Arsenal fans rejoice as two beloved former players met in Europa League final

The UEFA Europa League final was played on Wednesday evening, with Atalanta beating Bayer Leverkusen by a comfortable scoreline of 3-0. In truth, the game looked down and out early on as Ademola Lookman scored a brace within 26 minutes and then completed his hat-trick in the 75th minute. Regardless, how is the Europa League final relevant to Arsenal fans?

Well, given the climax of the Premier League season at the weekend, Arsenal fans may now find themselves twiddling their thumbs and watching any possible game which comes their way. But other than this, the game consisted of two former Arsenal players, which always helps to keep the attention of Arsenal fans.

Arsenal fans rejoice as two beloved former players met in Europa League final

On the winning side was Sead Kolasinac, who started and played the first half for the winning side Atalanta. On the losing side was Granit Xhaka who started and played the entire match for Bayer Leverkusen (with the hopes of winning the double, after already winning an unbeaten Bundesliga title with Leverkusen this season).

It was Kolasinac's first European trophy as ageing at 30 years old, he is beginning to look comfortable at his new club Atalanta. As a player who is respected by Arsenal fans, it was nice to see the beastly defender achieve success and lift the trophy.

However, it was a shame that it was at the expense of Granit Xhaka, whose story at Arsenal is a little different. After his career at the Emirates Stadium looked down and out (in all fairness, he did cuss at the Arsenal supporters), Xhaka turned his career around under Mikel Arteta and left to a standing ovation after scoring a brace on his final game.

Granit Xhaka and Sead Kolasinac shared an embrace at the final whistle, as the two former Arsenal players spoke. As footballers often do, Xhaka covered his mouth so the cameras could not lipread what he said but it was still a nice moment to see the two take the time to acknowledge each other after a mighty European battle.

Sead Kolasinac and Granit Xhaka were involved in the final Arsenal lineup under Arsene Wenger. Therefore, one of the two former Gunners had the opportunity to add a European trophy to their cabinet. Still, they will both be playing in the Champions League again next season, given that Bayer Leverkusen qualified through their league position and Atalanta won the UEL on Wednesday.

What did you make of the UEFA Europa League final, Arsenal fans?