.”

He recalls the methods Arteta employed at pre-match team meetings to keep players engaged, including games of Pictionary – the game based on drawing – focusing on opposition players and tactics.

“It was very different to other team meetings,” adds Smith, who had loan spells at Swindon Town, Charlton Athletic and Doncaster Rovers while at Arsenal.

“It would always be a game to get the energy and camaraderie up.

“It was all about getting our brains switched on, getting everyone communicating with one another.

“There were games of Pictionary relating to the opposition and everything you had learned throughout the week.

Smith joined Wigan in 2023 after his Arsenal contract expired.

Despite his disappointment at being released, he remembers his last conversation with Arteta and the advice the Spaniard gave him before wishing him luck with his career.

“He told me that throughout my career people are going to tell me what my weaknesses are and what I need to work on.

“But he also said ‘make your strengths your super-strengths, whenever you get on the pitch do what you’re good at and make that your thing’.

“That’s something that has stuck with me.”

Smith adds: “He’s such a good manager. He used to tell me stuff that I’d never heard before that made me see the game in a different way.

“It’s only a matter of time before Arsenal start winning trophies regularly.

Smith’s parents, Gerrard and Kate, were unable to attend Wembley in 2020 because of Covid restrictions but they will be at Emirates Stadium to watch their son against his former club on Sunday.

His sister, Amy, will be there too.

With Wigan selling all of their 5,000 tickets, it will be the first time he has played in front of a 60,000 full house.

“I’ve not been back to Arsenal since leaving three years ago,” says Smith, who is looking forward to catching up with some familiar faces, including Gunners captain Martin Odegaard.

“That was a really nice gesture,” adds Smith.

“He’s a good captain to be fair. He’s not the loudest but he leads by example and has played at the highest level.”

So, what happened to his FA Cup winners’ medal?

“It’s at my mum and dad’s house.”

Does Smith look at it regularly?

Tom Banton thinks he is older, wiser and, quite simply, better these days.

It is coming up to seven years since the England batter first caught the eye as a 19-year-old by hitting a stunning 71 from 37 balls to help Somerset chase 204 against Surrey in the T20 Blast.

If the pure numbers from that day were not enough, one reverse flick for six off Sam Curran – now an England team-mate – made some smart judges take note.

The following winter Banton was picked by England for their tour of New Zealand.

He kept his place the next summer, in Twenty20 and 50-over cricket, picked as the fresh face to help take the 2019 World Cup winners on into a new era.

Banton made 58 against Ireland and 71 in a T20 against Pakistan, but they were his only scores above 50 in 15 matches.

Another five caps came and went in 2022, making this current run the 27-year-old’s third go at international level.

His match-winning 63 not out in England’s five-wicket win against Scotland on Saturday, with his side’s T20 World Cup hopes on the line, may not have been his highest score, but it was his best knock for his country – a breakout innings in which he finally delivered on all of those talents by truly defining a match on the biggest stage.

“I think just a bit, obviously older, more mature, got a better understanding of my game,” Banton said, asked what he is doing differently this time.

“When I came onto the scene, I remember at the start of that summer I was just about scraping into Somerset’s second team.

“Then six months later, I was playing for England and traveling all over the world, which was great, but I’ve got more of an understanding.

Banton’s recall came at the start of last year with this World Cup in mind.

Despite largely playing as an opener for his county and in The Hundred, he was picked by England to bat in the middle order because of his ability to attack spin – the style of bowling which dominates the middle overs of T20 internationals at the venues of World Cup co-hosts India and Sri Lanka.

At that time, only India’s Abhishek Sharma, the number one-ranked batter in the world, was scoring faster against spinners than Banton. Banton’s average of 44.1 against slow bowling was the best of any English batter.

Scoring 54 not out to secure a T20 series win in Sri Lanka before this tournament hinted at what was to come. The Scotland innings was a bright spark amid the uncertainty around how good England actually are.

“It’s [batting at number four] is different, I won’t lie,” he said.

“You come in probably against spin, or towards the end of the powerplay, depending how we go.

“The biggest one is like adapting to the scenario or the wicket.

“I found Wankhede [the Mumbai stadium, venue for England’s win over Nepal and defeat by West Indies] a bit hard.

Banton is disarmingly human – a welcome trait within the current set-up.

He was one of those most guilty of what captain Harry Brook’s described as being “too careful” against West Indies, having been out tentatively chipping a catch.

He speaks openly and will admit his doubts, which were there with that innings following another low score against Nepal.

“As any human would do, there’s obviously those doubts but I think Baz [coach Brendon McCullum], Brooky, the coaches and everyone in the team backs everyone.

“It’s T20 cricket, people are going to go up and down, that’s just how T20 cricket is sometimes.

“You’ve just got to keep backing yourself, keep training hard, keep working hard on your game and luckily it came off for me today.”

But against Scotland, Banton’s innings perfectly encapsulated his growing maturity. His first nine deliveries were all from pace bowlers, and he scored only five runs.

When Scotland’s left-arm spinner Mark Watt entered the attack, Banton hit the first two balls for sixes over long-off and the fourth over mid-wicket.

It was a batter clearly playing to his strengths, even if he insists it was not premeditated.

“It’s just reading the game and adapting – that’s the biggest word at the moment in our changing room,” he said.

“On a flat wicket, we’re one of the best teams in the world but if we want to win the World Cup, especially if we’re going to Sri Lanka, you’re only going to have to adapt.

“Sometimes it’s just about winning and winning ugly.”

In total, Banton took 28 runs from 10 balls delivered by Watt. He eased 35 from 31 deliveries bowled by the rest of Scotland’s attack.

