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The 2019 final of the Europa League was an all London affair as Arsenal and Chelsea battled it out in Baku, Azerbaijan, with The Blues running out 4-1 winners, courtesy goals from Olivier Giroud, Pedro, and an Eden Hazard brace.
Despite complaints about security issues and travel costs, the match served up real excitement, as five goals were scored in the second half, with Arsenal seeing their hopes for a spot in next season's Champions League group stage disappear.
The Gunners were aiming to win the trophy for the first time, with coach Unai Emery looking to become the first manager in history to win European club football's second-tier competition four times following his three consecutive triumphs with Sevilla, while Chelsea were hoping to win it for the second time, with Sarri playing to win his first major honor as a manager.
As it happened, it was the Italian that triumphed, with his side taking the Gunners to the cleaners, booking their place as one of the seeded teams in next season's Champions League as well as the right to contest the 2019 Super Cup where they would face one of either Tottenham or Liverpool.
The trophy win was a good end to a season which was plagued by inconsistencies. In this piece, we shall be taking a look at five talking points from the high scoring fixture.
#5 Eden Hazard sends a timely reminder of what Chelsea would be missing
Eden Hazard was signed by Chelsea from Lille in the summer of 2012 and in the last seven years, he has played his part in bringing numerous trophies to Stamford Bridge.
The Belgian international has been the undeniable talisman for the club for the last five seasons and rightly so, as he is one of the best players in the world.
In the just concluded season, Hazard had his most productive campaign till date, scoring 16 goals and assisting a further 15 to win the Premier League playmaker award and his importance to the club is exemplified by the fact that his total of 31 goals involvement is almost 50% of the 63 goals that Chelsea scored during the season.
The 28-year-old is entering the final of his contract with Chelsea and it has emerged that Real Madrid are seriously close to signing him, which would mean that this was his last appearance in a blue shirt.
What a way to sign out, as despite starting the game slowly, Hazard sprung to life in the second half, scoring a brace for the side while also grabbing an assist for Pedro's goal to help Chelsea to the trophy.
This came as a reminder of what he can offer and if the proposed move to Real Madrid goes through as expected, a major dilemma for Chelsea would be how to replace their number 10.
#4 Mesut Ozil puts up a no-show
Ever since his celebrated arrival at The Emirates in 2013, there are many who believe that Mesut Ozil has not done enough at the club.
On his day, the former German international is one of the best playmakers in the world, possessing an ability to seamlessly play teammates in with defense-splitting passes and seeing spaces that no one else sees.
However, in the last three years, he has not showcased his abilities consistently enough and continually divides fans' opinions about his importance.
The 30-year-old is by far the highest earner at an otherwise frugal Arsenal, earning a whopping £350,000/week, signing the bumper deal with just a few months left on his previous contract and it is rather shameful that he does not do enough to merit this huge pay package.
Big players turn up for the big occasions and in the current Arsenal dressing room, there are not many bigger than the former Real Madrid man, with the Europa League final offering an opportunity to showcase his abilities, but he criminally underperformed.
Having drifted in and out of the starting 11 throughout the season under Unai Emery, Mesut Ozil was handed a start in the biggest game of Arsenal's season but he disdainfully failed to take it.
For 77 minutes, the Arsenal number 10 offered absolutely nothing to his team's cause which went in total contrast to his opposing number and was deservedly replaced by youngster Joe Willock.
On the evidence of his performance this season and in particular the final, it is hard to make a case for Ozil's importance to Arsenal.
#3 Olivier Giroud shows he still has something to offer
Giroud arrived Chelsea in January 2018 to act as a backup to the misfiring Alvaro Morata but somewhat failed to improve the London side's goalscoring woes.
His rotation with Morata continued into the 2018/2019 season until the latter's departure to Atletico Madrid and despite Gonzalo Higuain's arrival, the Argentine's struggles in front of goal meant that Giroud still got playing minutes.
However, despite this, many Chelsea fans felt he had not done enough to warrant further his stay upon the expiration of his contract in June, but the decision to give him an extension caught many by surprise.
While he might not have been proficient in the league, the World Cup winner has flourished in the Europa League, scoring 10 goals to help Chelsea to the final.
In the showpiece event, the 32-year-old came up against his former side and showed no emotional attachments, scoring a goal and grabbing an assist (although he refused to celebrate his goal).
His strike took him one clear of Luka Jovic to make him the outright highest goalscorer of the 2018/2019 Europa League and remind everyone that he is not quite finished at the top level yet.
#2 Petr Cech fails to get a fitting send-off
Petr Cech announced that this would be his last season of professional football after two decades of top-level football.
The 37-year-old arrived Chelsea from Rennes in 2004 and played his way into becoming arguably the greatest goalkeeper in the club's history, with his performance between the sticks proving extremely useful in the golden years enjoyed by the club during his spell at Stamford Bridge.
Cech has won everything winnable at club level and is widely considered by many to be among the best goalkeepers in history.
He swapped Chelsea for Arsenal in 2015 having been unable to displace Thibaut Courtois as The Blues number one and despite his four year tenure at The Emirates not being as productive (with only an FA Cup being the major trophy to show), Cech won fans over with his commitment and professionalism, with the warm reception he received from Gunners fans in the last home match of the season showing how highly thought of he is.
The former Czech international has announced that he would be returning to Chelsea to act as a director of football and in a rather very poetic climax, his last match as a professional footballer came against the team with whom he made a name for himself.
A fitting end to a legendary career would have been Cech sailing off into the sunset with the Europa League in hand, but his former side did not share such sentiments, as they put four past him to ruin his moment.
Even though he failed to get the send-forth his legendary career deserved, it takes nothing away from the fact that Cech was one of the finest in his time and would go down in history as one of the very best to ever put on football gloves.
#1 Maurizio Sarri finally wins the first major trophy as a manager
Maurizio Sarri began his managerial career in 1990 and in the intervening 29 years has managed 19 clubs, with most of those coming in the lower divisions of Italy.
He got his breakthrough moment when he guided Empoli to the Serie A and further boosted his stock with the management of his hometown side Napoli, with his brand of football winning praise from a lot of people including Pep Guardiola and Johan Cruyff.
However, despite his critical acclaim, one gray spot on Sarri's CV was his lack of silverware of any kind and critics always pointed to that fact as proof of his unsuitability at the top level.
He was announced as Chelsea's manager last summer and having guided the side to a 3rd place finish, speculation was rife that the board was contemplating giving him the sack, with Blues legend Frank Lampard lines up as a potential replacement.
All of the heartbreaks and disappointments over the last 29 years led to this moment in far Eastern Europe, with Sarri finally laying his hands on a major trophy and with that now out of the way, Chelsea fans would hope that this opens the floodgates for more to follow - starting with next season's UEFA Super Cup.
