UEFA Europa League Chelsea V Arsenal - Wednesday 29 May - Virgin Media 2 / BT Sport 2

citytillidie

Road to the Final
Chelsea
Last 32
1st Leg Malmö (SWE) 1 - 2 Chelsea (ENG)
2nd Leg Chelsea (ENG) 3 - 0 Malmö (SWE)

Round of 16
1st Leg Chelsea (ENG) 3 - 0 Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)
2nd Leg Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) 0 - 5 Chelsea (ENG)

Quarter-Final
1st Leg Slavia Praha (CZE) 0 - 1 Chelsea (ENG)
2nd Leg Chelsea 4 - 3 Slavia Praha (CZE)

Semi-Final
1st Leg Eintracht Frankfurt (GER) 1 - 1 Chelsea (ENG)
2nd Leg Chelsea 1 - 1 Eintracht Frankfurt (GER) Chelsea win on Pens 4-3

Arsenal
Last 32
1st Leg BATE Borisov (BLR) 1 - 0 Arsenal (ENG)
2nd Leg Arsenal 3 - 0 BATE Borisov (BLR)

Round of 16
1st Leg Rennes (FRA) 3 - 1 Arsenal (ENG)
2nd Leg Arsenal 3 - 0 Rennes (FRA)

Quarter-Final
1st Leg Arsenal 2 - 0 Napoli (ITA)
2nd Leg Napoli (ITA) 0 - 1 Arsenal (ENG)

Semi-Final
1st Leg Arsenal (ENG) 3 - 1 Valencia (ESP)
2nd Leg Valencia (ESP) 2 - 4 Arsenal (ENG)

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Stats and Facts
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Chelsea and Arsenal make the journey east from London to Baku's Olympic Stadium, where they have both previously won against local champions Qarabağ, to contest the first major European club competition final between two English clubs in 11 years, and only the third in UEFA history.

• It is the third UEFA Europa League final between clubs from the same nation, the first having brought Portugal's Porto a 1-0 win in Dublin against Braga in 2011 before Atlético Madrid defeated Athletic Club 3-0 in an all-Spanish encounter in Bucharest 12 months later.

• Chelsea are unbeaten in their 14 UEFA Europa League matches this term (W11 D3). They dominated Group L in the autumn before eliminating Malmö, Dynamo Kyiv, Slavia Praha and, on penalties, Eintracht Frankfurt to reach the final.

• Arsenal arrive in Azerbaijan on a five-match winning run in the competition. They cruised through to the knockout phase from Group E, dropping just two points and qualifying with two games to spare, but they had a scare in both the round of 32 and round of 16 against BATE Borisov and Rennes respectively before winning home and away in both the quarter-final against Napoli and the semi-final against Valencia.

• While Chelsea have already secured a berth in the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League group stage by finishing third in the Premier League, Arsenal's fifth-place finish means they will qualify for next season's UEFA Champ
ions League only with victory in Baku.

Previous meetings
• While the London rivals are familiar domestic opponents, they have been paired together just once before in UEFA competition. Chelsea got the better of Arsenal in the 2003/04 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals when they followed up a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge with a 2-1 comeback win at Highbury, left-back Wayne Bridge striking the decisive goal for Claudio Ranieri's side three minutes from time.

• Although Chelsea were defeated on penalties by Manchester United in that most recent all-English final, the 2008 UEFA Champions League showpiece in Moscow (after a 1-1 draw), their overall UEFA competition record against fellow English opposition has yielded just four defeats in 17 encounters. Two of those came in their most recent tie, when they lost home (0-1) and away (1-2) to Manchester United in the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.

• Arsenal have never won a UEFA competition match against another English club in six attempts (D2 L4), their last three all ending in defeat – at Liverpool in the second leg of their 2007/08 UEFA Champions League quarter-final (2-4) and in both legs of the following season's semi-final against Manchester United (0-1 away, 1-3 home).

Form guide
Chelsea
• In the UEFA Europa League group stage for the first time this season, Chelsea eased through to the knockout phase, doing the double over PAOK (1-0 away, 4-0 home) and BATE Borisov (3-1 home, 1-0 away) before Vidi, who had lost 1-0 at Stamford Bridge, denied them a clean sweep with a 2-2 draw in Budapest on matchday six.

