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Before the grumbles, power struggles and rising mountain of discarded fag butts, there had been real optimism at the beginning of Maurizio Sarri ’s Chelsea reign. An impressive 3-2 victory over Arsenal on the second weekend of the season kickstarted a fine run of form that saw the Blues win their opening five matches, not tasting defeat until a trip to Wembley saw them torn apart by Tottenham at the end of November.
Chelsea’s match against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge was in many ways Sarri’s first real test at the club, with his side quickly racing into a two-goal lead. They then allowed Arsenal back into the game during a dreadful spell at the end of the first-half, before wresting back control in the second and taking all three points thanks to a late Marcos Alonso goal.
“I enjoyed the match for 75 minutes,” Sarri ruminated afterwards. “The other 15 minutes it was better to smoke, I think. It was a wonderful match for everybody but those 15 minutes were horrible. At the moment we are just not ready.”
He wasn’t wrong. In the following weeks the goals were to dry up: having scored 27 times in their opening 11 league matches, they netted just 13 times in their subsequent 13 outings. The return fixture against Arsenal again laid bare their need for new options up front — it took them until the 82nd minute just to register a shot on target — with goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Laurent Koscielny sealing a dominant 2-0 win that revitalised Arsenal’s top four challenge.
Those two matches, as well as the way in which the two teams heaved themselves over the line during such a peculiarly underwhelming end to the season, leaves the Europa League final tantalisingly poised. Both have beaten the other. Neither team is playing particularly well. And both look likely to be missing players that shone in this fixture earlier this season.
Chelsea 2018/19 season player ratingsShow all 26 1 /26Chelsea 2018/19 season player ratings Chelsea 2018/19 season player ratings Chelsea 2018/19 player ratings How did Chelsea's players perform this season? Ahead of their final match of the 2018/19 campaign, the Europa League final against Arsenal in Baku, we give each member of the Blues' squad a rating out of 10.
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Chelsea 2018/19 season player ratings Maurizio Sarri 7/10 A shortened pre-season as his arrival dragged on throughout the summer, Sarri hit the ground running, attempted to change a decade-long style and, eventually, provided invaluable minutes to academy graduates Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek - something the fanbase has craved for years. His stubbornness and lack of variety frustrated many, but eventually he adjusted, pushing City mightily close in the League Cup final and leading the Blues to third and the Europa League final. A satisfactory debut season under difficult circumstances
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Chelsea 2018/19 season player ratings Kepa Arrizabalaga 7/10 He arrived with the enormous weight and expectation from his price tag as the world's most expensive goalkeeper. Yet Kepa settled quickly, making very few mistakes and proving quietly productive with his feet. The incident at Wembley to not accept Maurizio Sarri's substitution vs Man City was regretful, yet he bounced back and was pivotal in ensuring the Blues won the shoot-out vs Frankfurt to reach the Europa League final. Still a long way to go to justify the price tag and prove Chelsea have a long-term solution, but he's made a decent start
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Chelsea 2018/19 season player ratings Willy Caballero 7/10 Handled the Kepa fiasco maturely and proved reliable when he stepped in, five clean sheets in eight appearances - about as solid as you can find as a No 2 without the realistic ambition to surpass the No 1
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Chelsea 2018/19 season player ratings Rob Green n/a No first team appearances, but seemingly slotted in to his role and proved likable in the dressing room. A send-off in Boston in the friendly vs New England Revolution was deserved
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Chelsea 2018/19 season player ratings Antonio Rudiger 8/10 Emerging as one of the top five centre-backs in the Premier League with little fanfare. Excellent at recovering, efficient with the ball and even able to stroll out from the back, a cornerstone for Chelsea moving forward. Cruelly denied
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Chelsea 2018/19 season player ratings Marcos Alonso 5/10 A season of regression with his place now under serious threat despite signing a new five-year deal. Productive nonetheless with four goals and seven assists, but a liability at times when defending
