FA Cup 2002-03 Facts & Trivia
The 2002-03 FA Cup was won by Arsenal. Below are the facts, records and trivia from that cup run — the final, the giant-killings, the biggest wins, the hat-tricks and the shootouts.
See the full FA Cup 2002-03 bracket and results. Or read the EFL Cup 2002-03 facts.
1. Arsenal — champions
Arsenal beat Southampton 1-0 to win the FA Cup.
2. Final scorer
Robert Pirès scored for Arsenal in the final.
3. Rochdale AFC's cup run
Rochdale AFC, in from the 1st Round, went all the way to the 5th Round — a memorable run from the early rounds.
4. Steed Malbranque's hat-trick
Steed Malbranque scored a hat-trick for Fulham in the 4th Round (3-0 v Charlton Athletic) (3 hat-tricks were scored in all).
5. The heaviest win
The biggest win of the competition: Bristol City beat Heybridge Swifts 7-0 in the 1st Round.
6. 7-goal thriller
Sheffield United 4-3 Ipswich Town was the highest-scoring tie of the season with 7 goals.
7. Arsenal's road to glory
Arsenal beat Oxford United, Farnborough Town, Manchester United, Chelsea, Sheffield United and Southampton on the way to the trophy — 6 ties won.
8. Sharpest shooters
Arsenal scored the most goals of any club in the competition this season, with 16.
9. Southampton fall short
Southampton reached the final but finished runners-up.
10. The last four
The semi-finalists were Arsenal, Sheffield United, Watford and Southampton.
11. By the numbers
123 ties across 150 matches produced 451 goals in the FA Cup this season.