David Seaman on… Arsenal, the FA Cup and where he keeps his ponytail

Hooray! It’s FA Cup final day! Look forward to seeing Ryan Giggs’ goal against Arsenal played about 1000 times in a row by the BBC, with a couple of Rickie Villas and Sir Trevor Brookings thrown in for good measure – not to mention the predictably awkward moment when somebody asks Alan Shearer how many FA Cups he’s won, whilst Gary Lineker cheekily grins in the background.

But on a serious note, the FA Cup final is still the most anticipated and magical day on the English football calendar. This year’s thrown up quite the corker in Aston Villa vs Arsenal; a classic clash of last year’s winners facing a feisty underdog, who’ve ended the season with their star striker Christian Benteke in fantastic form.

Captain Morgan set up a sublime treat for us here at Football Fancast ahead of today’s game – a little bit of face time with one of the most successful goalkeepers in FA Cup history, Arsenal legend and former England No.1 David Seaman, who is also the owner of the bassiest, least controllable laugh in world football.

Seriously, he laughs at everything. My jokes, his jokes, my sincere questions, his own sincere responses. At one point he laughed at me laughing – and I was only laughing out of politeness because he’d started laughing. It was Laughception.

Together with Captain Morgan, Seaman and former Villains skipper Andy Townsend took over The Globe for the first shift of the day, where thousands of fans traditionally gather before matches. The Globe’s bartenders will be given the day off to enjoy the Final; escaping one of the busiest shifts of the year and their everyday jobs, to go and live like the Captain.

Suprised Arsenal and Villa fans were instead greeted by the Captains, who took orders from behind the bar, giving their tips ahead of the game, and delivering an unforgettable pre-match build-up.

Hi David, why don’t you start by telling us about your shenanigans with Captain Morgan ahead of todays final?

We’re going down with a Captain’s crew and we’re going to surprise a few of the bartenders in The Globe pub. We’re giving them a day off to enjoy the captain’s spirit in style, and then me and Andy Townsend are going to take over and attempt to do some beer, wine and spirit serving. Haha! We’ll actually be bartenders for a few hours so it should be good fun.

Do you and Andy Townsend have much experience behind the bar?

No, I’m good under the crossbar but not sure how good I’ll be behind the bar! I love serving drinks for people at home but that’s about as far as it goes.

Will you be watching the game on TV like us mere peasants then?

No! Haha! We’ll be going to the game later on. It’s something you don’t want to miss – trust me. Although saying that I wouldn’t have minded missing the first half of last year’s final. It was dreadful!

You had huge success in the FA Cup, winning it four times with Arsenal. What’s your fondest memory of the FA Cup – as a fan and as a player?

My fondest memory as a fan would be when Leeds United won it against Arsenal years and years ago – 1972 I think – but I remember losing it as well against Sunderland. I was only about eleven then.

The best memory as a player… I think it’s got to be the first time I won it with Arsenal. It was so special and so nerve-racking because I’d never experienced it before. So to go there and actually win for the first time at Wembley was just absolutely brilliant.

What about THAT save against Sheffield United? If that’s not your greatest FA Cup memory, perhaps it’s your greatest FA Cup moment?

Yeah. Well, I’m so lucky because my last ever game for Arsenal was the FA Cup final against Southampton. I was leaving, but at the time I didn’t know it was going to be my last game. I just went there like normal and Patrick Vieira was injured so I took over as captain for the day.

To lift the trophy – wow. That was better than all the other finals, because to lift the FA Cup as the captain of your team is so and was so special. Even the introduction of your players before kick-off, actually introducing them to the officials and big guys that were there, it was just amazing.

And the save, that was the semi-final. That was awesome for me because I made that save when I was 39 and people were saying I was past it!

Did you have any idea how spectacular that save was at the time?

No! I mean, it’s just reactions. The corner came in and it went one way then the other way. All of a sudden I knew the ball was behind me and I knew I couldn’t knock it away because I was reaching too far behind – I knew I had to try and scoop it out. And even when I watch it now I still think ‘how did I do that?’ haha!

How do you see the final panning out? Would you care to make a prediction?

Any Arsenal win will do for me. Whether it’s 1-0 or 10-8… or 10-9! Just a win. I’m going to say 3-1 to Arsenal because it’s going to be an attacking game. Aston Villa are not know for their defensive qualities but they’re decent up front and Arsenal have a better all round team to cope with that; Arsenal’s defence is good, and the Arsenal attack’s great. So I’m hunching for an Arsenal win, obviously!

If Arsenal don’t retain the FA Cup, would you still see this season as a success?

It depends because the main judge has to be Premier League form. We’ve got a place higher. We’re in the Champions League proper now so we don’t have to qualify earlier in the season – so it’s definitely a step forward. To lose the FA Cup would be a disappointing end to the season, but I think overall it’s still a progression because you know you’ve had a good season when you finish above where you did the year before. It’s difficult for Arsenal because they’re always in the Champions League and the top four, so even to finish one place higher is a big achievement.

There’s quite the debate brewing regarding Arsenal’s goalkeepers at the moment, with David Ospina coming in for Wojceich Szczesny about half way through the season. What do you see as the main differences between the two? And who do you think is the stronger goalkeeper?

Well the issue with Szczesny is that he’s started making mistakes, so that obviously left the door open for Ospina. They’re both very similar though; they’re both international goalkeepers and their all-round games are good, it’s just keeping that consistency.

