Ahead of today's eagerly-anticipated FA Cup final between Aston Villa and Arsenal at Wembley, former club captains Andy Townsend and David Seaman surprised staff at an iconic London pub.

With the help of Captain Morgan the duo, who spent a combined 17 years at their respective sides, relieved bar workers at The Globe by allowing them to spend the day 'living like the Captain', taking over duties for one of the busiest shifts of the year.

Before surprising staff this morning, as well as both sets of supporters in attendance, ex-Republic of Ireland skipper Townsend took time out to chat to Sports Mole, where he dissected both sides' recent fortunes and looked ahead to where the 134th FA Cup final could be won and lost.

Arsenal will head into the game as strong favourites with many, but would it be wrong to write Villa off completely?

"It's the FA Cup - a competition notorious for throwing all the odds and statistics right out of the window. I believe it's a case of what happens on the day happens. Villa have genuine ground to feel that they can win the game because they are very strong in certain areas.

"They do have defensive concerns, of course, and they are not at their best when put under pressure. But they can score goals, and if you score goals at Wembley then you have a real chance of winning the FA Cup. So while I think Arsenal are favourites, Villa also have a very good opportunity."

Should the Villans come out on top, is it fair to say that this has been a campaign of failure for an Arsenal side with no silverware to their name?

"I don't think it has been, no. When I assess this Arsenal team I get the impression that they are getting better, so you can't look upon it as a failure. There are improvements that have to be made regardless, but certainly they are going in the right direction. Arsene Wenger has got his side a lot closer to Chelsea than both Manchester United and Liverpool currently are."

Is there any area in particular that Arsenal need to look to strengthen this summer?

"I think they need to strengthen central midfield by bringing in an imposing player in that zone. They unearthed [Francis] Coquelin during the season and I've been very impressed by him, but they need a really big number six such as [Nemanja] Matic. There's a few players like that knocking around in Europe, with fantastic energy and a real understanding of the game.

"Arsenal don't need someone who can play quick one-twos - they've got plenty of players like that already - they instead need someone in there who will sacrifice his game to bring the best out of others. Matic does that brilliantly for Chelsea at the moment, and he is the best around at doing so.

"Arsenal need one of those in that mould to go and sit alongside Coquelin or [Jack] Wilshere and break things up, win tackles and then give it to the boys in front of them. That, for me, is the key component for Arsene Wenger this summer."

Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin has been repeatedly linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium over the past year. Is he the right mould of player?

"I really like Schneiderlin; he's a top player. There's a few others like him out there, too. You look at Yann M'Vila and Geoffrey Kondogbia, who are similar players in the sense that they are very powerful, which is something that Arsenal need more than anything else - someone who can handle whatever it is that is thrown at him.

"Sometimes you watch Arsenal with Aaron Ramsey and Wilshere in the middle, or perhaps [Santi] Cazorla and Wilshere, and it doesn't always work, while others have come in and simply haven't developed in that position. Coquelin has done well in fairness, but if Wenger believes that he is the right player for that position then he must continue to place faith in him. Personally I think he has to go out there and buy that player."

Former Villa and Arsenal captains Andy Townsend and David Seaman surprise supporters by taking orders, giving tips ahead of today's cup final, and delivering an unforgettable pre-match build-up courtesy of Captain Morgan.

Switching attention to your former club, do you believe that Tim Sherwood is the right man to take charge of Villa for the long term?

"I don't think he was brought in just to fight a few fires, I think that Randy Lerner instead wanted to go in a different direction so brought in a young guy. In terms of his qualities, Tim is very straightforward and determined about what he wants from his players. He's a former teammate of mine and someone I know well, and he has managed to instil plenty of belief into a side that was underperforming.

"He has managed to shake a few of the players up to enable them to believe in themselves, while also asking them to simply do what they do best. Tim certainly hasn't asked players to move out of position and do things that they can't when it hasn't been needed. I know they had a few problems at left-back, which meant Charles N'Zogbia had to be shifted there, but stuff like that can happen occasionally. In the main, he's stuck to putting the right players in the right positions and getting them to do what they do best.

One player who has particularly caught the eye under Sherwood is Jack Grealish. What have you made of his recent development?

"I think Jack is a real talent who has a great opportunity under Sherwood to go on and establish himself in that side. You've got to be careful when asking such a young guy to go out their and be the main man, but he is a confident kid with a clear swagger. There is plenty of self-belief there which is clear to see just by the way he wears his shinpads and leaves his shirt hanging out.

"There is a young kid there who feels that he doesn't have to pretend to be anything else other than what he is. I feel that's a good quality - you shouldn't knock that out of a young kid; it is something that should be welcomed. I think he has the ability there to make certain things happen for his team, which he must now do on the biggest occasion."

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Arsenal have made a habit of doing things the hard way in this competition in recent years. Are you expecting something similar this time around?

"Well they certainly struggled against Reading in the semis, and also against Hull in the final when they were two down in no time. They go into this one as favourites again, and they can now use that past experience this time around as a way of starting things better.

"They need to make sure that they don't fall behind and leave themselves chasing the game at any point. This Aston Villa side are better than the Hull outfit that Arsenal faced last year and certainly much better than Reading, so if they were to concede two goals this weekend, then a third could quickly follow.

"We know that Villa now have the ability to score goals from nothing, particularly on the counter-attack, so they will be very dangerous in that respect. Arsenal have got to be careful against what is a dangerous opponent, because with Villa you never quite know exactly what you are going to get. What we do know is that they really can beat anyone on their day."

Time for a score prediction. Which way do you see this one going?

"Most people are going to go with Arsenal, but I'm going to back Aston Villa on this occasion. They looked very good in coming through a tough semi-final against Liverpool, so I'm going for them to win 2-1. It will certainly be a lot tighter than some think, with [Christian] Benteke, [Gabriel] Agbonlahor and Alexis Sanchez grabbing the goals."

Can you tell us a little more about the Captain Morgan event you are helping out with throughout today?

"It is based on the fact that we want people to 'live like a Captain, while the Captain lives like you', just like the slogan suggests. We have given a few members of staff a surprise by handing them tickets for the game so they can enjoy themselves, while myself and David will be in the pub chatting to fans and enjoying the game from a completely different perspective.

"It's a really nice idea, a great promotion and something which we hope is really welcomed by all those involved. We're hoping these staff members will have a rather different cup final experience."

Follow @CaptainMorganEU on Twitter for all the latest photos and videos from the event.