• In the round of 32, the Blues defeated Malmö away (2-1) and at home (3-0) before sweeping aside Dynamo Kyiv (3-0 home, 5-0 away). They then made it six wins in a row against Slavia Praha in the quarter-finals (1-0 away, 4-3 home) before Frankfurt took them all the way to penalties in the last four (1-1 away, 1-1 home), Eden Hazard converting the decisive spot kick at Stamford Bridge.

• This is Chelsea's second appearance in the UEFA Europa League final, their first in 2013 having brought a 2-1 victory over Benfica in Amsterdam thanks to Branislav Ivanović's added-time winner. That was the club's only previous UEFA Europa League participation.

• Chelsea are now a record 17 games unbeaten in the UEFA Europa League, including the last three matches of that victorious 2013 campaign, with 14 wins in those matches.

• The west Londoners are the top-scoring team in this season's competition with 32 goals, five short of the UEFA Europa League record set by Porto in 2010/11.

Arsenal
• UEFA Champions League ever-presents for 19 successive seasons until last term, Arsenal reached the UEFA Europa League semi-finals at the first attempt, going out to eventual winners Atlético.

• This season they breezed through their group, an opening 4-2 win at home to Vorskla Poltava preceding four wins and a draw in which they conceded no further goals. The first of those games was in the Baku Olympic Stadium, where they defeated home side Qarabağ 3-0 with Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Matteo Guendouzi both scoring their first goals for the club.

• That competition record-equalling run of five clean sheets ended at BATE, where they lost 1-0 before recovering to win 3-0 at home. It was a similar comeback tale in the round of 16, a 3-1 defeat at Rennes preceding another 3-0 home victory, before a 1-0 win at Napoli supplemented a first-leg 2-0 home win. Valencia were then overcome 7-3 on aggregate in the semi-final (3-1 home, 4-2 away), strikers Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (four) and Alexandre Lacazette (three) sharing the goals between them.

• Arsenal have never previously featured in the UEFA Europa League final, though they did reach the final of the UEFA Cup in 1999/2000 which they lost 4-1 on penalties to Galatasaray after a 0-0 draw in Copenhagen.

• The Gunners are currently on their longest winning streak in the UEFA Europa League – five matches – having never previously managed more than three victories in a row.

Previous UEFA finals
Chelsea (W5 L3)
1970/71 European Cup Winners' Cup replay 2-1 v Real Madrid (after 1-1 draw)
1997/98 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1-0 v Stuttgart
1998 UEFA Super Cup 1-0 v Real Madrid
2007/08 UEFA Champions League 1-1 v Manchester United (5-6 on penalties)
2011/12 UEFA Champions League 1-1 v Bayern München (4-3 on penalties)
2012 UEFA Super Cup 1-4 v Atlético Madrid
2012/13 UEFA Europa League 2-1 v Benfica
2013 UEFA Super Cup 2-2 v Bayern München (4-5 on penalties)

Arsenal (W1 L5)
1979/80 European Cup Winners' Cup 0-0 v Valencia (4-5 on penalties)
1993/94 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1-0 v Parma
1994 UEFA Super Cup 0-2 agg v AC Milan (0-0 h, 0-2 a)
1994/95 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1-2 v Zaragoza
1999/00 UEFA Cup 0-0 v Galatasaray (1-4 on penalties)
2005/06 UEFA Champions League 1-2 v Barcelona

Final focus
• This is the tenth UEFA Europa League final. The previous nine have yielded 24 goals at an average of 2.667 per game. The biggest winning margin is 3-0, achieved twice by Atlético Madrid, against Athletic Club (2012) and Marseille (2018). The final with the most goals was Sevilla's 3-2 victory over Dnipro in 2015.

• Arsenal boss Unai Emery was the coach of Sevilla in all three of their successive UEFA Europa League triumphs from 2013/14 to 2015/16.

• Atlético and Sevilla have both won all three of the UEFA Europa League finals in which they have participated, sharing the record number of victories.

• There have been four previous UEFA Europa League finalists from England, most recently Manchester United, who lifted the trophy after a 2-0 win against Ajax in 2017. Chelsea are the first of those four to appear for the second time.

• Arsenal are the 14th different club to have reached the UEFA Europa League final – and would be the sixth to win the competition.

• There has never been a sending-off in a UEFA Europa League final.

