Per Mertesacker says Arsenal can take heart from the mental strength they have shown in their recent matches at Wembley.

The Gunners won last year’s FA Cup after recovering from two goals down against Hull City, and have also come through two tough semi-finals against Wigan and Reading.

Arsene Wenger’s side will be favourites to retain the trophy against Aston Villa this weekend, and Mertesacker says they will go into the final in confident mood.

"We have a certain mental strength in this competition to come back" Per Mertesacker

“We know how difficult it is to compete at Wembley,” he said. “It’s different from being away or at home - you can’t compare it.

“We have a certain mental strength in this competition to come back. We’ve been successful at Wembley, we’ve done well there but not shown our best form which is weird.

“Against Championship sides and Premier League sides like Hull, it was always a tight game. You can’t compare it to a Premier League game.

“We’ve been through [a very close final] last season, so it can be an advantage. We just have to be aware that anything can happen on the day. If we turn up with a good performance at Wembley then it’s difficult to stop us.

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“You can feel the excitement about Wembley with the British boys but also [because it is] the final of the FA Cup. It’s special in every country and everyone is really proud to be involved in a big football night.

“Everyone is really up for it. It’s another special occasion for us to show we are capable of winning something. But we need the right attitude to compete at that high level and we need to turn up with our best performance, maybe of the season, to grab the [trophy] again.”