Kieran Richardson earmarks Jack Grealish as the key man against Arsenal

Manchester United youth product Kieran Richardson believes Jack Grealish is the man who can lead Aston Villa to the FA Cup title against Arsenal at Wembley.

Villa won their last FA Cup trophy in 1957 and Richardson believes that Grealish needs to put in a brilliant performance if they have to bring an end to that trophy drought, after a disappointing season on all accounts for the Midlands Cup.

Villa made their way into the finals after a confident performance against Liverpool in the semi-finals where they overturned a one goal deficit to win the game 2-1 after brilliant performances by the likes of Christian Benteke and Fabian Delph. The duo have to be at their very best to complement Grealish if they have to counter the threat posed by Arsenal.

Meanwhile, Richardson is likely to be inducted into the team after being deemed fit for the final and is likely to have a major impact in their bid to give the holders a good scare.

"Jack looked an amazing young talent in training but you see a lot of kids who can do special things in training but can't replicate it in a competitive match," Richardson started.

"But with Jack, the bigger the stage, the better he seems to perform. He was outstanding in the semi-final against Liverpool.

"He is never afraid to take on opponents. He has that ­confidence. He wins us a lot of free-kicks around the ­opposition box and when you have the big man, Christian Benteke, in the middle, that can be key for us.

"The gaffer has shown belief in Jack and he has repaid that.

"For the whole team it is a definite advantage that we played at Wembley in the semi-final, went there as underdogs and outplayed a very good team in Liverpool.

"We will not be daunted at all because we have a feel for the place, we know the pitch, we've great recent memories of winning there and performing really well.

"Our fans were ­incredible that day and I'm sure they will be the same again in the final," he added.