• Only one penalty has been awarded in a UEFA Europa League final. It was successfully converted by Óscar Cardozo for Benfica against Chelsea in 2013.

• The only previous UEFA Europa League final decided by a penalty shoot-out was in 2014, when Sevilla defeated Benfica 4-2 on spot kicks after a 0-0 draw in Turin.

• Five players have scored twice in the fixture – Diego Forlán (Atlético) in 2010, Radamel Falcao (Atlético) in 2012, Carlos Bacca (Sevilla) in 2015, Coke (Sevilla) in 2016 and Antoine Griezmann (Atlético) in 2018; there has yet to be a hat-trick.

• Falcao is the only player to have scored in two UEFA Europa League finals; he also got Porto's winner in 2011.

• The youngest player to have competed on the winning side in a UEFA Europa League final is Manchester United's Marcus Rashford (2017) at 19 years 206 days; the oldest is Chelsea's Frank Lampard (2013) at 34 years 329 days.

• Should Chelsea win the final, Maurizio Sarri will be the UEFA Europa League's oldest winning coach at 60 years 139 days, eclipsing José Mourinho, who was aged 54 years 118 days when he led Manchester United to victory in 2017. It will also be the first major trophy of the Italian coach's career.

Links and trivia
• Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Čech, who will be retiring after the final, joined the Gunners from Chelsea in 2015 after 11 years with the west London club during which he won 13 major trophies.

• Čech was a UEFA Europa League winner in 2013 alongside César Azpilicueta, Gary Cahill, David Luiz and Eden Hazard. The latter missed the final against Benfica through injury.

• Olivier Giroud joined Chelsea from Arsenal in January 2018 after five and a half years with the Gunners, during which he scored 105 goals in 253 appearances in all competitions, and was a three-time FA Cup winner.

• Giroud is the joint top scorer in this season's UEFA Europa League, with ten goals – level with Luka Jović of Eintracht Frankfurt. Arsenal's leading marksman in the competition is Aubameyang, a hat-trick scorer last time out at Valencia, with eight.

• Willian has provided seven assists in the competition, putting him level at the top of the charts with Igor Stasevich of BATE.

• The Brazilian winger scored twice in the Baku Olympic Stadium as Chelsea won 4-0 against Qarabağ in last season's UEFA Champions League group stage, Hazard having opened the scoring from the penalty spot.

• Arsenal midfielder Mesut Özil was a runner-up ten years ago in the last UEFA Cup final, his Werder Bremen side losing 2-1 to Shakhtar Donetsk in Istanbul. Willian was a member of the triumphant Shakhtar team.

• Chelsea and Arsenal each beat each other at home in this season's Premier League, the Blues winning 3-2 in August, the Gunners 2-0 in January. The clubs have met 197 times, Arsenal boasting 76 wins to Chelsea's 63.

• Chelsea's run of 17 UEFA Europa League games without defeat has eclipsed the competition record of 15 set by Atlético in October 2012. No previous UEFA Europa League winner has gone through the competition undefeated.

Penalty shoot-outs
• Chelsea's record in five UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W2 L3:
1-4 v Liverpool, 2006/07 UEFA Champions League semi-final
5-6 v Manchester United, 2007/08 UEFA Champions League final
4-3 v Bayern München, 2011/12 UEFA Champions League final
4-5 v Bayern München, 2013 UEFA Super Cup
4-3 v Eintracht Frankfurt, 2018/19 UEFA Europa League semi-final

• Arsenal's record in four UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W2 L2:
4-5 v Valencia, 1979/80 European Cup Winners' Cup final
3-2 v Sampdoria, 1994/95 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup semi-final
1-4 v Galatasaray, 1999/2000 UEFA Cup final
7-6 v Roma, 2008/09 UEFA Champions League round of 16

The coaches
• Named as the new Chelsea boss in succession to his fellow Italian, Antonio Conte, in July 2018, Maurizio Sarri is considered to be one of Europe's most progressive coaches. He paid his dues in Italy's lower leagues with a multitude of clubs before getting his big break at Empoli, whom he steered into Serie A, and then replaced Rafael Benítez at Napoli in 2015. Three seasons in Naples all brought top-three finishes, his entertaining side running Juventus close for the Scudetto in 2017/18.

