Chelsea v Arsenal
Date: 29/05/2019
K/O: 20.00
Venue: Olympic Stadium, Baku
TV: BT Sport
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (Italy)
An all English classic is in store in Baku as Chelsea face Arsenal in the Europa League final amid controversy and shame as UEFA reaches new depths of ineptitude.
A final played in a city that even UEFA acknowledge cannot cope with the logistics of holding so many visitors in one go doesn’t bode well, especially as Azerbaijan will host matches at next year’s Euro 2020.
As a result of thousands of returned tickets by both clubs, it is expected that there may be only 3500 fans of the two sides with the rest of the near 70,000 seat stadium being filled by friends of UEFA.
Astonishingly though, a stadium and city that can’t cope with football fans isn’t the worst part of the final.
Due to an ongoing dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Henrikh Mkhitaryan is unable to play. Promises on his safety were half-hearted at best, and the fact a player, former winner and scorer in a Europa League final is unable to play should be treated as a scandal, but one suspects UEFA will blunder on.
A final will be played under such circumstances, and as such UEFA deserves a nil-nil bore fest, but given the profile of the teams and their styles we could be in for a classic.
Chelsea beat Arsenal 3-2 in a mini classic in August before Arsenal got revenge with a high-intensity display at the nadir of the Sarri reign.
Chelsea will be without Antonio Rudiger, Callum Hudson Odoi and Ruben Loftus Cheek who injured an Achilles in a postseason game a few days after the end of the Premier League season.
The Blues also have doubts over Cesar Azpiliqueta and Ngolo Kante, whilst a major selection issue will hinge on whether Giroud is selected in the main striker role ahead of Higuain. Giroud has played in 13 Europa League games this season, notching ten goals and offers more to the team.
There are also rumours of a training ground bust-up on the eve of the final between Sarri. Luiz and Higuain, leading the Italian manager to throw a bib and storm off in scenes reminiscent of the Kepa carnage in the League Cup final.
The final could also be the farewell of Eden Hazard who looks to be leaving to play for Real Madrid, with a transfer ban in place Chelsea will find the loss of the mercurial Belgian hard to overcome given his output and touch of flair.
With that said, Hazard will need to improve his goal return to impress in Madrid, but the Belgian only needs one goal to reach 20 for the season for the first time in Chelsea colours – a tally that will be simply unacceptable with the Spanish giants.
Chelsea could also be without manager Sarri who seems to be on the way to Juventus. The Italian will win his first career trophy should Chelsea win on Wednesday and the decision to hire and fire the ex-Napoli boss in less than a year would be classic Chelsea in the Abramovich era.
Sarriball has struggled to impose itself consistently this season and a bit more pragmatism looks in order. However, plenty of managers have needed more than one season to implement their style properly, and given Sarri had less than a fortnight in preseason and has reached two cup finals as well as finishing third in the league, he does unquestionably merit a second season. Especially if the alternative is an ex-player who has just finished sixth in the Championship.
Arsenal go into the game needing a win to qualify for the Champions League and win a trophy to give Emery some reward for a difficult first season and a platform for the next campaign. Without Mkhitaryan, Emery should find it easier to fit both Lacazette and Aubameyang in the starting eleven. The strike pair have 50 for the season and 13 on the run to the final are responsible for Arsenal’s last eight in the competition.
The Gunners will be without Aaron Ramsey, Hector Bellerin, Denis Suarez, Rob Holding and Mavropanos and the main decision will be on whether Petr Cech plays the last game of a distinguished career amid reports of a return to Chelsea in a non-playing role as Sporting Director.
Cech was a Chelsea player when they last won a European trophy, winning this tournament in 2013 a year after winning the Champions League in 2012.
Arsenal have a less illustrious European history and are seeking only a second title in Europe’s main trophies after winning the 1994 Cup Winners Cup. Since then, Arsenal have lost in the final of the Cup Winners Cup (1995), UEFA Cup (2000), and Champions League (2006).
In Arsenal’s favour is the managerial mismatch in terms of trophies, whilst Sarri bids for a maiden trophy, Emery has won the tournament three times and could easily add to his tally to move to four major European trophies – an impressive haul in any context.
If the matches this season between the two are any indication, Arsenal enter as slight favourites having missed a hatful of chances in a 3-2 loss before dominating 2-0 in a vibrant display in the reverse fixture.
The two sides also had an identical record in the league against fellow top six – W3, D3, L4 – with Chelsea winning three (Manchester City, Spurs, Arsenal), drawing three (Liverpool and Manchester United twice) and losing four (Manchester City, Liverpool, Spurs, Arsenal. Arsenal meanwhile also recorded three victories (Chelsea, Spurs, Manchester United), with three draws (Liverpool, Manchester United, Spurs) and four defeats (Manchester City, twice, Spurs, Chelsea).
Arsenal did have a harder route to the final facing Vorskla Poltava, Qarabag, Sporting Lisbon, Bate Borisov, Rennes, Napoli and Valencia. Chelsea meanwhile faced Bate Borisov, POAK, MOL Vidi, Malmo, Dynamo Kiev, Slavia Prague and Eintracht Frankfurt.
The suspicion is that Arsenal could have too much intensity for Chelsea if they play to their potential and a possible classic is on the cards.
Predicted Starting XIs
Chelsea (4-3-3): Kepa; Azpiliqueta, Luiz, Christensen, Alonso; Jorginho, Barkley, Kovacic; Hazard, Pedro, Giroud.
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Cech; Maitland Niles, Koscielny, Sokratis, Kolasinac; Xhaka, Torreira; Ozil, Iwobi, Aubameyang, Lacazette
Prediction: Chelsea 2 Arsenal 3 (AET)
