Le Tissier certain of Saints success

'I hope the way they have played in the last few weeks will have a bearing but a big factor for me is that Patrick Vieira is missing. He dominates the middle of the park and when he's not there they

don't have anyone who does the same job. Vieira is the key man in midfield and Sol Campbell in defence and they are difficult to cover for.

'There's not a defender in the Arsenal squad who can out-jump James Beattie and that is a great strength for us. If you could pick two players from the Arsenal team to be missing one would be Patrick and the other would be Thierry Henry. Since Henry's fine then it's Sol, because he is such a big player for them.

'The pressure is on Arsenal - they are the favourites. It will be a failure for them to lose because they were expected to win at least two trophies and the season is a disappointment to them, having failed to win the Premiership given the position they were in.'

Le Tissier knows all about getting close enough to smell the sweet scent of glory without actually tasting it. A career which spanned 16 years in the first team at Southampton saw him lauded as one of the most skilful players of his generation, a fact which was not reflected in his tally of only eight international caps.

No-one was more pleased for Wayne Bridge and James Beattie when they graduated to senior England caps and Le Tissier believes that, far from giving them a taste for trophies which might spark moves to bigger clubs, Saturday's experience should confirm that they still have a lot to achieve at St Mary's.

He said: 'Wayne is a local lad who supports Southampton and that is often the big draw to keep him there. The club is financially stable and will play in Europe next year and there is still a lot to be achieved by staying put, which I think he and James will consider.

'As for England, I think it's just a shame that Ashley Cole is around at the same time as Wayne. Wayne is a better full back than Ashley and if they switched it around and played Wayne at the back and Ashley in midfield it would be better.'

Le Tissier's own international career has long been the subject of debate but the man himself has no regrets about turning down offers to join Spurs, Liverpool and then Chelsea.

'I would probably have had more England caps if I had left and certainly would have earned more money,' he said. 'I was closest to going to Tottenham in 1990 and I agreed a financial package, but didn't sign for various reasons and after that my love for Southampton developed.'

Glenn Hoddle never allowed himself that time before leaving Southampton for White Hart Lane and Le Tissier used the former England manager as a good example of how things can go wrong.

'Being in the Cup Final is nice because Glenn left Southampton believing Tottenham would be more successful and it hasn't turned out that way,' he said.