• After two years with Paris Saint-Germain that yielded seven domestic trophies, Unai Emery was appointed as Arsenal manager in May 2018, replacing the long-serving Arsène Wenger. The Spaniard oversaw Sevilla's historic hat-trick of successes in the UEFA Europa League from 2013/14 to 2015/16, having assumed control following a four-year tenure at Valencia and a brief stint at Spartak Moskva. He has been in charge of more UEFA Europa League games than any other coach, this being his 74th.

machiavellianme

Not till next week. Far too early for a match thread.

citytillidie

machiavellianme wrote: »

Not till next week. Far too early for a match thread.

It is a Final let the build up happen, already big news with Henrikh Mkhitaryan not going because of where he is from, other have been talking about it on other threads so why not let the build up start

RossieMan

I thought I had the wrong dates and that this was tomorrow given this thread.

Lock it up and reopen next week when it's needed.

Donnielighto

All that and the time and date is where exactly?


Way too early

~Rebel~

I'm still just shocked it's in fuckin Baku!

Shanotheslayer

Jaysus lads. OP went through the effort of posting an insightful preview and all you's are doing is moaning it's to early.

Fcking hell

Agent Coulson

machiavellianme wrote: »

Not till next week. Far too early for a match thread.

RossieMan wrote: »

I thought I had the wrong dates and that this was tomorrow given this thread.

Lock it up and reopen next week when it's needed.

Donnielighto wrote: »

All that and the time and date is where exactly?


Way too early

You do know this is a discussion board?

No one is forcing you to post in the thread however I'm sure there are plenty of posters who would like to discuss the game the location and everything else that is linked to this game.

GavRedKing

Great detail in the OP as usual.

RossieMan

GavRedKing wrote:

Great detail in the OP as usual.

Not hating, but I think the only reason I posted is the fact the OP gave no credit to his copy/paste job from the UEFA site. The detail isn't his to post. Seems like an effort at getting some "thanks" that seems to plague this particular forum.

GavRedKing

RossieMan wrote: »

Not hating, but I think the only reason I posted is the fact the OP gave no credit to his copy/paste job from the UEFA site. The detail isn't his to post. Seems like an effort at getting some "thanks" that seems to plague this particular forum.

Well its not like hes lifted it from a place that will miss the clicks and support it would garnish otherwise.

I dont think "Thanks" are particular issue in the forum either TBH, the OP is well known for detailed posts and it brings a more professional feels to a thread, IMO.

Anyone else could have just posted, Chelsea v Arsenal EL final and let it at that.

On the game itself, because we've finished 3rd, this game isnt as important for Chelsea than it is for Arsenal, clearly.

I still want us to win because, a) its a trophy and b) it stops a rival form getting into the CL but if they manage to beat us and get a 5th PL side into the CL, thats always a good thing for the PL.

I fancy Arsenal to win anyway, we were haunted to beat them at the Bridge in August and we've been awful against the top 6 sides this season.

We were also very, very lucky to beat Frankfurt in the semi final.

Dcully

Ah stop the moaning already :P

Shanotheslayer

RossieMan wrote: »

Not hating, but I think the only reason I posted is the fact the OP gave no credit to his copy/paste job from the UEFA site. The detail isn't his to post. Seems like an effort at getting some "thanks" that seems to plague this particular forum.

If you think he is actually writing it down and no copypasting it more fool you imo.

It's pretty obvious. OP didn't go searching all those stats individually.

It's not thankswhoring at all.

citytillidie

Did i call it a match thread there is no date, just live tv information, can a mod please add in the date if there is room in thread title?

I created the thread simple because there were big news that effects the finals and thought it would be a good discussion starter with a player not going because of where he is from and where the final is being held, also talk of Cech leak of going to Chelsea before the Final was in the Premier League thread for next season so thought creating this might put all Final talk in the one place, if you think it is too early, then ignore it until next Wednesday.

Not a simple post for the thanks button, yes stats and facts are from the UEFA site, as it gives more details the Road to the Final is from the UEFA Europa League Thread 2018-19.

If people don't want it then I will stop but what is the harm?

GavRedKing

The Cech news isnt all that surprising TBH.

Its been known for a few weeks that he was returning to Chelsea but I assumed it was to work towards earning his badges, I dont think anyone could guess it would be to effectively replace Michael Emenalo, a position thats remained unfilled in nearly 2 summers.

