Chelsea and Arsenal have a lot riding on the FA Cup final. Sure, the FA Cup. But also the season-long aggregate, and the looming shadow of Manchester United’s *ahem* treble.
Antonio Conte has never won a cup as a manager, and now has the opportunity to win England’s domestic double against Arsenal. He will have to wait a few months before striving towards Jose Mourinho’s most-prized silverware, the Community Plate (Shield? Cup? Participation trophy?).
But in the meantime, our predictions with a bit of help from Chelsea’s title-clinching goal-scorer.
Andre Carlisle: Chelsea 2 – 1. Who knows what wily scheme Arsene Wenger has cooked up to foil Antonio Conte? Three at the back? Or maybe four? The possibilities are endless, but also inconsequential.
Must Read: Chelsea come into FA Cup final with desire, Arsenal with desperation
Diego scores then lifts his shirt to reveal a Tianjin Quanjian shirt underneath. Eden Hazard flinches at Francis Coquelin and the young midfielder chooses to skip the embarrassment and kicks the ball into his own net. Still, the celebrations ring hollow as the season’s achievements will pale in comparison to Manchester United’s treble.
Michy Batshuayi: 10 – 2.
Hahaha just saw this https://t.co/mf6xFlfSwu 😂😂 Troopz blud it's gonna Chelsea 10 - 2 Arsenal and NO aggregate fam 😭😂 #respect
— Michy Batshuayi (@mbatshuayi) April 27, 2017
Scott Brant: 2 – 1. Arsenal won’t care if they win or lose as long as everyone has fun. And Antonio Conte hopefully adds another piece of silverware to his already blossoming collection. Diego Costa will score a brace, reassuring everyone he’s right where he belongs, for now. And after the final whistle he will take off his clothes and celebrate partially clothed, because that’s how Diego gets down. Let’s end this season on a high note, Gunners won’t care.
Travis Tyler: 2 – 1. Honestly, Arsenal probably forgot they were in the FA Cup final and had to be quickly called back from the corners of the world for one last #WengerOut rally. Chelsea will make Arsenal’s 3-4-3 look like traffic cones. They will then take pity for the remainder, like an adult who doesn’t want to beat their child too badly at a game, but still wants to win.
That will make the aggregate of the three fixtures versus Arsenal 5-5 in Arsenal’s favor, something they will no doubt scream to the heavens as the ultimate mark of their superiority. That notion will help their tears dry as Chelsea complete the double.
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Daniel McClue: 1 – 1 (Chelsea 12-11 on penalties). The Blues stumble around for 120 minutes, some still hungover, others clearly drunk. Cesar Azpilicueta, so unused to drinking, laughs at everything, capped off by 15 minutes pointing and laughing at Giroud’s face. Hazard scores from 35 yards out and lands a marvellous front flip. After an extra 25 minutes spent on penalties Thibaut Courtois puts the ball through the net, literally, and Chelsea run off into the sunset. Alexis Sanchez sees what team cohesion and fun looks like, cries and demands a transfer across London immediately.
Brendan McDonell: 3 – 1. If the Arsenal back line was 100%, I might have a notion of giving them the nod. No, seriously.
With nothing to show for the season, a motivated Arsenal might be difficult. Playing for their embattled manager in London could create that extra motivation – one that this squad always seems to forget – to put them over the top. Furthermore, Alexis is likely going to use this as his showcase match for his future employer.
But, their back line is in no shape to handle a humming Chelsea.
Barrett Rouen: 3 – 1. Arsenal will make a go of it and maybe even score first, but they have not had the same amount of time off Chelsea have. Plus, nearly their entire back line is injured or banned. Chelsea will make the most of that with their already superior amount of talent.
Next: Antonio Conte reflects on Arsenal defeat on eve of FA Cup final
With this being the final game of the season, Travis Tyler is this season’s winner! You would have won a few quid following his thoughts in this column.
| Name | Correct Scores | Correct Results | Total Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travis Tyler | 3 | 30 | 105 |
| Scott Brant | 5 | 21 | 88 |
| Daniel McClue | 2 | 21 | 73 |
| Ben Croft | 3 | 14 | 57 |
| Barrett Rouen | 3 | 8 | 39 |
| Brendan McDonnell | 1 | 11 | 38 |
| Andre Carlisle | 3 | 7 | 36 |
| Ayushman Basu | 1 | 6 | 23 |
| Rayna Sidhu | 1 | 6 | 23 |
| Random Twitter Followers | 1 | 5 | 20 |
| Khaled Abdallah | 1 | 5 | 20 |
| Ollie Miller | 1 | 4 | 17 |
| Drew Hooper | 1 | 3 | 14 |
| Ajitesh Rasgotra | 0 | 4 | 12 |
| Martin Connolly | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| Kee Min | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| Elkebir Lamrani | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| George Perry | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Alex Gisi | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Neel Madhavan | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Anoop Ramakrishnan | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Eric Overbey | 0 | 1 | 3 |
Hit us up on Twitter with your predictions, or leave a few in the comments below!