2001 FA Cup Final 2001 FA Cup Final The 2001 FA Cup Final was a football match between Arsenal and Liverpool on 12 May 2001 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. It was the final match of the 2000–01 FA Cup, the 119th season of the world's oldest football knockout competition, the FA Cup, and the first in the competition's history to be staged outside England, due to the ongoing reconstruction of its usual venue, Wembley Stadium. Arsenal appeared in their fourteenth final to Liverpool's twelfth. Given both teams were in the highest tier of English football, the Premier League, they entered the competition in
1999 FA Cup Final of the season, was given to Newcastle United as the runners-up. Manchester United did not defend their title, choosing instead to participate in the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship in Brazil, believing that it would help The Football Association's bid to host the 2006 FIFA World Cup (which was eventually awarded to Germany). As winners of the FA Cup, Manchester United also played in the 1999 FA Charity Shield against Premier League runners-up Arsenal. Manchester United went into the match as champions of England, having clinched the Premier League title in their final game the previous weekend after losing just