Odds Boost Chelsea v Arsenal

Odds Boost Europa League Final

Best Odds Europa League Final

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How do you define footballing success? I guess the answer to that question is entirely dependent upon which club you happen to be talking about but for the 2 London clubs in the Europa League final then surely success is defined by the number of trophies won at the end of the season.

Certainly for Mauricio Sarri of Chelsea, his job (assuming he still wants it) may well be at stake if he is not able to deliver that success in Wednesday's game despite his side's 3rd placed finish and a run to the final of the League Cup in what was his first season in English football. With Chelsea potentially facing a transfer ban and the departure of their star player Eden Hazard, this game could help to define their short to medium term ambitions. What's for sure is that despite a 2nd final appearance in 2019, Chelsea is not a happy club and a defeat on Wednesday to their arch rivals Arsenal could leave a big black cloud over West London over the coming months.

In the other dugout, Unai Emery seems to be enjoying more of a honeymoon period than was afforded to his opposite number despite the fact that Arsenal finished 5th and outside the Champions League qualification places once again. Winning the Europa League would not only put an early trophy in the cabinet for the Turk but it would also ensure that his side sneak into next year's premier club competition via the back door and in doing so make his dealings in the transfer market that much easier this summer.

Of course for Emery winning this particular competition is almost second nature having clinched the title 3 times during his spell in charge of Sevilla. By comparison Sarri has not won a single major trophy during his tenure as a manager and you wonder if in the end that could be a defining factor. Emery for his part has got his squad out to Azerbaijan 48 hours earlier than Sarri. Is this a cunning ploy to aid preparation or were Arsenal just keen to find any flight that they could to Baku? Where Chelsea do have an advantage in terms of experience is on the pitch with the likes of Hazard, Azpilicueta and David Luiz all part of the club's 2013 Europa League winning side.

For Hazard this looks likely to be the final game in a glittering Chelsea career that has seen the Belgium score 108 goals in 351 appearances including 19 in his 51 games this season. Another goal in the final would mean that this would be his most prolific yet in a Chelsea shirt and may of course add a few million onto his already hefty price tag. For Arsenal they too will be losing an influential player in the summer with the departure of Aaron Ramsey who will join Juventus 5 weeks after Wednesday's final.

There will however, be no last hoorah for Ramsey in an Arsenal shirt as the Welsh midfielder is injured - not an uncommon experience in his 10 year stay with the Gunners. Arsenal will also be without long-term absentees Hector Bellerin and Danny Wellbeck who also appears to have played his last game for the club with his contract expiring in the summer. The Gunners will also not be abe to call upon Armenian forward Henrik Mkhitaryan who feels unable to travel to a country that is still technically at war with his homeland and that as recently as the 1990s promoted a scheme of ethnic cleansing that cost many of Mkhitaryan's fellow countrymen their lives.

While not quite so dramatic though possibly more important to the final outcome of the result could be the absence of Ngolo Kante from the Chelsea side. The diminutive midfield engine for the Blues twisted a knee in training over the weekend and is now a major doubt for the final. If he were to miss out, Kante would join Loftus-Cheek, Hudson-Odoi and Rüdiger on the sidelines.

Those injuries mean that Chelsea will likely go for a midfield of Kovacic, Jorginho and Barkley with Hazard and Pedro playing off Olivier Giroud up front. Arsenal look likely to deploy Lacazette and Aubameyang in attack once more, a partnership that has delivered the Gunner's last 8 goals in the competition. While Mesut Ozill will probably play in behind the front 2 with Xhaka and Torreira holding the midfield.

The issue with playing Ozil in such a role is that Arsenal may at times be overwhelmed in midfield with the German showing very little appetite for tracking back throughout his career. Furthermore, if Pedro and Hazard can remain wide then Arsenal's wing-backs (most likely Kolasinač and Maitland-Niles) may well struggle to influence the game in an attacking manner. On the flip side, if and when Arsenal can get the ball into their front players it seems likely that they will cause a Chelsea defence shorn of a couple of key players in Kante and Rudiger some problems.

Certainly this is a game that looks likely to influence the immediate fortunes of the 2 clubs involved and will be keenly anticipated by supporters of both sides and football fans alike.

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