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Chelsea 2018/19 season player ratings Emerson 6/10 Has impressed Sarri enough to nudge Alonso out of the starting line-up at times, but is yet to fully lock down a starting role. Has at least proven to be decent competition and cover
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Chelsea 2018/19 season player ratings Cesar Azpilicueta 6/10 Has shown signs of decline but still a favourite under Sarri. Starting to show defensive fragility for almost the first time in his Chelsea career and when the side became predictable, his lack of penetration going forward became evident
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Chelsea 2018/19 season player ratings Davide Zappacosta 5/10 Has been an option late in games when Chelsea are chasing and can cross well from deep areas, but will surely be moved on this summer with Reece James and/or Ola Aina natural squad options
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Chelsea 2018/19 season player ratings Andreas Christensen 5/10 Has been frustrated at his lack of starts behind Luiz and Rudiger. Has filled in well to an extent when called upon though, but lacked consistency
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Chelsea 2018/19 season player ratings David Luiz 7/10 Has been Sarri's mind on the pitch and key to the style transition. Very few defenders better with the ball at their feet and for that reason his extension has proven shrewd. Occasional lack of concentration, but that will not change at this stage of his career. One of the few leaders left at Chelsea and was pivotal in stopping this side fully unravel at times
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Chelsea 2018/19 season player ratings Gary Cahill 5/10 Harshly treated by Sarri, but not a fit for the way he wanted to play, will be fondly remembered after winning everything with the Blues and eventually received the send-off he deserved
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Chelsea 2018/19 season player ratings Jorginho 6/10 Started brilliantly to inspire a new style at the Bridge. But has been treated ridiculously by some Chelsea fans, who have bizarrely booed him at times this season. Responded well in the last few months and appears to have now settled, will play a vital role in the outcome in Baku
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Chelsea 2018/19 season player ratings N'Golo Kante 7/10 Embraced his new, more adventurous role to the right of Jorginho. Added craft to his game and his energy was critical to Sarriball showing promising signs in year one. Injury is a concern ahead of Baku, but he seems set to recover in time
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Chelsea 2018/19 season player ratings Mateo Kovacic 6/10 Has not shone much, but always reliable in possession. Just lacks that cutting edge in the final third and has almost no production in terms of goals and assists despite the freedom of his role. Sarri remains a fan and they will try to sign him permanently
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Chelsea 2018/19 season player ratings Ethan Ampadu 6/10 The Blues youngster was part of the first team squad throughout the season and impressed in the Europa League: brave on the ball and demonstrating excellent positioning - hasn't played since suffering a back injury in February
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Chelsea 2018/19 season player ratings Ruben Loftus-Cheek 8/10 Flourished in the second half of the season to show real signs he can blossom into one of the game's best box-to-box midfielders, scoring 10 goals in the process. Cruelly injured before the Europa League final and will be out for many months with an Achilles injury
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Chelsea 2018/19 season player ratings Ross Barkley 6/10 Scored the late equaliser vs United and won his England place back, but rarely felt like a 'starter', doing little to justify leaving out Loftus-Cheek and Kovacic for long spells. Will need to step it up next season or he will likely be moved on
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Chelsea 2018/19 season player ratings Pedro 7/10 Scored 12 goals and made five assists. His strikes against Tottenham and Frankfurt proved especially important and with Gonzalo Higuain and Olivier Giroud blunting the Blues' attack, he has emerged as probably the best finisher in this squad, supporting the burden on Eden Hazard
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Chelsea 2018/19 season player ratings Gonzalo Higuain 5/10 Has not settled at all, looking slow and offering little outside his movement inside the area, he looks set to return to Turin this summer, even if the transfer ban is held
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Chelsea 2018/19 season player ratings Olivier Giroud 7/10 Unable to convince Sarri he was worth a permanent role to spearhead the side's attack, yet always proving useful when called upon, especially so in the Europa League, where he became the top scorer in the competition with 10 goals alongside Luka Jovic - deserved a longer run in the side in the league
