CARDIFF, Wales (AP) - Arsenal will be after its own triple crown when it takes on Liverpool in the the FA Cup final on Saturday.

While victory would bring Liverpool its second cup title as it chases three this season, Arsenal will be trying to notch up its third FA Cup final win over the Merseysiders.

Liverpool and England striker Michael Owen said the match could be the club's toughest of the season.

"We've beaten Arsenal once this season and they've beaten us - it's very close, very even," Owen said. "This one is the decider between us, and it's a very important decider, you can't begin to pick a favorite. When it's as even as this one it takes a brave man to pick a winner."

The final between two of England's most storied teams has a distinct foreign flavor at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

Both managers are French - Arsene Wenger at Arsenal and Gerard Houllier at Liverpool. With venerable Wembley stadium in London closed for demolition or renovation, this is the first FA Cup final played outside England since the competition began in 1872.

North London Arsenal has won the FA Cup seven times, the last coming in 1998 when it claimed the double by also taking the league title. It will be Arsenal's 14th F.A. Cup final.

Liverpool has won the cup five times, the last coming in 1992. It will be the Reds' 12th FA Cup final. The clubs have played each other twice in the FA Cup decider with the Gunners winning 2-0 in 1950 and 2-1 in 1971.

Liverpool has already won the League Cup and play modest Spanish side Alaves on Wednesday for the UEFA Cup. It could also join Arsenal in next season's Champions League with a win in its final game of the Premier League season against Charlton.

Arsenal goes into the final desperate for some silverware. Eliminated from the Champions League in the quarterfinals, the Gunners finished runners-up again this season to the mighty Manchester United.

"Like the other French players here I didn't know much about the FA Cup," midfielder Patrick Vieira said. "But when I won it with Arsenal in 1998 I could see how much it meant to the supporters even though we had only just won the championship as well."

"I've not had to tell people like Robert Pires, Thierry Henry and Sylvain Wiltord about it because they've seen with their own eyes how much the FA Cup means when we played Tottenham in the semifinal at Old Trafford.

Vieira will face a key battle in the midfield against 20-year-old England star Steve Gerrard.

"He's played very well this season and will become a really great player if he keeps working hard to prove what people are already saying about him," Vieira said.

Liverpool's German defender Markus Babbel sees cup success this season leading to beating out Man United next season in league play.

"We have won one cup already and we can win two more cups now," he said. "If we do that we will maybe be able to say next season that we can win the title in England."

Liverpool midfielder Jamie Carragher remains cautious.

"As things stand we still haven't achieved that much (this season)," he said. "To reach three cup finals in one season is a terrific achievement but it won't mean a great deal if we lose the two we have coming up."

For Arsenal captain Tony Adams and Liverpool midfielder Gary McAllister, Saturday's game has a sense of urgency. Both in their mid-30s, the game could be their last in an FA Cup final.

Adams last won it in 1998. It will be McAllister's first FA Cup final in his first season with Liverpool.

There could also be a battle off the pitch.

More than 100,000 spectators are already being warned of long delays in traveling to Cardiff, with only one road route in and out of the city.

Spectators were asked to travel by coach or train in a bid to ease traffic congestion but most were expected to come by car.

English Football Association officials have put down a new 100,000 pounds (dlrs 140,000) pitch after the old one was deemed unplayable.

(knr)