Cech is a professional but I cant see Arsenal starting him in the final in the of chance he makes a mistakes and the conspiracy nuts will go off on one, Leno is also a better GK but Cech has played every EL game so far.

theteal

~Rebel~ wrote: »

I'm still just shocked it's in fuckin Baku!

Such a shame for Mickey T.

I wonder how empty the stadium will be? Filled with local kids to bulk it up

Skylinehead

citytillidie wrote: »

If people don't want it then I will stop but what is the harm?

Please don't. Ignore the moaners, they've nothing better to be at.

Added the date to the title.

GavRedKing

Ya its a shambles that its being played in a country that cant guarantee a players safety.

Then again, like all things UEFA/FIFA, if the money is right and te right people bought, they'll bring a show case final into town no matter where it is.

Even in the arse end of east Asia.

dundalkfc10

What happens (i know unlikely) if Armenia qualify for Euro 2020 and they have to play in Baku?

BullBlackNova

Baku is due to host three games in Group A. Presumably, if Armenia qualify, UEFA will just bar them from being drawn into Group A and place them in one of the other groups.

citytillidie

dundalkfc10 wrote: »

What happens (i know unlikely) if Armenia qualify for Euro 2020 and they have to play in Baku?

Draw would be fixed so they don't have to play in Baku, they will have set groups play at set venues, so they would be placed in a group that does not play in Baku.

Just like they do to avoid certain countries from playing each other in Euro/World Cup Qualifiers and teams from those countries not playing each other in CL/EL

Berserker

theteal wrote: »

Such a shame for Mickey T.

I wonder how empty the stadium will be? Filled with local kids to bulk it up

Is it true that Arsenal and Chelsea have failed to sell out their allocation of 6K tickets?

GLaDOS

Imagine an Armenian team made it to the EL final :pac:

citytillidie

Berserker wrote: »

Is it true that Arsenal and Chelsea have failed to sell out their allocation of 6K tickets?

Both teams have sent back 6000 tickets together 2000 from Arsenal and 4000 from Chelsea.

High cost of getting there and lack of accommodation the main factor. May give UEFA a wake up call considering English fans are seen as get there at all costs for a final.

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11959/11726913/arsenal-and-chelsea-to-send-back-up-to-6-000-unsold-europa-league-final-tickets

GavRedKing

Berserker wrote: »

Is it true that Arsenal and Chelsea have failed to sell out their allocation of 6K tickets?

The rags are running with Arsenal trying to ring fans to shift the tickets and Chelsea havent sold out their allocation either.

I said it on the Chelsea thread, I "won" the UEFA lottery so got allocated ticvkets to the final and the cheapest, decent travel option was something like €950/980 IIRC.

When I seen those figures I didnt even bother checking hotels because I'd imagine they had been bumped up massively too.

Its a massive trek for any fan to make, I think I seen Arsenal and Chelsea, through their official travel partners advertising flights, coaches for a 1 day trip for about £1,000 sterling which is insane too.

I can imagine the stadium next week will have a lot of empty seats unless they start handing them out to locals.

Guy:Incognito

People would swallow the expense for a cl final I'd imagine .

The thing with travel and accommodation is to just decide months in advance to go and cook it. If your team gets there then great. You could back put and just take the hit on the flights . If it's only costing you about 200-300 then it's not that bad to take a gamble on.

I've been to the last few champions cup finals, all booked long in advance ( already have accommodation booked for marseilles next may, albeit outside marseilles cos the prices are way up already . I booked the hotel in Newcastle for this year when I was in the car driving out of Bilbao last year.) . Bonus that leinster are in a good place at the minute so got to see them the last 2 finals.


I didnt book for the cl but am considering booking early for next year. Though I wouldnt be betting any of my hard earned money on liverpool making it to 3 finals in a row. Plus Turkey is a ****ing trek. I booked a week in crete with my cousin in 07 and got the ferry to Athens. That was good craic and cheap.

Met Ian Wright the day after the final at the Acropolis too and got a picture, so that was good

Berserker

citytillidie wrote: »

Both teams have sent back 6000 tickets together 2000 from Arsenal and 4000 from Chelsea.

High cost of getting there and lack of accommodation the main factor. May give UEFA a wake up call considering English fans are seen as get there at all costs for a final.

Hope it is the wake up call that they need. Can only imagine what the uptake would have been like if the finalists were from other countries.

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

People would swallow the expense for a cl final I'd imagine.

