Villa's Heavy FA Cup Final Loss to Arsenal Paves the Path for Summer Rebuild

WEMBLEY STADIUM, LONDON — It was, in truth, always a bit of a long shot, and Aston Villa were firmly beaten on Saturday as Arsenal lifted the FA Cup. The 4-0 scoreline flattered the claret and blue outfit; the Gunners were purring by the fifth minute and could easily have served up an unforgiving, humiliating pasting.

Theo Walcott finally found the net in the 40th minute, hammering home a left-footed strike that put his previous misses behind him. Alexis Sanchez then slammed an absolute rocket into the top of the net from fully 30 yards to compound the advantage. Per Mertesacker added to the lead with a header from a corner soon after, and Olivier Giroud completed the rout with a late near-post finish.

Shay Given, flabbergasted and gesticulating alone in the Villa area, making save after save, was the only reason 4-0 didn't become 9-0.

The nature of the defeat, though, while obviously not the goal for Tim Sherwood's men, should not distract from the raw facts of the matter: First, when Arsenal play like this there's no stopping them, and second, the team who has a chance of stopping them isn't the one that scraped clear of relegation this season in the Premier League.

"They deserved to win, no arguments," admitted Sherwood to journalists after the game.

"They're [Arsenal's players] outstanding, world-class footballers, and today we couldn't nullify their threat, and we didn't manage to impose ourselves either. It's quite obvious they had their own way today."

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Villa endured a grim 2014-15 campaign, and only the late swapping of Tim Sherwood in place of Paul Lambert saved them from the jaws of the Championship. The former Tottenham Hotspur manager sparked enthusiasm and belief in the camp, and key wins against West Bromwich Albion, Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur, Everton and West Ham United followed.

But the gloss wore off quite obviously on the south coast two fateful weekends before the cup final, when Southampton shellacked them 6-1. Sadio Mane scored the fastest ever Premier League hat-trick, and the club were confirmed as safe only because of results elsewhere. The final day of the weekend saw a drab loss to already-relegated Burnley, with Charles N'Zogbia at left-back(!) and most of the sure-starters trying to avoid injury.

The juxtaposition of Villa's last-day laze and Arsenal's 4-1 thumping of West Bromwich Albion almost confirmed the final result before kick-off; Sherwood's X-factor had worn thin, Villa were slumping, whereas Arsenal had even more to offer: Walcott scored a hat-trick to earn a place in the final and Jack Wilshere's impressive showing ensured Aaron Ramsey played a demonic game on Saturday.

Speaking after the game, Sherwood was quick (and right) to acknowledge the final, while intensely important to the club, was also a luxurious side-project far removed from his original brief. He was clearly devastated to lose it, but his focus is already on the 2015-16 Premier League campaign and what it will take to improve the club's league standing.

"My job was to come in here and keep the team in the division, which I managed to achieve. I need to improve this squad of players.

"This team has scraped clear of relegation for the last four seasons, and that's not good enough for this club. We need to improve, need to add to the squad. This group of players are used to losing; it's a bad habit.

"We will make a few changes...as many as we can possibly do. Some of the boys have already been told that they won't be here next year and that they can go and find other clubs."

Ruthless words from a man who, while acknowledging losing to a superior force, sees Villa's issues for what they are. A losing rot has set in, and he's eager to rid the floorboards of mould and mildew this summer.

He's never bought a player, he's never had a transfer window, so this is a big test of his acumen in the market. Unlike fellow rookie Garry Monk, who has been able to add bits and pieces to a good Swansea City side, Sherwood needs to make big, swift decisions this summer. 

Villa's great escape from Premier League relegation should be celebrated, but Sherwood's focus and determination is well placed. A club of Villa's size should not be "scraping" clear of the drop zone every season, and a mauling on May 30 could be the catalytic factor that sees Villa finally awake from its slumber.

*All quotes obtained firsthand. 

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