Arsenal: Chelsea’s dysfunction could be key to Europa League final

With Arsenal and Chelsea coming up to decide the Europa League Final in Baku, how could drama and injuries effect the team against Arsenal?

With the Europa League final just hours away, the contest remains up in the air with both Arsenal and Chelsea finding surprises while preparing in both London and Baku itself.

While Arsenal will still be without the injured Aaron Ramsey, they also lose the services of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, thanks the an international dispute over territory between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Between Ramsey’s injury, suffered against Napoli in the Europa League Quarter finals, the political nightmare for FIFA surrounding Mkhitaryan, the rumors about Barcelona and Alexandre Lacazette, as well as those surrounding Unai Emery’s first year with the club and his own future, the Gunners still appear to be in much better shape than their rivals from West London.

Chelsea, after bouncing back from a horrible string of performances during the middle of the Premier League campaign, was able to drag itself to third place in the premiership.

The credit should go to Maurizio Sarri as much as the players for this turn around for sure, aided of course by floundering performances from Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester United. He not only secured a Champions League spot next year for the club, but may win the Europa League for them as well. Then, as this final match neared, the tailspin commenced all over again.

The injury to Ruben Loftus-Cheek during a friendly exhibition in a charity match in the US began the run of awful luck. A ruptured achilles, which could’ve lent the team a same or similar boost as either losses of Ramsey or Mkhitaryan may provide the Gunners with, became even more improbable soon thereafter.

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N’Golo Kanté, injured late in the Premier League campaign with a hamstring issue, lost further fitness during training when he twisted his knee. Two of Chelsea’s most explosive and reliable sources of inspiration unlikely for the Europa League final is bad news for a team that perhaps lacks the depth and formation creativity of Arsenal under Unai Emery this season. But the dysfunction may be even greater an issue than the injuries, which in many ways mirror the Gunners’ own  going into the match.

The drama surrounding Eden Hazard’s departure this summer to Real Madrid would’ve surely been anticipated to be one of the greatest of off-field questions surrounding the team this time last year. Then the transfer ban was announced, furthering the mayhem for a club seemingly in perpetual mayhem.

This was succeeded by the spate of injuries to the likes of Kanté and Loftus-Cheek, further pressurizing the situation. Now rumors exist that Maurizio Sarri has already agreed to terms with Juventus, furthering speculation that he’s a one and done with the West London outfit. And just today, a report comes out that a clash between David Luiz and Gonzalo Higuain caused Sarri to throw his things down and storm off the pitch.

With just hours remaining, it doesn’t appear that a very unified and healthy team takes the Europa League final pitch vs Arsenal.

Despite the questions and pressure surrounding Arsenal, the circus certainly seems in Chelsea’s corner for this final matchup of the teams. In a game that decides the Gunners’ Champions league fate, potentially Sarri’s future, and could leave reverberations in FIFA’s future decisions thanks to the Mkhitaryan debacle, Arsenal appears in the better spot to turn negatives into positives.

A victory in a European tournament, solidifying the Champions League next year, and a trophy in this campaign would go a long way building continuity and progress for next season for Unai Emery’s culture and that of the team.

With Edu’s arrival imminent, the building blocks would be in place for real progress. While at Chelsea? It would just be more of the same, some success with the atmosphere of an untamed carnival.