People are happy to swallow the expense for either final, once the location is accessible. Baku isn't. That's the biggest issue. If Arsenal & Chelsea fans could get flights to Baku, they'd go, I'd say.

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

I didnt book for the cl but am considering booking early for next year. Though I wouldnt be betting any of my hard earned money on liverpool making it to 3 finals in a row. Plus Turkey is a ****ing trek. I booked a week in crete with my cousin in 07 and got the ferry to Athens. That was good craic and cheap.

We are thinking about going to Istanbul for the Super cup. Flights direct from Dublin were €300 or so last time we checked. Accomodation wasn't overly expensive in Istanbul either. Waiting to see who gets there first.

citytillidie

Just thinking Final is on the Heysel Anniversary I wonder if UEFA will do anything to mark it.

UEFA Europa League final refereeing team
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (Italy)
Assistant Referees: Filippo Meli, Lorenzo Manganelli (Italy)
Fourth official: Daniele Orsato (Italy)
Video Assistant Referee (VAR): Massimiliano Irrati (Italy)
VAR Assistants: Marco Guida (Italy), Szymon Marciniak (Poland)
Offside VAR: Paweł Sokolnicki (Poland)

I did not know there were as many VAR officials are there is on the field seems a bit extreme

citytillidie

Lyon fans will be cheering Chelsea on in the final.

If Chelsea win Lyon will go into the group stage of the Champions League and Chelsea into the Pot 1, If Arsenal win they will join the 4 other English teams in the Champions League joining Man City and Winners of CL into Pot 1 for the group draw. Sparta Prague will be cheering for Arsenal as they will benefit from the knock-on effect of Arsenal winning.

Lyon will be cheering Chelsea as Chelsea have already qualified for the Champions League with their league performance so the knock-on effect of no Europa League spot will bump the team who finished 3rd in the 5th highest league which is France into the group stage instead of play-off round.

Bobby Baccala

Arsenals travelling squad named for the final:

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Petr Cech
Mohamed Elneny
Matteo Guendouzi
Alex Iwobi
Carl Jenkinson
Sead Kolasinac
Laurent Koscielny
Alex Lacazette
Bernd Leno
Stephan Lichtsteiner
Ainsley Maitland-Niles
Nacho Monreal
Shkodran Mustafi
Eddie Nketiah
Mesut Ozil
Sokratis
Lucas Torreira
Joe Willock
Granit Xhaka
Danny Welbeck
Bukayo Saka
Xavier Amaechi
Deyan Iliev

Nice to see the Welbeast back in the squad.

Fitz*

Chelsea had the better league season but this is a once-off cup game, and Arsenal have more to gain from it. I think Arsenal will win this one.

Slattsy

Jesus I'd forgot this was on tomorrow. Two irrelevant clubs.

Shanotheslayer

Slattsy wrote: »

Jesus I'd forgot this was on tomorrow. Two irrelevant clubs.

Relevant enough for you to post about though.

KaiserGunner

Slattsy wrote: »

Jesus I'd forgot this was on tomorrow. Two irrelevant clubs.

Post of the year right there.....

tayto lover

KaiserGunner wrote: »

Post of the year right there.....

He’s a clever boy that one.

monkey9

The choice of destination for this final is ridiculous, especially with the Mkhitaryan situation.

On the pitch, i think Arsenal will see it through.

RollieFingers

Hopefully Arsenal do the business, backed them and they are way more likeable than scaldy Chelsea.

Mr.Nice Guy

Looks like Luiz and Higuain had a spat and Sarri was none too pleased about it.

https://twitter.com/btsportfootball/status/1133452639893639168

Sugarlumps

Hopefully an entertaining game awaits. Fancy Arsenal to nick it, pity Ramsey got injured. Trophy needs to be renamed, if Emery lifts it again.

citytillidie

Sky reporting that fighting has happened between the sets of fans, also seen Arsenal fans being stopped by the police for wearing Mkhitaryan tops

GavRedKing

citytillidie wrote: »

Sky reporting that fighting has happened between the sets of fans, also seen Arsenal fans being stopped by the police for wearing Mkhitaryan tops

Seen online a few fans robbing flags off each other.

Qarabag "ultras" involved too.

The police stopping fans with Mkhitaryan jerseys is an absolute joke.