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Chelsea 2018/19 season player ratings Alvaro Morata 4/10 Suffered a woeful spell of form and loss of confidence and eventually accepted a move to Atletico in January. Ends his Chelsea career with 24 goals in 72 appearances
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Chelsea 2018/19 season player ratings Callum Hudson-Odoi 7/10 He had to show great patience before a sustained run in the side came, but he justified the hype and showed himself to be worth of starts ahead of Pedro and Willian at times. Quick feet and a refreshing willingness to go on the outside and cross the ball - which would have helped Higuain and Giroud in the closing stages of the season. Will be forced to show more mental resolve to come back from an Achilles injury next season, with his future yet to be clarified entering the final year of his contract
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Chelsea 2018/19 season player ratings Willian 6/10 A frustrating presence in the side during Chelsea's predictable spell when sides began to work out Sarriball and also blocked Hudson-Odoi's opportunities at times. Still provides hard work and neat in possession, but rarely able to provide a cutting edge. Another player with an uncertain future and only one year remaining on his contract
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Chelsea 2018/19 season player ratings Eden Hazard 9/10 Outstanding at times and back to the form to suggest he is the best player in the Premier League, has done enough to earn his move to Real Madrid and will be sorely missed. Without him and his 19 goals and 16 assists, Chelsea would have surely fallen short of top four and been unable to compete with Man City in two of their three meetings
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Given how well the two teams know one another: it is a strikingly difficult match to predict.
Both sides will be missing influential players. Unai Emery will be disappointed that, for very different reasons, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Hector Bellerin are both unavailable to him. It feels as though the reaction to Mkhitaryan’s enforced omission — Arsenal have left the player out of their matchday squad over fears for his safety in Azerbaijan — has been slightly muted because of his inconsistent form under Emery, but he was arguably the club’s best player at Stamford Bridge earlier this season. There is little doubt he is a huge loss.
Both Mkhitaryan and Bellerin played vital roles in Arsenal’s attempt to pin back Alonso at Stamford Bridge, with the Armenia international orchestrating his side’s press when not in possession. They successfully managed to make life uncomfortable for Alonso — who has never looked particularly at home when deployed in a four-man defence — with the Spaniard only able to gallop forward late on after Emery had appeared to decide to play for a point.
How Arsenal and Chelsea are expected to line-up (The Independent) Working out a way to keep Alonso quiet, should Sarri give him the nod over Emerson Palmieri, will be a priority for Emery. Meanwhile, with Bellerin ruled out injured, Ainsley Maitland-Niles will be used as a right wing-back, and the 21-year-old will almost certainly be singled out by Sarri. He was repeatedly targeted by Valencia in both legs of the semi-final, while his rash red card against Leicester illustrated that he can prove vulnerable when isolated in one-on-one defensive positions.
Regardless of the several difficult decisions he has to make: for Emery, Arsenal’s task on Wednesday evening can be boiled down to one simple — if not particularly easy — task. “Eden Hazard is a player for decisive moments,” he remarked last week to Spanish newspaper El Mundo . “Chelsea is capable of winning the match thanks purely to him, and that ability I have only seen in [Lionel] Messi, Cristiano [Ronaldo], Neymar or [Mohamed] Salah.”
Hazard has enjoyed the most productive campaign of his seven-year stay at Stamford Bridge this season, contributing 16 goals and 15 assists in his 37 Premier League appearances, although Arsenal will not only be wary of the direct impact he can make on a match. They also have to worry about what Hazard is doing when the ball is nowhere near: how he glides into half-spaces and dances elusively on the periphery of the game.
Stay or go: Arsenal's squadShow all 32 1 /32Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Arsenal: Stay or go?
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Bernd Leno - Stay After a steady integration and a few early errors, the German has settled in well as Arsenal's No 1 keeper, playing exceptionally against Leicester last week and more than justifying his £25m price tag.
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Petr Cech - Retired The 36-year-old will hang up his gloves at the end of the season. Arsenal are keen to keep him on in a coaching capacity, however, Cech may prefer a return to former club Chelsea.
