2017 FA Cup Final previously met 13 times in the FA Cup. Arsenal held an advantage in those meetings, winning seven of the last eight. Chelsea, however, won the last FA Cup tie, a 2–1 victory in April 2009. This was the second FA Cup final to feature both sides; the first was won by Arsenal in 2002. The most recent meeting between the two teams was a league encounter in February 2017. Chelsea beat Arsenal by three goals to one, a result which moved them 12 points clear in first position. The win was significant given Chelsea lost the reverse fixture 3–0 in
2002 FA Women's Cup Final FA Women's Premier League National Division, Fulham were already considered "the dominant force in England" by the BBC. In their second year as the only full-time professional women's club in Europe, they had already won that season's FA Women's Premier League Cup by beating Birmingham City 7–1 in the final. In securing the FA Women's Premier League Southern Division championship Fulham beat one team 22–0. The total number of goals they had put past their opponents in 34 league and cup matches stood at 267. Fulham's striker Pettersen—a World Cup winner and Olympic gold medallist with Norway—went into the final