Ospina’s only come in for half of the season or three-quarters of the season, so you can’t really judge him on that because he needs a bit more time. Szczesny, on the other hand, has been Arsenal’s No.1 for quite a while but now it looks like he’s lost that position, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens in the summer – whether Arsene Wenger goes out and buys another goalkeeper or he uses the money in defence and midfield. But I wouldn’t say one is better than the other yet, because realistically there’s not been enough time to judge Ospina.

Would you go and get a new No.1 this summer if you were Arsene Wenger?

It’s a tough one. If somebody like Petr Cech became available then you’ve got to really think about it because whatever team he goes into he’s really going to improve. But he’s not going to go into another team as a No.2 or with the question mark of being a No.2, he’s coming to be a No.1. So then who’d you let go? Do you let Ospina go or do you let Szczesny go? It’s a tough question!

Who would you like to see start in the FA Cup final?

Well I think it’ll be Szczesny because he’s played the majority of the games in the FA Cup – which is what Arsene did with Lukasz Fabianski last season. I know it’s a little bit different because it was Fabianski’s last game and he knew that.

But I remember when we played in the FA Cup final against Chelsea in 2002. Richard Wright played all the games up to the final, but Arsene put me in for the final and we went on to win it. So I don’t know for sure who’s going to play but I imagine it’ll be Szczesny.

We’d love to hear your opinions on the England front as well. Do you see Fraser Forster as a real competitor to Joe Hart? Ben Foster’s never really challenged him.

Well both of them are decent goalies, but we’ve got such a good goalkeeper in Joe Hart. I think for as long as that stays we’re going to be fine because Joe Hart’s a quality goalkeeper and he’s playing well, he’s having big games every week and he’s got great experience now. He’s playing in the Champions League all the time, he’s playing high-profile games with City and with England. It’s very similar to what I had and it really helps because it puts you into a better position to handle the pressure. If Fraser Forster and Ben Foster go in they’re a bit nervous because they’re not used to handling the big games.

Have you seen much of Jack Butland? How far do you think he can go?

I’ve seen a little bit of him, not loads. It depends because it’s the consistency in the season that really matters. It’s no good making a lot of mistakes and a lot of saves. You’ve got to be more consistent; having good performances and then brilliant performances while trying to eliminate the mistakes. My coach Bob Wilson and I, we used to have a chat at the start of the season about how many mistakes are we allowed. By the end, we were down to about two or three that cost goals or cost games. That’s the sort of standard you need to get to – you need to be that consistent.

A lot of our readers were really interested in the psychology behind being a goalkeeper. Do you have to be a specific type of character to be a goalkeeper? Is there a trait you all share?

You’ve got to be really mentally strong. You’ve got to have a strong mind because the mistakes can be really harsh. I’ve done it in a World Cup against Brazil. Luckily I had a lot of experience to fall back on – and I’ve done it with Arsenal a few times as well. Mental strength is the key thing.

Obviously every goalkeeper is going to have a certain amount of natural talent and coached talent – that can all be dealt with. But the mental strength is something that’s gained by experience and I suppose gained by what you do in life. Because if you make that mistake, and you let that affect you for the rest of the game, it can really cost your team. If you do that mistake in the first five minutes you’ve still got a chance of getting back in the game, but if you’re a wreck for the rest it you’re really going to put the team in trouble. It’s dealing with that pressure, being able to put things behind you and react positively.

There’s always great comradery between goalkeepers but it must be an unusual situation, training with three or four people who are all fighting for just one spot in the team?

Haha! It’s strange because with the England situation there’s normally a pecking order. When I was at England, it was Peter Shilton, Chris Woods, and then it was me. You worked your way through; Peter retired, Chris took over, Chris didn’t have a great time and then I took over, so it goes in order.

At club level, because it’s two games a week you’re judged on that every week, it’s a little bit different. If you’re playing bad you get replaced! But then you can go back in if he plays bad.

But normally, if you get dropped with England, that’s it! You don’t make it back!

As we mentioned earlier, Wojciech Szczesny’s taken a lot of stick this season and you’ve suffered some bad press over the years – particularly after the 2002 World Cup. Is it especially hard for goalkeepers to cope with that kind of pressure, compared to an outfield player?

It’s really difficult because you want to be out there playing. With me and the World Cup, I had to wait for a while to get back on the pitch. It is difficult but you have to learn different ways to accept it. If you feel that by reading about it in the papers really affects you, then don’t read it, don’t buy the papers. What you don’t see isn’t going to hurt you! And especially with club football, you’ve got a game every three days – so if you’re reading negative stuff all the time it’s not going to improve you as a goalkeeper.

Time for Football Fancast’s world famous, totally-not-a-rip-off-of-one-to-eleven segment Fantasy Five Aside! We construct a star-studded, five-man team – but every player has a stipulation. David, start us of with the greatest player you’ve ever played alongside?

Best player… Gazza.

And the greatest you’ve played against?

Ronaldo – the old Ronaldo! Although I played against Maradona as well, for Soccer Aid. Haha!

The third player. Your footballing role model growing up?

David Harvey and Bruce Grobbelaar – both of them.

Fourth, somebody playing now you wish you could’ve played alongside?

I would say… Eden Hazard.

And finally, any goalkeeper – including yourself.

Either me or Peter Schmeichel. Haha!

And finally David, will that beautiful moustache and ponytail combo ever make a comeback?

No chance! The ponytail’s in a drawer and that’s where it’s staying. And the moustache tries to make a comeback every day but it gets shaved off!

That’s quite the revelation to end things with, David. You’ve been as delightful as expected. Enjoy the cup final!

You can follow David and Andy’s Captain’s adventure at @CaptainMorganEU, who will be updating with hilarious tweets, photos and videos throughout the day.