The wait is over and the final is upon us! Arsenal face Chelsea in the Europa League final on Wednesday night and this will surely go down to the wire. The match has been masked by a few embarrassments here and there with the choice of venue and the Henrikh Mkhitaryan saga- but expectations are still high.
For the Gunners, after finishing fifth in the Premier League, this seems to be a must win if they fancy Champions League football next season. For Emery, there’s a lot at stake and he must prepare his side to be engraved on the right side of history. Despite not featuring in any European final for more than a decade, there are reasons for Arsenal fans to be hopeful for on Wednesday.
Arsenal squad jetted off to Azerbaijan on Saturday more than twenty-four hours ahead of Chelsea and they could use the extra hours to better acclimatize to their new environment. Emery has shown that he is a Specialist in this competition and understands what he needs to do to bring the cup home.
It’s not honorable to delight in others misfortunes but the Gunners will surely be impressed by Chelsea’s injury list. Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Antonio Rudiger and Callum Hudson-Odoi are confirmed absentees and the blues are still sweating over Ngolo Kante’s fitness.
For political reasons, the Gunners will be without Mkhitaryan while Aaron Ramsey, Hector Bellerin and Rob Holding are still out with injuries. Danny Welbeck is back from a long absence and should be fit for the bench. The news that Petr Čech Petr will return to Chelsea this summer as the sporting director has elicited mixed reactions from the Emirates fans with others suggesting that he should be dropped.
However the player, through his twitter account, has insisted that he is focused on winning the Europa Cup with Arsenal and will decide his future thereafter. Emery should not have any problem starting him between the sticks though, his European finals experience will be invaluable on and off the pitch for the team. The Spaniard tactician is likely to go for a 3-4-1-2 formation as it has been so effective in Europe this season.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Sead Kolasinac should start on the right and left wing-back respectively. Going forward, their contribution will instrumental but they will have to pick their moments cautiously. In central defence, Laurent Koscielny will be partnered by Nacho Monreal and Sokratis Papastathopoulos. This back three will have to be in sync with each other throughout the game as any breakdown in communication at the back could prove costly.
Exceptional harmonization will be needed from the three to keep Chelsea’s attack at bay. In midfield, the main task will be finding the best combination to choke out ‘Sari ball’. At the center of the park, Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira partnership should be preferred.
Xhaka’s ability to move the ball and bring others into play should keep his side ticking over but Torreira’s diligent pressing and his knack to execute neat tackles make him the perfect partner. Ozil will undoubtedly start in the number ten role with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang partnering Alexandre Lacazette upfront.
