Superb Chelsea lift Women's FA Cup as Ramona Bachmann strikes twice to sink Arsenal at Wembley

They simply had too much quality from back to front, and Ramona Bachmann's two goals put them in a commanding position. That's the first of what could be a domestic double!

Aluko races down the right and, from a similar position to Bachmann's opener, fires in a right-foot shot that Van Veenendaal turns round the post.

Cuthbert earns a Chelsea free-kick right in the corner, which they sensibly play short. Five minutes of added time.

Arsenal summoning the kitchen sink to throw at Chelsea, but the Blues look rock solid from their midfield backwards.

Double change for Arsenal: on come Dan Carter and Katie McCabe in the final throw of Joe Montemurro's dice - Emma Mitchell and Lisa Evans make way.

For Chelsea, on comes Eni Aluko for two-goal Ramona Bachmann, who gets a deserved ovation.

What a lovely goal! Fran Kirby, who has threatened to do something special all afternoon, finds a pocket of space on the edfge of the box and bends a perfect left-foot shot into the far corner! Game, surely now, over.

Chelsea change: Erin Cuthbert replaces the tireless Drew Spence.

HELLO! Beth Mead sneaks in from the left, finds Vivianne Miedema and the Dutchwoman steers a left-foot shot past Lindahl! Game on?

Chelsea change: on comes Maria Thorisdottir to replace Jonna Andersson on the left of defence.

Chelsea looking to slow the game down, use the space and exploit those tiring Arsenal legs that are chasing this game. Really hard to see the Gunners getting back into this now.

Change for Arsenal: off goes Janssen, the holding midfielder, and on comes 231-cap former USA international Heather O'Reilly. Experienced? Just a bit.

Out of nothing, Chelsea have doubled their lead! Ramona Bachmann cuts in from the right, swipes her left boot at the ball and it deflects up and into the far corner!

CHANCE! Kim Little charges through the middle, finds Miedema, but the Dutch international doesn't get her shot away in time.

Danielle van de Donk takes out Chelsea skipper Katie Chapman, which sparks the first minor disagreement of the match. Chelsea force a corner from the long, searching free kick, which Arsenal clear.

Arsenal respond. Beth Mead's deflected shot squirms towards Hedvig Lindahl, who spills it before its put behind for a corner. Chelsea survive.

Bachmann leads a Chelsea counter, but Emma Mitchell has just enough pace to hold off Kirby. From the throw-in, the ball is slipped into Bachmann on her right foot, she takes one touch to gather, another to set up the shot, and she lashes the ball into the roof of the net! 

Not sure if the tempo of the first half can prevail in the May sunshine, but we'll see...

A free-flowing first half, but one in which Arsenal failed to muster a single shot on target. For Chelsea, Bachmann and Kirby - and, to a increasing extent, Ji - have had a huge influence up front, but still haven't made Van Veenendaal work too hard in the Arsenal goal. Something has to give in the second half...or extra time....or penalties.

One added minute. 

CHANCE! The best move of the half, involving Bachmann and Kirby, leads to Ji racing through on the overlap and slapping a shot just over the Arsenal bar.

More intricate Chelsea interplay on the edge of the box leads to Ji So-yun being fouled by Dominique Janssen. Magdelena Eriksson and Ji stand over the ball....the Korean takes...but it hits the wall, and Van Veenendaal gathers her tame second bite at the cherry.

Where now? Thoughts might start to turn to the respective benches: Arsenal have the 2016 final goalscorer Dan Carter in reserve, while Chelsea have Eni Aluko ready to come on at some point. Both are capable of locating the scruff of this game's neck.

Kirby tries a one-two with Hannah Blundell, who advances all the way from right back to join in, but the return pass is just out of reach. The Chelsea no.14 looks the most likely to break the deadlock, it's fair to say.

Wembley enjoying a Mexican wave, as the first half peters out a little. Bachmann and Kirby try to combine again, but Arsenal are alert.

Another sight of goal for Kirby, who lets fly with the left foot, but it's gathered well by Van Veenendaal.

Bachmann skips down the right, only to be dragged back quite blatantly by Emma Mitchell. It should be a yellow card, but instead is just a talking-to. Lenient stuff from the Durham official.

Drew Spence flattens Miedema with a tasty tackle on halfway, which the referee stands and admires. Chelsea have weathered this brief Arsenal storm quite well.