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad David Ospina - Keep Napoli have an option to buy, however, the Colombian would prove a perfect, and most importantly free, back-up if the Italians do not take up that offer at a time when Arsenal need to focus on investing in other positions.
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Emiliano Martinez - Sell The Argentinian has impressed at Reading on loan. But at 26, he's unlikely to ever establish himself as first-choice at Arsenal and the player is keen to move on and gain first-team football.
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Laurent Koscielny - Keep A leadership figure at the club with one-year remaining on his contract, the Frenchman is certainly worth keeping on for a final season, despite becoming increasingly injury prone.
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Sokratis - Keep Adapted well in his first season and also has genuine leadership qualities in the dressing-room. One of Arsenal's more reliable options in defence this season and a worthy back-up at the least.
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Rob Holding - Keep Flourished under Unai Emery before his season was derailed by an ACL injury. Should establish himself as first-choice next season.
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Shkodran Mustafi - Sell A liability who Arsenal will be desperately regretting not offloading to Inter Milan when they had the chance. Unreliable and error-prone, Emery does not rely on the German in a back-four and the club will be keen to move him on, even if his value has dipped dramatically.
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Konstantinos Mavropanos - Keep Has been given precious little game time, despite high hopes around the Greek defender. Needs to be given more minutes next season unless Arsenal would consider a loan deal.
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Calum Chambers - Sell Utlimately ended up playing as a central midfielder for Fulham this season and, while showing signs of improvment, does not have the quality to re-establish himself at Arsenal. Chambers is only 24 and should command a reasonable transfer fee from a side towards the other end of the Premier League table.
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Hector Bellerin - Keep Another long-term injury absentee this season. Arsenal's best defender on his day and one they will certainly look to keep hold of.
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Nacho Monreal - Keep The under-celebrated cog in Arsenal's maligned defence. Monreal can play both as a left-back in a 4-4-2 and as a wing-back or left-sided centre-half when Emery opts for five-at-the-back. Valuable versatility and experience that's worth holding onto as a back-up for the final year of his contract.
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Sead Kolasinac - Replace for the right price Cannot be relied upon in a four-at-the-back formation. Frequently fails to track his marker and is lost for pace against skilfull wingers, despite often being brilliant going forwards. Very effective as a wing-back but Arsenal need a first-choice left-back who can be trusted to help sure up a leaky defence.
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Ainsley Maitland-Niles - Keep More often used as a right-back, despite favouring a midfield role. Maitland-Niles has improved but is yet to totally convince. At 21, time is still on his side and he clearly has the potential, but he needs to find another level over the course of the next season.
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Stephan Lichtsteiner - Release Has hardly impressed when filling in and at 35 is well off the pace of the Premier League. Contract expires at the end of the season and is almost certain to depart.
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Carl Jenkinson - Release A cult favourite at the Emirates but a player who has never lived up to expectation. Will depart when his contract expires this summer.
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Granit Xhaka - Keep Can be a frustrating anchor in Arsenal's midfield with errant passing and reckless tackling. Ideally Arsenal would replace the Swiss international, but with a replacement for Ramsey already required it's unlikely Xhaka can be afforded to leave.
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Lucas Torreira - Keep The Uruguayan fell out of favour with Emery during the latter part of the season, despite immediately impressing. Still needs time to adapt to the pace of the Premier League but the 23-year-old continues to look brilliant value at just £25m.
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Matteo Guendouzi- Keep The 19-year-old has been one of the shining lights of this first campaign under Emery, with huge potential and a fearless personality. Can steadily be refined into a first-team starter for years to come if continues to improve and irons out youthful flaws.
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Mohamed Elneny - Sell Only used as a last-ditch option by Emery and does not have the technical quality to effectively fill in for those ahead of him. Arsenal should be able to recoup the £5m transfer fee paid for the Egyptian in 2016.
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Aaron Ramsey - Joining Juventus Arsenal will need to replace Ramsey with a midfielder of similar ilk. The decision not to extend his contract has become increasingly mindless during the second-half of the season in which he has been Arsenal's best player.
