Giggs and Campbell on subs bench

Sol Campbell and Ryan Giggs were reduced to the role of FA Cup final substitutes in Cardiff today as Arsenal and Manchester United look to grab some silverware from the wreckage of their dismal seasons.

Campbell’s extra experience was not enough to persuade Arsene Wenger to split Kolo Toure’s central defensive partnership with Philippe Senderos, which looked so secure during the England man’s absence with an Achilles injury.

Alex Ferguson’s caution over the extent of Thierry Henry’s Achilles problem proved unfounded as Dennis Bergkamp was handed the place Arsenal’s brilliant Frenchman would normally have taken.

As anticipated, Gabriel Heinze lost his battle to recover from ankle ligament damage, leaving John O’Shea to occupy the left-back berth while Wes Brown slotted in at right-back as Gary Neville as only deemed fit enough to make the bench.

The main story from the United camp though was the absence of Giggs from Sir Alex Ferguson’s starting line-up.

Like his skipper Roy Keane, Giggs is aiming to collect a fifth winner’s medal, a modern day record, but with Darren Fletcher’s extra running capacity required in central midfield, Ferguson opted to do without his Welsh stalwart rather than last year’s man of the match Cristiano Ronaldo.