Post-match
Arsène Wenger commented after the game that his team "got the trophy we wanted" while Gordon Strachan was in admiration of Southampton's performance: "I'm very proud of the way they competed. I couldn't have asked for any more." Arsenal defender Martin Keown said the FA Cup win was "the best ever" and winning captain David Seaman felt the disappointment of losing out to Manchester United in the league spurred the team on. Football pundits Alan Hansen, Peter Schmeichel and Mark Hughes unanimously agreed that Arsenal deserved to win the match.
Arsenal's victory set up a Community Shield match against Manchester United, winners of the 2002–03 Premier League. The FA Cup winners are awarded qualification into the UEFA Cup, but because Arsenal qualified for the UEFA Champions League via their league position, the UEFA Cup place was passed to Southampton, the runners-up.
The match was broadcast live in the United Kingdom by both the BBC and Sky Sports, with BBC One providing the free-to-air coverage and Sky Sports 1 being the pay-TV alternative. BBC One held the majority of the viewership, with a peak audience of 9.6 million viewers (55.7% viewing share) watching at 16:50pm and the match averaged at 8.3 million (55%) – the highest audience for a FA Cup final in four years. Coverage of the final began on the channel at 12:10pm and averaged 5.3 million (44.4%).
Read more about this topic: 2003 FA Cup Final