The moment history was made, Arsene Wenger reacted with the brisk professionalism of a man who seemed to deem it just another day’s work.
Olivier Giroud had scored Arsenal’s fourth goal seconds earlier, rendering it the biggest win in the final for 21 years.
Arsenal became the most successful club in the oldest competition of all and their 12th FA Cup came as they took their aggregate score against Aston Villa this season to 12-0.
But when referee Jon Moss blew the final whistle, Wenger simply clapped his hands before striding purposefully on to the pitch. His side had produced a performance of remarkable domination, but this was not jubilation or celebration.
Wenger walked over to the Arsenal fans, a sea of singing yellow that made Wembley look like the Westfalenstadion, bowed and waved when they chorused his name.
Some doubted him during a nine-year trophy drought, fewer do now.
His businesslike reaction was that of a manager who, like Alex Ferguson in his pomp, seemed to suggest success was expected.
If Wenger’s challenge now is to win the more prestigious trophies, more than anyone he had cause for elation.
It is 143 years since the first FA Cup final and Wenger was 46 before he arrived into the English game.
Now, in a sign of how he has reshaped it, he is the joint most successful manager in the competition’s history.
Only Villa’s long-dead secretary-manager George Ramsay can rival his six triumphs. That is a colossal achievement.
None of the previous five have been quite as emphatic, but Arsenal’s excellence on such stages has never been as pronounced – they were outstanding.
The stand-out moment was their second goal, a stunning, swerving, spectacular shot from Alexis Sanchez.
The Chilean, who had scored twice in the semi-final win over Reading, now is the architect of one of Wembley’s more magical moments.
Yet perhaps the most illustrative incidents came before the floodgates opened.
They were touches of class, of confidence, of considerable skill. They showed the trickery of Arsenal, of Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and even Francis Coquelin, to escape from would-be markers.
Ozil, who never seems to sprint, would wander past people nonchalantly.
Sanchez, who always seems to sprint, would dart away from them.
Santi Cazorla would drop deeper, ready to spread play with masterly authority.
Aaron Ramsey offered brainpower and legwork in equal measure and Theo Walcott kept threatening to surge in behind the Villa defence, leaving Ron Vlaar and Jores Okore resembling nervous wrecks.
Arsenal had goals from the striker Wenger opted to select, in Walcott, and the one he had benched, in Giroud, from his star signing, Sanchez, and his captain, Per Mertesacker.
He had a performance that served as an advertisement for his management; Arsenal showcased passing and principles in equal measure.
Wenger was happy to pass on the credit.
After they lifted the trophy, he ignored his players’ urges to come and join them as they bounced around, spraying one another with champagne. Instead, he looked for Danny Welbeck, directing the injured forward towards his euphoric colleagues.
He did not get carried away. He has had five previous opportunities to do so and the record books should be a reminder that, while much criticised, he is an all-time great.
Only three letters separate Wenger from winner.
Even in his long drought, he came close: beaten three times in finals, forever in the Premier League’s top four. Now he has back-to-back FA Cups.
Not bad for a specialist in failure – as Jose Mourinho infamously and incorrectly deemed him – because, if this is failure, it has rarely been more glorious.
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