Across the match six dismissals when batters were attempting sweeps across the match – the bounce of the Kolkata pitch bringing danger.

Rather than following suit, Banton put away his trademark shot – he tried it once to Watt early on, but never again – and instead targeted straight boundaries.

“Everyone sets up the field [square to defend Banton’s sweeps] straight away now and on a wicket like that it was probably perfect, because I wasn’t even trying,” he said.

“That wasn’t even in my mind to try and hit it there.

Mikel Arteta recently hinted that Arsenal‘s “best player” is somebody who has only been with the club a matter of months – summer signing Martin Zubimendi.

It may have gone unnoticed at the time but, speaking after the Gunners’ tight 1-0 win over Crystal Palace in October, manager Arteta lavished praise on the £60m midfield man – saying Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta had been tasked with defending Arsenal’s “best player”.

It is for good reason that Arteta rates one of his more recent signings so highly. Zubimendi has been justifying his manager’s comments since signing from boyhood club Real Sociedad in July 2025.

The 27-year-old has played the most minutes of any of Arsenal’s outfield players and has been chipping in with goals too.

And that goal return may have come as a surprise, with Zubimendi signed primarily as a defensive midfielder but now having scored six times in 34 appearances – the most he has registered during any campaign in his career.

Arsenal and Arteta made a big play to recruit Zubimendi and started the work to try to sign him 12 months before he arrived at the club, initially discussing the possibility when they were completing a deal for his Sociedad team-mate Mikel Merino in the summer of 2024.

Zubimendi was brought in to be a crucial component of the Arsenal squad, with his passing ability, on-pitch intelligence and history of winning important trophies.

Indeed, the Spain international played an important role in his country beating England in the Euro 2024 final.

Arteta has spoken previously about how chaos and attacking more directly were effective ways for Arsenal to create chances when Zubimendi’s influence was blunted by being man-marked.

And from this we can infer that Zubimendi – Arsenal’s “best player” – is most important when it comes to breaking down teams in the manner Arteta prefers, with measured, sustained possession.

Zubimendi was pursued by Liverpool in 2024 and Reds boss Arne Slot made no secret of his desire for a defensive midfielder who is able to receive the ball behind strikers pressing his defenders, rather than coming to get the ball. Zubimendi excels at this.

And the former Sociedad man’s ability to sprint at the right time in order to show for the ball before progressing play – whether through a first-time pass, a timely dribble or a punchy pass through the line – has elevated Arsenal’s build-up this season.

Build-up play and the ability to break up attacks is to be expected of a £60m defensive midfielder but the way Arteta has used Zubimendi as an attacking tool has stood out, suggesting this is an area where marginal gains can be found in football going forward.

Arsenal’s players rotate positions to make it difficult for opponents to pick them up. They aim to maintain the balance of the side while playing in this fluid manner. Zubimendi, like the others, vacates his position based on the movements of team-mates.

By dropping into a deep position against Chelsea, Bukayo Saka opened up space on the right flank to allow Zubimendi to push into this area. Rice, the far-side midfielder, filled in at defensive midfield, ensuring Arsenal’s shape remained similar, only with different players arriving in each zone.

It is unusual to see a defensive midfielder make such adventurous runs off the ball but it appears to be the next step on from the more popular use of roaming full-backs, such as Riccardo Calafiori, Nuno Mendes and Marc Cucurella.

The logic is that the players often tasked with marking defensive players are unlikely to defend them as closely. Finding defensive players who possess attacking quality to contribute in the final third is a rarity but Zubimendi has the skillset to punish teams in this way.

Defences set up in a low block will often drop even deeper when faced with a winger or forward trying to run in-behind. It leads to space opening up in front of the defence, rather than in the box.

Arsenal spend large parts of the game looking to unlock deep defences. This allows Zubimendi to arrive into a position to receive a pass, without being picked up, before executing on the idea he has in his head immediately. This could be a precise through ball or a dinked chip over the top – riskier passes that pose new questions for deep defences.

Alternatively, when Zubimendi sits at the base of midfield, Rice is free to push up and rotate with the attackers, knowing there is protection behind him.

And the England man will likely feel safe to play freely after seeing his 5ft 9in team-mate beat 6ft 6in Newcastle striker Nick Woltemade to a header earlier this season.

Meanwhile, Zubimendi’s willingness to shoot from distance provided Arsenal with the much-needed opening goal against Nottingham Forest and Sunderland, after which more space opened up for the Gunners with their opposition forced to play more adventurously.

Arteta said “if the space is not in one place, it will be somewhere else” – and against deep defences, long shots have become an increasingly viable tactic this season.

Arteta has never been shy in praising Zubimendi.

The midfielder’s six goals this season also match the tally he scored for Real Sociedad in his last two seasons at the club (six goals in 93 games).

Zubimendi got the opening goals against Nottingham Forest, Leeds United and Sunderland, while he also scored Arsenal’s third in the 3-2 win over Chelsea in their Carabao Cup semi-final first leg.

“I think when we talk about Zubi, what else can he do? He can do whatever he wants. It’s a bit similar to Declan’s qualities,” Arteta said, speaking after that match.

“We just have to keep unlocking that in his system, in his brain, because he’s so good at occupying different spaces, he’s carrying the ball, dribbling, winning duels, and he has a talent when he gets into the final third and into the box. He’s so composed. He sees the picture very clear.

“The picture actually is clear sometimes that I know the parts of the pitch and what he’s done today. I think it’s phenomenal, not only the ball but the performance as well.”