Its not bad enough that its in the arse end of nowhere and about 10% of the ground will be filled with actual fans but basically stopping a footballer from missing a major final because his safety cant be guaranteed is a joke.

I'm assuming even Arsenal fans with Mkhitaryan on their jerseys arent exactly safe either.

I dont think UEFA could have f**ked this up more if they genuinely tried.

The Good Ole Boys

citytillidie wrote: »

Sky reporting that fighting has happened between the sets of fans, also seen Arsenal fans being stopped by the police for wearing Mkhitaryan tops

Armenian government and diaspora didn't let Mkhitaryan to travel to Azerbaijan (despite guaranteed full safety), for their political ambitions. This shirt issue is a part of the dirty game against Azerbaijan. But the provocation didn't work.

Tusky

Am I correct in saying this is not available on a free channel?

The_Kew_Tour

More pressure in Arsenal I feel, hence why I think Chelsea will sneak it.

citytillidie

Tusky wrote: »

Am I correct in saying this is not available on a free channel?

Virgin Media 2 are showing it

Panthro

This final is tainted from the outset with both the location choice and the Mkhitaryan situation.
FU UEFA.

If Chelsea win it all well and good, but i expect arsenal to do it tonight to be honest.

Cantona's Collars

Tusky wrote: »

Am I correct in saying this is not available on a free channel?

I think BT are showing it FTA along with Virgin.

lassykk

Cantona's Collars wrote: »

I think BT are showing it FTA along with Virgin.

I think for BT it's only FTA in UK but you can watch via their Youtube stream with a VPN. Could well be mistaken on this.

citytillidie

Match stats
Head-to-head

• Arsenal against Chelsea will be the second all-English UEFA Cup/Europa League final in history, after Tottenham against Wolves in the UEFA Cup final in 1972.

• This is the 198th meeting in all competitions between Arsenal and Chelsea but only the third in European competition - they met in the 2003-04 Champions League quarter-final, with the Blues progressing 3-2 on aggregate.

• Arsenal vs Chelsea will be the first fixture to played in the FA Cup final, League Cup final and a major European final.

• This will be both Arsenal and Chelsea's sixth major European finals - only Man Utd (7) and Liverpool (14 - including 2019 Champions League) have reached more among English clubs.

• This final will be third time two teams from the same nation have faced in the Europa League final, after Porto v Braga in 2011 and Atletico Madrid v Athletic Club in 2012.

• Both Arsenal and Chelsea have won 11 Europa League games this season - only three teams have ever won more major European games in a single season (excluding qualifiers); Real Madrid in 2001-02 (12), Porto in 2010-11 (12) and Atletico Madrid in 2011-12 (13).

• Azerbaijan will be the 24th different country to host a major European final and the third consecutive year a country will host a major final for the first time - Wales for the 2016-17 Champions League final and Ukraine for the 2017-18 Champions League final.

Arsenal
• Arsenal have lost four of their five major European finals, with their only victory coming in the 1994 Cup Winners' Cup against Parma; they've lost each of their last three, losing in the 1995 Cup Winners' Cup, 2000 UEFA Cup and 2006 Champions League finals.

• In all European competition, Arsenal have faced opponents from 27 different nations and beaten teams from 26 of those countries, with the only exception being against English clubs.

• Arsenal manager Unai Emery has won the Europa League more often than any other manager, winning it three times in 2014, 2015 and 2016 with Sevilla.
Arsenal's Unai Emery could become only the fourth manager to win the UEFA/Europa League with two different teams, after Giovanni Trapattoni (Juventus & Inter Milan), Jose Mourinho (Porto & Man Utd) and Rafael Benitez (Valencia & Chelsea).

• If Arsenal win this match, only Giovanni Trapattoni (5) will have won more major European finals than Unai Emery (4), while only three other managers would have won as many as four with a 100% record in each final - Nereo Rocco, Bob Paisley and Jose Mourinho.

• Arsenal's last eight Europa League goals have been scored by either Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (4) or Alexandre Lacazette (4).

Chelsea
• Chelsea have won four of their five major European finals (2x Cup Winners' Cup/1x Champions League/1x Europa League). Among English teams, only Man Utd (5) and Liverpool (8) have won more major European finals.

• Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud has scored 10 Europa League goals this season, the most by a Blues player in a single European season (excluding qualifiers) and the joint-most by a French player in major European competition in a season - Nestor Combin in the 1963-64 Cup Winners' Cup and Just Fontaine in the 1958-59 European Cup also scored 10.

