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Arsenal vs Chelsea: 5 key players in Europa League Final
By Josh Sippie
Arsenal have a defining fixture coming up against Chelsea, and they’ll need the best out of their best players. Here are the five key guys to ensure a victory.
Well, two weeks and a string of ridiculousness from UEFA later, and here we are in Baku, ready to watch Arsenal take on Chelsea in a match that means so much more for the Gunners than any match since the FA Cup of 2014.
This time, the difference means more transfer funds, more momentum, more to play for next season, and a fan base that can finally shut up and appreciate Unai Emery. Personally, I’m most excited for the lattermost.
But it won’t be an easy match, obviously, and it’s been made even more difficult by the lack of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who will absolutely be missed, no matter how much he underwhelmed this year. He’s still a potential game changer, but it’s not like UEFA care very much, so we’ll just have to get on with life.
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They say, in these big matches, to play your best players, and Unai Emery will certainly do that, now it’s up to his best players to play their best match.
And with that being said, here are the five key guys in ensuring that we have Champions League football next year.
We start with No. 5.
5. Granit Xhaka
After a season full of remarkable consistency, Granit Xhaka‘s injury-riddled 2019 saw his struggles rise up again. The mistakes were there, and he looked far more like the old Xhaka than the new one. But it was still an overall positive season, and with everything on the line, Xhaka has a huge role to play in establishing control against a Chelsea midfield that he has manhandled before.
Xhaka is better than Jorginho, he’s stronger than him, and when the situation calls, he can absolutely establish the pace of the match and be the shot caller, rather than having to serve in a less desirable reactionary role.
If he can achieve this and help us win the battle in the midfield like he has in past matches against Chelsea, we are in good shape to find success in the other two theaters of play.
Next up, No. 4.