Arsene Wenger has made the shock decision to start back-up Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina in tomorrow's FA Cup Final against Chelsea.
Petr Cech was widely expected to get the nod given the magnitude of the occasion at Wembley but Wenger has decided to honour an agreement made with Ospina in pre-season.
The Colombia goalkeeper wanted to leave the club last summer but in an effort to convince him to stay, Wenger promised Ospina would play in the cup competitions.
Ospina played in all eight Champions League matches and Arsenal's first four FA Cup matches but was injured for both their quarter-final win over Lincoln and the semi-final against Manchester City.
Cech took over and has been in fine form in recent weeks but it is understood Wenger has decided to hand Ospina his first start in any competition since April 2.
The decision is even more bizarre given Ospina is expected to leave Arsenal this summer with talks at an advanced stage over a £5million move to Turkish club Fenerbahce.
Wenger does have history for such a decision, however. In 2014, the Arsenal boss had a similar agreement with Lukasz Fabianski and retained him for the final at the expense of established first-choice Wojceich Szczesny.
The Gunners beat Hull City 3-2 in extra-time to end their 3,283-day wait for a trophy.
Szczesny played every game apart from the third round - when Ospina deputised - a year later as Arsenal retained the cup.
