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Arsenal and Chelsea face each other in an all-English Europa League final this week.
The Gunners reached the final after beating Valencia in the second leg 4-2 with hat trick from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and goal from Alexandre Lacazette.
The Blues, meanwhile, reach the final of the competition after winning penalty shootout after drawing 1-1 in both legs of their clash with Eintracht Frankfurt.
The UEFA Europa League final will take place in Azerbaijan's capital, Baku on Wednesday, May 29.
Here are three reasons why Arsenal will beat Chelsea in the final.
Motivation
The winners of the Europa League automatically qualify for next season’s Champions League. They will also claim more than £7 million in prize money and a share of the television money depending on how many teams for their country have featured in the competition.
Chelsea have already qualified for next season’s Champions League, as they finished third in the Premier League. Arsenal, however, lost their chance to qualify from domestic league finishing fifth.
Now, the only hope for the Gunners is to win the Europa League trophy. Moreover, huge prize money will also help Unai Emery’s side to sign new players for next season.
“We risk to have less motivation, but they might have more pressure than us at the moment. There is positive and negative. We didn’t want to play this game for the Champions League, we wanted that in the Premier League. We want to win the trophy,” said Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri in his press conference.
Without motivation, concentration and consistency it will be very hard for the Stamford Bridge side to win a trophy in the game against Arsenal.
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Unai Emery
Arsenal boss Unai Emery has branded as Mr Europa League and it will help the Gunners. The Spaniard won the Europa League titles for three successive seasons with Sevilla.
Emery has won 45 of his 75 matches in the competition. He exactly knows how to win matches in the Europa League and will not lose the chance to win another game and lift another trophy. Especially, when his side needs to qualify for the Champions League football.
“We’ve been preparing for this match. Our focus is clear for the final. Each moment is different. Here’ with Arsenal our experience is important but above all, each moment is…. the possibility to win a title. We want to enjoy this moment. We have worked very well in this competition. In the last rounds against Napoli and Valencia. Chelsea focused also and have a big motivation too. They have won this title a few years ago. Each moment, each match is a new history, a new possibility. When you work in football you want to feel special moments. To enjoy this match, in extra time, on penalties,” said Emery.
It seems like Emery is ready for everything and his personal success will psychologically help his boys to do everything in their power to lift the Europa League trophy.
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Chelsea squad problems
Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante is a doubt for Wednesday’s clash after sustaining a knee injury in training over the weekend. The France international missed Chelsea’s previous two games with a hamstring injury but returned to training last week and manager Sarri was confident he would be fit for the final, however, he had twisted his knee during a training session and was not likely to recover in time for the final.
The 28-year-old’s absence is a blow for Sarri, who is already without defender Antonio Rudiger, midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek and winger Callum Hudson-Odoi due to injuries.
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ChelseaFC
