In the lead up to the final, the "South Wales Echo" reported that many tickets were being sold on the black market, for "20 times" the face-value price. Nine days before the final, the two clubs faced each other in a league match at Highbury. With Arsenal unable to retain the title, having lost to Leeds United, manager Arsène Wenger rested several players, as did Southampton manager Gordon Strachan, whose team started without six of their first-choice eleven. Winger Jermaine Pennant on his league debut scored a hat-trick, as did Pires, in a 6–1 win. Strachan believed the result had little bearing on their chances of winning the cup, noting: "There is little pressure on Southampton to lift the trophy. We were not expected to reach the final and have already clinched a place in the UEFA Cup." Wenger accepted his team were "favourites" but expected "...Southampton to be at their best against us because it will be a different team than the one we faced in the championship recently." The traditional Cup Final hymn, "Abide with Me" was sung by Tony Henry, an opera singer from South London. Sir Bobby Robson was invited as the FA's chief guest for the final and performed several duties ordinarily reserved for royalty, such as presenting the trophy to the winning captain. Heavy rain on Friday night and forecasted showers in Cardiff meant the final would be the first to be played indoors; the stadium closed its retractable roof and floodlights were used to light up the ground. Vieira was ruled out of the match because of a knee injury, so Seaman was named as Arsenal captain, in a match widely anticipated as his final for the club. With Campbell suspended and Cygan absent due to a thigh strain, "Daily Mail" journalists Steve Curry and Ian Gibb revealed the night before the final that midfielder Kolo Touré was pencilled in as an "emergency centre back". Wenger however picked Oleg Luzhny to pair up with Martin Keown, who was rested the previous Sunday away to Sunderland. For Southampton, the major absentee was striker Marian Pahars, who underwent a third operation to overcome a troubling knee injury. Defender Chris Baird made his second competitive start for the club and Chris Marsden captained Southampton, given Jason Dodd's absence with an injury. Although both teams set up in a 4–4–2 formation, Bergkamp was positioned as a deep-lying forward behind Henry.