Two London clubs reached the Europa league final, even though their Premier League campaigns haven’t been of much substance. Chelsea barely secured top-four as Arsenal struggled to win games in the league, but the two will meet in Baku.
The Europa League final be a tough game for Chelsea. Arsenal have the upper hand and much more confidence going into the final than Chelsea. The Blues have Champions League football secured for next season, whereas Arsenal are still hunting for it. The Gunners have a much stronger motive to win the game to qualify for the Champions League as they failed to do it via the league.
The north London club has Unai Emery as their manager, who has won the competition thrice in row with Sevilla from 2014 to 2016. Safe to say, the Europa league is Emery’s favorite and he is a master at leading his side to glory in the cup. The Spanish manager has worked his magic with Arsenal in the Europa League so far, and led them to the final in his first season in charge.
Emery’s versatility as a manager makes him tough to predict. He has switched players and formations throughout the season. Arsenal have played with a 4-4-2 and a 3-5-2 during this campaign. It’ll be a guess for Maurizio Sarri to predict what formation Emery plays in the final.
Arsenal have fared better with a 3-5-2 than the 4-4-2. Their best performances this season have come under the three-man defence system. The recent example were the quarterfinals and semifinals against Napoli and Valencia, respectively. The north London side has scored 10 goals and conceded just three over the four games, with two clean sheets.
With a 4-4-2, on the other hand, they endured defeats to Crystal Palace, Wolves and Leicester. Considering the run of results that 3-5-2 has produced for them, Emery should stay with it, but it’s for anybody to guess what he picks.
Along with experimenting with different formations, the Arsenal manager has also been switching and rotating players in the formations. This has accustomed all the players to the tactics and has given Emery an idea of his strongest XI.
In terms of formation, the Chelsea boss is predictable. The Blues have played a 4-3-3 every time, with the false-nine being the only variation to it. Premier League teams have figured their way around this formation and have punished Chelsea. Maurizio Sarri has been adamant on not changing his tactics. Emery can exploit those loopholes that other teams have and take the game to their fellow Londoners.
Chelsea haven’t had an authoritative performance in the quarters and semis. In the last four knockout games the team has scored seven and conceded five. Both semifinal games against Eintracht Frankfurt ended in a 1-1 draw and, in the quarterfinals, Chelsea won with just a one goal margin in both the legs against Slavia Prague.
Even the lineups are fairly predictable, with the same players starting over and over. Ruben Loftus-Cheek has changed Sarri’s mindset a little and has been one of Chelsea’s best players in his last few performances. Still, this is one of the few areas in which Maurizio Sarri could change his mind.
The Gunners’ five-man midfield can easily overpower the Blues’ three-man midfield. Wingbacks Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Sead Kolasinac have been growing into their roles and proven useful for Arsenal.
Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira have looked more comfortable and strong in the midfield when they’ve had wingbacks covering the wide areas of the field. This set-up has also drastically covered up for the defensive woes of centre backs like Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis, who conceded 10 goals in the Premier League under the 4-4-2 system in four games.
Arsenal’s alterable squad is in a much better shape and has had a good run into the final with serious momentum and convincing victories. On the other hand, Chelsea have not had great performances leading into the final, as they won a tightly contested game on penalties.
Arsenal are only missing Aaron Ramsey due to injury, while Chelsea will be without Callum Hudson-Odoi and Antonio Rudiger. N’golo Kante still remains a doubt for the final in Baku. Without Kante and Rudiger, it will be a slightly tough task on the defensive end for Chelsea.
Expect the Gunners to come in with all guns blazing for the final.