London, Jul 31 (IANS): Arsenal face Chelsea in a final for the second year in a row when the two London giants play for the FA Cup on Saturday. Last year they were trumped 4-1 by Chelsea in the final of the Europa League.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta however said that last year's defeat is no longer there in his players' minds.

"A year in football is a different life," Arteta said in a virtual news conference on Friday. "Even two weeks or three days later you can see a team performing one way then they can be a different team so there are not many things to take from that."

Chelsea finished 10 points ahead of the beleaguered Arsenal this season. While Chelsea thus sealed a spot for themselves in the Champions League, Arsenal finished eighth, which makes this their worst league season in 25 years. Arteta acknowledged the gulf in the quality between the two sides.

"I always say that the league table doesn't lie too much. You can look at some decisions, even in the games that we played together, where we could have the gap a little bit smaller," he said.

"...Our only aim and all our energy is going to be on winning that trophy, it doesn't matter where we start. They are playing at a really good level but we are going to go for it."