It’s hard not to think the players left an awful lot of what they had left towards the end of the season for those Europa League quarter and semifinals and ultimately that’s what cost us in the league. If that’s the case they need to make sure they have done enough in the last two weeks since the end of the domestic season to make sure they take the trophy and the Champions League place that goes with it tonight. Any other result will surely see Emery’s first season in charge judged as less than a success.
The absence of Henrikh Mkhitaryan has already been gone into at length and it was the player’s choice to stay at home despite assurances of his safety. When you see Arsenal fans in the streets of Baku been stopped by the local police for wearing a Mkhitaryan shirt it’s easy to see why he felt those assurances weren’t enough. If Arsenal are to fail tonight the Mkhitaryan excuse will be offered by some and UEFA will certainly be partly to blame.
However we still have some very good players who have shown already this season that they can beat Chelsea. We won 2-0 at home to them in the league in January thanks to goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Laurent Koscielny and we lost 3-2 away to them in the league in August. If we can create as many clear cut chances as we did in that August defeat tonight I think we will lift the trophy.
The rumours of unrest at Chelsea are rife with Maurizio Sarri apparently off to manage Juventus at the end of the season while star player Eden Hazard is entering the final year of his contract and should really be sold to get some money to reinvest in the team. They have a transfer embargo though thanks to their dodgy dealing in the past and they cannot afford to sell a player of his ability if they’re unable to buy a replacement. Hopefully all the supposed unrest can have an effect on the way they play, but really it’s up to Arsenal to go out and win the game.
I assume the manager will stick with Petr Cech as his cup goalkeeper despite him being off to Chelsea as a coach when he retires after this game. I can’t see that making a blind bit of difference to a keeper with a career like Cech’s behind him and I have no doubt he will give his best if selected as expected. However if it came to a penalty shoot out I think I would prefer to see Bernd Leno in goal given Cech’s abysmal record at saving penalties.
I think we’ll probably see three central defenders deployed as playing two worked better when we had Aaron Ramsey as one of the midfield trio, but sadly we’ll never see him in an Arsenal shirt again as he’s injured for tonight and on his way to Juventus shortly. He might have been just the player we needed tonight given his form when he has played this season and his penchant for cup final goals. Certainly missing him as well as Mkhitaryan tonight will decrease our creative abilities from the midfield as well as taking two players who know how to find the back of the net out of the reckoning.
In midfield I expect an axis of Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira with Mesut Ozil playing behind Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The front two have been crucial for us this season and surely we will be depending on them again tonight. I know he misses his fair share of chances, but Aubameyang might just be the difference between the teams tonight.
At the other end if we can keep the ball from Hazard and stop him when he has it Chelsea will struggle. He is by far their biggest threat and we have to be fully aware of his ability to go down very easily in our box. I’d hate to lose this final to a dodgy penalty, but there are few players more capable of fooling a referee than Hazard.
It’s been 13 years since our last European final and that didn’t end well despite us leading for so long with 10 men. We only have two European trophies to our name and it would be so sweet to add to that tally considering we have lost four European finals too. Two of those finals went against us on penalties and I really hope this game doesn’t go to penalties too as I don’t have the greatest confidence in our ability from 12 yards.
There’s an awful lot at stake for us tonight when you consider how big this game and it’s rewards are. Playing in the Champions League and the money that goes with it is so important as well as making it easier to attract new players it would also mean we can afford to spend more on them too and maybe get a better class of player. There’s also a big shiny trophy to be won and after all surely that’s what football is all about.
COME ON THE ARSENAL !!!
Formation
5 at back
4 with Ramsey
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