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Arsenal will face Chelsea in the UEFA Europa League final in Baku, Azerbaijan, on May 29th. The Gunners will gain access to the Champions League group stages next season, should they register a victory in this game.
Unai Emery's men blew away their feasibility to enter the European elite's competition via a top four finish when they won just one out of their last five games in the Premier League. If they fail to cross the line in the Europa League, it will be a huge blow for the north London outfit, who will not feature in the Champions League next season.
Despite the poor functionality of their defence, Arsenal's front two, consisting of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette have been in great form. The chances of Arsenal prevailing with a victory will largely depend on the duo.
Off the field, there has been a huge setback because of the venue. The Baku Olympic Stadium has proved to be a failure after the Gunners and Blues have returned 6000 tickets back to the UEFA. Fans are finding it difficult to travel to a small city which is not a major hub in Europe.
Nevertheless, fans are excited to witness a London derby in the finals of an European competition.
Injuries
Long-standing servant Aaron Ramsey picked up an injury against Napoli in the quarter-finals of the competition. It proved to be his last game for the Gunners and the Welsh International will sit out of this game before completing a move to Juventus as a free agent at the end of the season.
Hector Bellerin and Rob Holding will be on the sidelines alongside Ramsey. Danny Welbeck has returned to training, but his inclusion remains a doubt.
Suspensions
Arsenal do not have any suspensions, but they have decided to leave out Henrikh Mkhitaryan from the squad. The Armenian will stay back in London because of the political dispute between his country and Azerbaijan. This has forced Arsenal to look at his security issues which is the sole reason he will not take part in the final.
Player Form
Arsenal are predominantly resting on their attacking duo to score goals as their defence has not stood upto the task throughout the season. Aubameyang and Lacazette have scored 13 goals combined in the Europa League this term. All eyes will be on the forward pair when the match kicks off in Baku.
Likely XI
Arsenal: Petr Cech, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Lucas Torreira, Granit Xhaka, Sead Kolasinac, Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette.
