Europa League final: Petit makes shocking prediction on Chelsea, Arsenal clash

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Europa League final: Petit makes shocking prediction on Chelsea, Arsenal clash

 

Arsenal legend, Emmanuel Petit, has backed Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea to beat Unai Emery’s men when both sides clash in Wednesday’s Europa League final in Baku.

Chelsea reached the Europa League final after defeating Frankfurt in semi-final encounter, while Arsenal dumped Napoli out of the competition.

But Petit believes Chelsea are ‘in a good place’ to win the Europa League ahead of Arsenal.

“I’ve been critical of Sarri in the past, particularly about some tactical decisions that I didn’t understand. But you have to give him the time to do what he wants to do with the team,” Petit told Paddy Power.

“If they win the Europa League, they’ll have a European trophy, which alongside their earlier Champions League qualification, translates to a good year for Chelsea.

“With all that in mind, there’s a lot to be happy about for the club. If you compare this season to the previous, he has probably achieved what the club asked him to do.

“Most of the time when watching Chelsea, I get bored very easily, but the important thing is to win games and win trophies, and they’re in a good place to do that.”

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Europa League final: Arsenal kick against choice of Baku for Chelsea clash

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Europa League final: Arsenal kick against choice of Baku for Chelsea clash

 

Arsenal have described UEFA’s decision to host the Europa League final in Baku, Azerbaijani capital, as “unacceptable”.

Fans are struggling with the logistics and cost of attending the game on May 29.

Arsenal and Chelsea were given 6,000 tickets each by European football’s governing body for the match at the 68,700-capacity Olympic Stadium, more than 4,500 kilometres (2,800 miles) from the English capital.

UEFA cited Baku’s limited airport capacity as one reason for not reserving more tickets for travelling fans.

“We are bitterly disappointed by the fact that due to transport limitations UEFA can only make a maximum of 6,000 tickets available to Arsenal for a stadium with a capacity of well over 60,000.

“Time will tell if it is even possible for 6,000 Arsenal fans to attend the match, given how extreme the travel challenges are.

“On behalf of our fans, we would like to understand the criteria by which venues are selected for finals, and also how supporter requirements are taken into account as part of this,” added Arsenal’s statement.

“Moving forward, we would urge UEFA to ensure that supporter logistics and requirements are a key part of any future decisions for final venues as what has happened this season is unacceptable, and cannot be repeated.

“We would be happy to join any future discussions to avoid this situation happening again,” Arsenal said in a strongly worded statement.

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Europa League final: Sarri reveals advantage Arsenal have over Chelsea

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Europa League final: Sarri reveals advantage Arsenal have over Chelsea

 

Chelsea manager, Maurizio Sarri, has admitted he is not completely happy with their preparations ahead of the Europa League final against Arsenal, due to their post-season friendly in the United States before they travel to Baku.

Sarri’s men end their Premier League season with a trip to Leicester City on Sunday and will then travel to the United States for a post-season friendly against New England Revolution in Massachusetts on May 16.

The Blues will then return to prepare for their Europa League final against Arsenal on May 29, but Sarri admits he is concerned about his players suffering from fatigue.

“A problem? We go there for a good reason I think, so as a man I am very happy to go there.

“But as a coach, of course, I am a little bit worried because I know very well that the team now needs rest. So it is not the best way to prepare the final, I think.

“I have to look to my players, so I know very well that my players need to rest, and after four or five days they need to work for three or four days and then they need to prepare for the match. The match will be interesting and difficult.

“I want to speak to the physical staff, to the doctor and then we need to prepare the program. I think that they need three or four days completely in rest.

“I am not worried about the physical side, I think it is more difficult to recover mentally.

“Because in a match like this one you spend, usually, a lot of energy and then of course you have to go down and then it is not easy to go up again,” Sarri told a press conference.

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Europa League: What Hazard said about winning trophy, leaving Chelsea

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Europa League: What Hazard said about winning trophy, leaving Chelsea

 

Chelsea forward, Eden Hazard, has said that he will do everything in his power to help Chelsea win the Europa League.

Chelsea will lock horns with Arsenal later this month in the final of the Europa League.

The game might be Hazard’s final game for the Blues.

Hazard converted the decisive spot-kick in the 4-3 shootout win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday that sent Chelsea into the final.

The Belgian international is expected to leave the Stamford Bridge at the end of the season after seven years at the club.

“If it’s my last game, I will try to do everything for this club to win a trophy,” Hazard told BT Sport.

“In my mind I don’t know yet, I don’t think about that. I’m only thinking about winning something for this club and this squad.

“We played a great game but the semi-final is not so easy. We are happy and we will go to Baku to try to win the trophy.”

