Arsenal Vs Chelsea: Breaking down every battle in the FA Cup Final

Midfield vs. Midfield

The final cog in Chelsea’s front three will likely be Mason Mount, who will line up as a right-winger but with the freedom to roam into the middle and instigate counter-attack and scoring position from the No. 10 position. Frank Lampard’s golden boy will likely come in direct contention with Granit Xhaka.

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Xhaka has clearly worked to improve his positional sense in an attempt to offset his lack of athleticism, and for the most part, it has been effective. But Mount’s inside-right drifting runs means the deep-lying Swiss will be tasked with marking him more often than Kieran Tierney, whose job it should be were Xhaka not instructed to stay back so the Scot can contribute further forward on the pitch.

This could work in Arsenal’s favor. Mount operates poorly against physicality and composure, and Xhaka has demonstrated the ability to display both, on his day. So as long as the Swiss operated as a screen the defence and doesn’t let his emotions get the better of him, it could be a long day at the office for Chelsea’s right side.

The same could be said for Mateo Kovacic. Employed by Frank Lampard as a hybrid of a pivot and box-to-box midfielder, the ex-Real Madrid man will be battling Dani Ceballos for most of the game. Given Kovacic’s propensity to rush passes in tight quarters, his former teammate is likely to draw him deep as Mikel Arteta has instructed Ceballos to stick by Granit Xhaka out of possession consistently since the restart.

Kovacic will likely be afforded the most space of any Chelsea midfielder, but he is at his most effective when he has space to drive into. Against a tightly packed midfield, Arsenal should be able to handle his creative skills before looking to exploit the space that opens up behind him on the counter-attack.

Finally, should Bukayo Saka start at left wing-back for Arsenal, it will be fascinating to see how he competes with Reece James. He and James will have their hands full with one another. Both players have explosive speed, excellent close control and ball skills, and are as tenacious defensively as they are going forward.