Baku (AFP)
A London clash in Baku, more than 4,000 kilometers from the English capital. Between the two rivals Chelsea and Arsenal, the final of the Europa League offers an electric duel for the Unai Emery Gunners who have everything to lose, Wednesday at 21H00 (19H00 GMT).
Before the clash between Liverpool and Tottenham in the Champions League Saturday in Madrid, the English conquest of Europe begins with the steppes of the East. Azerbaijan will see two funny armies, less interested in its oil fields than one more trophy in their collection.
On one side, the Blues, third in the Premier League, who dream of offering a last coronation to their general Eden Hazard, leaving for Real Madrid this summer, after seven successful campaigns.
On the other, the Gunners who, to restore their blazon yellowed by the end of the era Arsene Wenger, must win to regain the C1, having failed in the league in fifth place, at one point of their goal. At their head, Emery the expert, winner three times of the event with Seville.
"I do not just think about myself, I want to do something important here, and it's about winning a title, and during the competition we felt we could do something important together," he said. Spanish coach Tuesday.
- A bet for Emery -
The former PSG plays big, because the pressure will be on the side of Cannoniers, a defeat would condemn to an additional year of transition when their rivals in West London have already managed their season, ensuring their qualification for the League of champions by way of the championship. But a success would put the Basque in the legend of his formation.
In the short term, it would allow the Gunners to find the Champions League after two years of absence. "The C1 is our goal, we knew it was going to be tough at the start of the season, but we still have a chance, as well as winning a title, we're on the right track," he said. -he explains.
"A club like Arsenal must be in the Champions League," said midfielder Granit Xhaka.
Revanchard after his mixed experience in Paris, Emery found his magic wand in the Europa League, transforming the Aubameyang-Lacazette duo into a frightening two-headed monster of efficiency. The two strikers scored the last eight goals of their team in the competition, eliminating two serious outsiders, Naples in quarters then Valencia in half.
He rejuvenated a club that was losing out in Europe, with the 1994 Cup Cup as his only title. After the lost finals of C3 in 2000 and C1 in 2006, Arsenal is back, and his fans, from London as from Asia, tributary to Baku, attracted by this intoxication too rare.
But, as in Jonathan Lynn's movie, the neighbor can be the killer. In the Gunners counterattack game, Maurizio Sarri oppose his strong defense, the 3rd of England, and the top scorer of the competition, the Frenchman Olivier Giroud (10 goals). The Red fans also remember the cruel elimination against the Blues in the quarter-finals of the 2004 Champions League.
- Uncertainty for Kanté -
Above all, the Italian coach has a high-level sniper with Hazard: the Belgian has finished his best statistical season (16 goals and 15 assists in the league) and dreams of winning a second Europa League, after 2013, before s fly to Real.
"For me, a good season is not to score 40 goals, it is to win something in the end, I do not just look at the statistics," swept the former Lille.
But in what state will the Blues appear? The attitude of Sarri, who left angry training open to the press after an altercation between David Luiz Gonzalo Higuain, intrigue on the atmosphere surrounding the group.
And uncertainty remains side Chelsea on the presence of N'Golo Kanté, who was injured on Saturday at one knee.
"It's 50-50.Yesterday (Monday) it was 60-40 in favor of No. It was a little better this morning," said Sarri. "It's not really a serious injury, now the problem is time, we have three, four days to play."
They will miss the call: many fans were cooled by the price of the trip to Baku, which will host four matches of the Euro-2020, including a quarter-final. According to the English press, the two clubs have returned half of the 12,000 seats that had been allocated to them, fueling the controversy across the Channel.
Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan has decided not to travel for security reasons because of diplomatic tensions between Azerbaijan and his native country. London seems so far away ...
? 2019 AFP