FA Cup winners’ medal, Odegaard’s armband and Pictionary with Arteta

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?