With Chelsea playing away at Leicester City on the final day of the league season, the penalty could be Hazard’s last kick of a ball at Stamford Bridge but he knows there remains a big job to do in Azerbaijan.

“I always take my responsibility when I have to,” said Hazard, who has 19 goals this season.

“Today we are happy but it’s not finished. We have another game to play against Arsenal. We need to go there and play with quality and win the game,” he said.

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Europa League: Unai Emery heaps praises on two Arsenal players after 4-2 win against Valencia

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Europa League: Unai Emery heaps praises on two Arsenal players after 4-2 win against Valencia

 

Arsenal manager, Unai Emery, has singled out two of his players for special praise after their 4-2 win over Valencia on Thursday.

The Spaniard heaped praises on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and strike partner Alexandre Lacazette, describing them as “amazing.”

Goals from the two strikers steered the Gunners to a Europa League final date with rivals Chelsea.

Having led 3-1 from the first-leg, Emery’s side were favourites to advance and Aubameyang’s hat-trick eased them into the final as they won 4-2 on the night and secured a 7-3 aggregate success.

French star, Lacazette also got his name on the scoresheet to ensure the pair have scored all of Arsenal’s last eight Europa League goals between them.

“I am proud of them,” Emery replied when asked about the impact of Aubameyang and Lacazette during his post-match press conference.

“Big players can be good strikers but when their commitment is like today, defensively also, to work to help us, it is amazing.”

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Europa League: How Ozil celebrated after Arsenal qualified for final

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Europa League: How Ozil celebrated after Arsenal qualified for final

 

Arsenal midfielder, Mesut Ozil has reacted to his side’s qualification for final of the Europa League.

Arsenal defeated Valencia 7-3 on aggregate to book their place against London rivals, Chelsea in the final in Baku.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netted a hattrick while Alexandre Lacazette scored one to put the Gunners in control.

Arsenal had won the first leg 3-1 at the Emirate.

Ozil who put up a superlative performance during the game, took to his Tweeter handle to celebrate.

He tweeted, “OFF TO THE FINAL BABY!!! Brilliant night in Spain!”

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Europa League: Arsenal release strong squad against Valencia [Full lis

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Europa League: Arsenal release strong squad against Valencia [Full list

Arsenal have released a strong squad to face Valencia in tonight’s Europa League semi-final first leg tie at the Emirates Stadium.

According to Tribuna, Arsenal manager, Unai Emery released a list of 21 players.

Arsenal head to the game following their 3-0 defeat to Leicester City in the Premier League encounter on Sunday.

Below is Arsenal’s squad against Valencia:

Leno, Cech, Maitland-Niles, Lichtsteiner, Jenkinson, Mustafi, Koscielny, Papastathopoulos, Monreal, Kolasinac, Xhaka, Willock, Guendouzi, Torreira, Elneny, Iwobi, Mkhitaryan, Ozil, Aubameyang, Lacazette, Nketiah.

The kick-off time for the match is 8pm.

           

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Europa League: Diego Costa Included In The Atletico Madrid's Squad To Face Arsenal

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Europa League: Diego Costa Included In The Atletico Madrid's Squad To Face Arsenal

Atletico Madrid striker, Diego Costa, has been included in the travelling squad for Thursday’s Europa League semi-final first leg at Arsenal.

Costa was not expected to feature, as he is believed to be nursing a hamstring problem.

The former Chelsea player, has not played since limping out of Atletico’s Europa League quarterfinal with Sporting Lisbon on April 12.

Last weekend, manager Diego Simeone said that the aim was to get the 29-year-old fit for the second leg against Arsenal in Madrid on May 3.

However, on Tuesday evening, Atletico named him in their travelling squad for the game, with the list also confirming that other injured players Juanfran Torres and Filipe Luis were remaining behind in the Spanish capital.

Youngsters Alex Dos Santos [goalkeeper], Sergi [left-back] and Roberto Olabe [midfielder] also make the trip to London.

                                                  

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Europa League: Arsene Wenger Speaks On Arsenal 4-1 Win Over CSKA, Injured Players

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Europa League: Arsene Wenger Speaks On Arsenal 4-1 Win Over CSKA, Injured Players

Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, has given updates on injuries to some of his key players, after their 4-1 win over CSKA Moscow on Thursday.

Aaron Ramsey and Alexandre Lacazette both scored twice, as the Gunners took a commanding lead in their Europa League quarter-final tie.

But the win came at a cost. Goalkeeper David Ospina was ruled out before the game, while midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan was replaced by Alex Iwobi in the second half.

“The scan today was reassuring. He will be out for 2-3 weeks,” Wenger said about Ospina.

On Mkhitaryan, he added: “He has a knee problem. We don’t know how bad it is but he’ll certainly be out for Sunday.”

The second leg comes up next Thursday in Russia.

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