Five big talking points ahead of the Europa League final between Chelsea and Arsenal
Arsenal and Chelsea’s London rivalry will resume in Baku, Azerbaijan on Wednesday night in the Europa League final. Both teams need to win the competition for their respective campaigns to be considered successful and we are not short of talking points ahead of the big game.
How the two managers compare
Chelsea would usually be considered heavy favourites against Arsenal but that is certainly not the case here. Find all the odds for Wednesday's final on betting sites. In Unai Emery, Arsenal have a manager that has enjoyed unrivalled success in this competition. Emery won the competition three times in a row between 2014 and 2016 with Sevilla, a run which included victory over Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool. Emery has remarkably won 19 consecutive Europa League knockout ties, while only Giovanni Trapattoni has won the UEFA Cup/Europa League on as many occasions as the 47-year-old (three).
Maurizio Sarri, meanwhile, has not been anywhere near as successful in European competition as his counterpart. The Italian, has, to his credit, only lost two of his 24 Europa League matches as a manager but this is his first European final. Sarri had never previously been beyond the first round of knockout games in a European campaign prior to this season. This is also expected to be Sarri’s final match in charge of Chelsea, regardless of the result. It’s been a turbulent first year in charge of the Blues for Sarri and pictures of him storming out of training on the eve of the final have done the perception of his relationship with the squad no favours.
How the potential absences could shape the final
The build up to Wednesday’s final has not been ideal for either side. The farcical decision to host the show-piece event in Baku has forced Arsenal to leave Europa League-specialist Henrikh Mkhitaryan behind amid fears for his safety, while the Gunners will also be without key midfielder Aaron Ramsey. The Welshman, who did a job stifling Jorginho in Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Chelsea in January, has been Arsenal’s best midfielder this year but injury ended his season in April. Mesut Ozil has not always been trusted in big matches by Emery and you already know there will be a lot of attention on his performance should things go wrong for Arsenal.
It’s not just Arsenal that will be understrength. Chelsea have lost Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek to Achilles tendon injuries in the last few months and Sarri has described N’Golo Kante as ’50/50’ ahead of Wednesday’s match. All three, as well as Antonio Rudiger, who misses out with a knee injury, would likely have started against Arsenal.
A fitting farewell for Eden Hazard?
With a move to Real Madrid expected to be finalised after Wednesday’s final, Eden Hazard will hope to end his time at Chelsea on a high. The Belgium international has already secured Chelsea Champions League football for next season with a top four finish in the Premier League but will be desperate to bow out with silverware.
Hazard has only started three matches in the Europa League this season but it’s not even a debate whether he will start against Arsenal or not. The 28-year-old played a direct hand in more goals than any other player in the Premier League (31) this season and finished the 2018/19 campaign as the highest WhoScored rated player in the division (7.81). As he so often proved the difference domestically, expect Hazard to have a big say in the outcome of the Europa League final.
Could ex-players come back to haunt their old team?
For Petr Cech and Olivier Giroud, Wednesday’s Europa League final will prove bittersweet. Both players will be out to win but for one it will come at the cost of despair to their former club.
Cech developed into one of the Premier League’s best ever goalkeepers during an 11-year stint at Chelsea and will remarkably line up against his former club in his last game as a professional. There have been suggestions Cech, who has started 10 of Arsenal’s 14 matches in the Europa League this season, should be dropped for the final amid suggestions he will return to Stamford Bridge in a technical role for next season.
Giroud, meanwhile, spent nearly six years at Arsenal before transferring to Chelsea in January 2018. The France international has struggled for regular playing time at Chelsea, particularly this season, but has been Maurizio Sarri’s first choice striker in the competition. Given the way Gonzalo Higuain underwhelmed this season, Giroud should have perhaps been Chelsea’s out-and-out striker in all competitions. The 32-year-old is the joint top scorer in the Europa League this season (10).
Which partnerships to look out for
A lot has been made of Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s understanding on the field together and Chelsea will have to keep both men quiet on Wednesday night. Lacazette assisted three of Aubameyang’s goals in the Premier League this season and Emery will hope both can cause Chelsea real problems in the Europa League final. Emery has been reluctant to start both at times this season but they have both started each of Arsenal’s last five matches in the Europa League and the Gunners were victorious in every game.
Chelsea will be under no illusions of the difficulty of stifling the threat posed by both Aubameyang and Lacazette but Sarri will be confident his own attackers can hurt Arsenal. The only doubt in Chelsea’s front three is whether Willian or Pedro start. Both of been influential in Chelsea’s run to the final and each have forged solid understandings with top scorer Giroud. Willian to Olivier Giroud is the best single assist-to-goalscorer combination in the Europa League this season (three), while Pedro to Oliver Giroud is the best combined partnership in the competition (four goals).
