Tim Sherwood: 'We have to attack Arsenal in FA Cup final'

Aston Villa boss Tim Sherwood has revealed his intention to go "toe to toe" with Arsenal in the FA Cup final, rather than adopt defensive tactics at Wembley.

The Villans came from behind to defeat Liverpool in the semi-finals of the competition and set up the showdown with the Gunners next week.

Sherwood has admitted that he learned a lot from the match and believes that his side have to attack Arsene Wenger's men to have a chance of lifting the cup.

When asked if his side could replicate their display against Liverpool, Sherwood told the club's official website: "I think so. I hope so. We will go there and try and grasp the occasion like we did at the semi-final. I said after the game that we felt like we belonged there and were not just making up the numbers.

"The fans believed we could win, the players did and I certainly did. I didn't see anything other than a win when we were out there on that pitch - even when we went 1-0 down. Liverpool can damage you. So can Manchester City. We outplayed them at the Etihad Stadium. We have respect Arsenal for their talents.

"We know Alexis Sanchez is an extraordinary talent. They have Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud can score goals. They have talents all over the field. But so have we. We have players who can hurt them. There is no point shackling our players and taking it on the chin until we get knocked out. I don't think our fans want to go there and watch that. Let's go toe to toe and see what happens."

Villa end their Premier League campaign against Burnley at Villa Park later today.