• Chelsea's Maurizio Sarri is the first Italian to manage in a UEFA Cup/Europa League final since Alberto Malesani in 1999, who won the trophy with Parma that year.

• The two previous Italians to manage an English club in a major European final have managed Chelsea to victory - Gianluca Vialli in the 1998 Cup Winners' Cup final and Roberto Di Matteo in the 2012 Champions League final.

citytillidie

citytillidie wrote: »

Match stats
Head-to-head

• Arsenal against Chelsea will be the second all-English UEFA Cup/Europa League final in history, after Tottenham against Wolves in the UEFA Cup final in 1972.

• This is the 198th meeting in all competitions between Arsenal and Chelsea but only the third in European competition - they met in the 2003-04 Champions League quarter-final, with the Blues progressing 3-2 on aggregate.

• Arsenal vs Chelsea will be the first fixture to played in the FA Cup final, League Cup final and a major European final.

• This will be both Arsenal and Chelsea's sixth major European finals - only Man Utd (7) and Liverpool (14 - including 2019 Champions League) have reached more among English clubs.

• This final will be third time two teams from the same nation have faced in the Europa League final, after Porto v Braga in 2011 and Atletico Madrid v Athletic Club in 2012.

• Both Arsenal and Chelsea have won 11 Europa League games this season - only three teams have ever won more major European games in a single season (excluding qualifiers); Real Madrid in 2001-02 (12), Porto in 2010-11 (12) and Atletico Madrid in 2011-12 (13).

• Azerbaijan will be the 24th different country to host a major European final and the third consecutive year a country will host a major final for the first time - Wales for the 2016-17 Champions League final and Ukraine for the 2017-18 Champions League final.

Arsenal
• Arsenal have lost four of their five major European finals, with their only victory coming in the 1994 Cup Winners' Cup against Parma; they've lost each of their last three, losing in the 1995 Cup Winners' Cup, 2000 UEFA Cup and 2006 Champions League finals.

• In all European competition, Arsenal have faced opponents from 27 different nations and beaten teams from 26 of those countries, with the only exception being against English clubs.

• Arsenal manager Unai Emery has won the Europa League more often than any other manager, winning it three times in 2014, 2015 and 2016 with Sevilla.
Arsenal's Unai Emery could become only the fourth manager to win the UEFA/Europa League with two different teams, after Giovanni Trapattoni (Juventus & Inter Milan), Jose Mourinho (Porto & Man Utd) and Rafael Benitez (Valencia & Chelsea).

• If Arsenal win this match, only Giovanni Trapattoni (5) will have won more major European finals than Unai Emery (4), while only three other managers would have won as many as four with a 100% record in each final - Nereo Rocco, Bob Paisley and Jose Mourinho.

• Arsenal's last eight Europa League goals have been scored by either Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (4) or Alexandre Lacazette (4).

Chelsea
• Chelsea have won four of their five major European finals (2x Cup Winners' Cup/1x Champions League/1x Europa League). Among English teams, only Man Utd (5) and Liverpool (8) have won more major European finals.

• Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud has scored 10 Europa League goals this season, the most by a Blues player in a single European season (excluding qualifiers) and the joint-most by a French player in major European competition in a season - Nestor Combin in the 1963-64 Cup Winners' Cup and Just Fontaine in the 1958-59 European Cup also scored 10.

• Chelsea's Maurizio Sarri is the first Italian to manage in a UEFA Cup/Europa League final since Alberto Malesani in 1999, who won the trophy with Parma that year.

• The two previous Italians to manage an English club in a major European final have managed Chelsea to victory - Gianluca Vialli in the 1998 Cup Winners' Cup final and Roberto Di Matteo in the 2012 Champions League final.

The omens aren't really with The Gunners on this one...

Mr.Nice Guy

Teams:

Chelsea XI: Kepa; Azpilicueta, Christensen, David Luiz, Emerson; Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic; Pedro, Giroud, Hazard.

Arsenal XI: Cech; Sokratis, Koscielny, Monreal; Maitland-Niles, Torreira, Xhaka, Kolasinac; Ozil; Lacazette, Aubameyang.

So Kante has made it after all. Huge boost for Chelsea.

I'll go for Sarri's side to edge it.