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Denis Suarez - Return to Barcelona Who? Barely featured since Arsenal desperately pursued a loan deal for the 25-year-old in January. The decision to sign Suarez, over younger players with more potential, also contributed to Sven Mislintat's shock departure. One to forget.
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Alex Iwobi - Sell for the right price Showed early improvements under Emery but it's still hard to say Iwobi has proved he has the quality to stand against the Premier League's top wingers, with a lacking final ball and paltry goal tally. There's no need to actively look to move Iwobi onwards, but if the right offer came in Arsenal should consider their options.
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Mesut Ozil - Intends to stay Arsenal should look to free up their wage budget and sell Ozil, despite a recent upturn in form after a season of quarrels with Emery. There was already an openness to offload Ozil in the January window, but the creative enigma has now claimed he intends to stay and there's little Arsenal can do to force him out.
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Henrikh Mkhitaryan - Sell Has never managed to consistently impress at Arsenal and his £180,000-per-week wages are a hindrance on the club. Arsenal should definitely look to move the Armenian on. The 30-year-old iis another one though who may be happy to sit tight.
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Reiss Nelson - Keep Started brilliantly at Hoffenheim before falling out of favour and then losing his space in the squad for disciplinary reasons. Has great potential and should hope to break through at Arsenal next season.
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Emile Smith Rowe - Keep Made an impressive breakthrough before struggling with injury before Christmas, which has since prevented him from getting game time on loan at RB Leipzig. Clearly Arsenal's best young prospect with clear potential and, despite Leipzig's interest in another loan deal, Arsenal should look to keep him at the club next season.
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Alexandre Lacazette - Keep Arsenal's player of the year this season. Build-up play, ability to hold up the ball, added robustness and willingness to drop deep behind Aubameyang has turned him into an ideal striker in Emery's set-up.
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang - Keep Twenty goals in the Premier League this season, despite being guilty of occasionally missing key opportunities. Has developed a great relationship with Lacazette.
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Danny Welbeck - Released Arsenal confirmed Welbeck's contract won't be extended after the draw with Brighton.
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Stay or go: Arsenal's squad Eddie Nketiah - Loan Needs more time on the pitch to develop. Almost joined Augsburg in the January window and should look to improve on loan with options currently so limited behind Lacazette and Aubameyang.
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He will almost certainly spend the majority of Wednesday night’s game lingering somewhere on the left-hand side of the field, in an attempt to create space for Alonso to roam forward. Arsenal cannot allow him to exploit Maitland-Niles’ defensive shortcomings — yet their three-man defence risks becoming stretched and overrun should their centre-backs mark the Belgian too tightly.
Chelsea’s other key player is Jorginho. With N’Golo Kante likely to miss the final with a knee injury, Jorginho will be even more instrumental than usual; the man tasked with establishing and maintaining Chelsea’s passing rhythm alongside the muscular Ross Barkley and Mateo Kovacic. Aaron Ramsey is such a loss to Arsenal in this regard, as the Italian has repeatedly struggled when man marked and manhandled this season — particularly at the Emirates, where Emery’s decision to drop the Welshman deep to nullify Jorginho effectively won him the game.
While there are enough outstanding players on the pitch for this final to be decided by one or two moments of individual brilliance, the players themselves are anticipating a tactical contest. “In this competition especially he knows how to win and we know we have to beat Unai as well as Arsenal in the final,” David Luiz commented about Emery earlier this week. It promises to be a tight, technical final, which could be decided by players off the pitch as much as those on it.
Predicted teams: Arsenal (3-4-1-2): Cech; Sokratis, Koscielny, Monreal; Maitland-Niles, Torreira, Xhaka, Kolasinac; Ozil; Lacazette, Aubameyang.
Chelsea (4-3-3): Kepa; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Luiz, Alonso; Kovacic, Jorginho, Barkley; Willian, Giroud, Hazard.
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