Arsenal skipper Kim Little clips in a cross to the back post, which is helped on its way behind by a Chelsea head - corner. Nobbs floats it in, there's a brief scramble, and then Miedema's shot is deflected just wide!

CHANCE! A cross from the left is eventually brought under control by Kirby in the Arsenal area, but she dallies too long and the shot is blocked. Chelsea have now had three presentable chances and squandered them all.

The ball bounces over the head of Millie Bright, and Arsenal's Beth Mead can run through on goal...until she's caught by Bright and held up. An anxious moment for the Chelsea no.4.

Frank Kirby is now, suddenly, running this final for Chelsea. She twists and turns in the Arsenal area, but has only Bachmann for support and Arsenal scramble it away.

CHANCE! Bachmann works the ball superbly on to her right foot in the area, nutmegging Emma Mitchell in the process, but fires wide with only Sari van Veenendaal to beat!

Arsenal's Vivianne Miedema presses earnestly to unnerve the Chelsea defence into a mistake in their own half, but blue shirts scamper back to avoid a real emergency. Arsenal certainly looking more dangerous so far...

Chelsea's turn to attack, with Drew Spence down the right, but she can't find a blue shirt in the middle. Plenty of space to exploit for both sides in the wide areas.

Both teams enjoy some nerve-settling spells on the ball, before Arsenal look to release the pace of Beth Mead down the left. Chelsea deal with the early threat.

Chelsea - in blue, naturally - get us going and Ramona Bachmann gets the first touch of the 2018 final...

...so a few dignitaries, handshakes, the national anthem and all that, and we'll soon be good to go!

Obviously our tradition as cup specialists is there - thanks for the pressure! - but cup finals are cup finals, and it’s on the day. We’ve been part of many fantastic events, and hopefully this is another one.

Chelsea are a very good side, with cover and power all over the pitch, and whatever starting XI they put out is very strong. Some of the best players in the world are out there on show, and it’s going to be an amazing event.

This is what we work hard for, when you’re freezing cold in January and you don’t want to come out training. I’m proud of the players, and equally to think we’re playing in front of a record crowd, which importantly shows the growth of the game.

Our side is experienced and accustomed to high-level games on a regular basis, both internationally and at club level. But it counts for nothing in a single game. It’s whoever shows up on the day.

Here's what happened when these two last met in the Cup final at Wembley - just 24 months ago, in fact. An absolute pearler from Arsenal's Dan Carter decided matters that day:

Arsenal

Fourth Round: beat Yeovil 3-0

Fifth Round: beat Millwall 1-0

Quarter-final: beat Charlton 5-0

Semi-final: beat Everton 2-1

Chelsea

Fourth Round: beat London Bees 10-0

Fifth Round: beat Doncaster Rovers Belles 6-0

Quarter-final: beat Liverpool 3-0

Semi-final: beat Manchester City 2-0

Arsenal: Van Veenendaal, Evans, Williamson, Quinn, Mitchell, Janssen, Van de Donk, Little, Nobbs, Mead, Miedema.

Subs: Moorhouse, Samuelsson, McCabe, O’Reilly, Carter.

Chelsea: Lindahl, Bright, Mjelde, Eriksson, Blundell, Ji, Chapman, Andersson, Spence, Kirby, Bachmann.

Subs: Telford, Thorisdottir, Flaherty, Aluko, Cuthbert.

Referee: Lindsey Robinson

London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea go head to head today at Wembley in the 2018 Women's FA Cup Final.

Arsenal are looking for a 15th FA Cup victory while Chelsea, in their fourth final to date, are aiming for revenge for defeat to the Gunners in 2016.

More importantly, though, the Blues are on course for a league and cup double: they are three points clear at the top of the Women's Super League, while Arsenal trail in fourth.

The two teams will be playing in front of a record-breaking Wembley crowd: more than 45,000 tickets have been sold, an all-time best for the Women's FA Cup.

Chelsea's manager Emma Hayes has opted not to lead her team out of the tunnel but, despite being 33 weeks pregnant with twins, will be pitchside to organise her players.

“I’ve been told to take it easy and there is enough stress on the day already. Physically, it’s uncomfortable for me at the moment so it’s better that I stay in the background,” says Chelsea’s manager. “It’s better for my babies if I sit down. I don’t mind, I’m a woman, I don’t have a big ego!”

Kick-off at the national stadium is at 5.30pm, with coverage on BBC One from 5.10pm and, of course, our liveblog right here.