FA Cup Final Preview - Arsenal v Chelsea

Good afternoon and welcome back to this afternoon's blog. What a funny week we have had. Scotland are beginning to ease their way out of lockdown, while some parts of England are heading towards a second one. Some tests events on getting supporters back into sports venues have been cancelled, while claims have been made this morning that the death numbers reported by the Government are inflated. It's becoming very difficult to know who or what to believe in the current climate. We all should just continue to follow our local advice and hopefully as a country we are moving in the right direction towards returning to a normal life. I feel like this was the only topic I could choose for today's blog (I am an Arsenal fan after all). The biggest game of the English football season. A historic competition entered by over 750 teams back in August, and now only 2 remain. Not only is it a major cup final, but it's also a London derby. These 2 teams quite often compete for silverware - Arsenal winning the 2017 FA Cup final 2-1 and the 2017 Community Shield on penalties, Chelsea winning the Europa League final 4-1 last season. As always, this is just my opinion (as unbiased as I can be). It would be great if you left your score predictions in the comments (just no fighting please).

Let's first look at Chelsea. What a job Frank Lampard has done in his first season. He has already secured 4th spot in the league and with it Champions League football for next season. Their performances have been pretty solid all season, helped largely by the crop of young talent that has burst through. Mason Mount has been a breath of fresh air since arriving from Derby in the summer, while the likes of Tammy Abraham and Christian Pulisic have added to an already dangerous front line. Olivier Giroud has found his goal scoring form recently and is always a threat from set pieces. The one disappointing thing from a Chelsea perspective has been the performances of goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga. The world's most expensive goalkeeper has made far too many mistakes this season leading directly to goals. Will Frank stick with his main man, or will 38-year-old Willy Caballero get the nod between the sticks. Whoever is chosen should expect a busy afternoon.

Arsenal, on the other hand, were in complete chaos for the first half of the season under Unai Emery. A   3-1 defeat at Anfield back in late-August seemed to start a horrendous run. The Spaniard was eventually relieved of his duties in December following a run of just 1 win in 8. Cue the entrance of Mikel Arteta who, quite simply, has transformed the Gunners team. Players who looked bang average now look like Premier League players again. The one area he has certainly shored up is defensively. He has found a system that works for the players he has to work with. Since switching to a back 3 with wing-backs, Arsenal look so much better balanced at both ends of the pitch. Recent back-to-back wins against Liverpool and Manchester City have shown that on their day, the Gunners can compete with, and beat, any team in the world. The real question is can they do this over a 38 game Premier League season and challenge for titles. At the moment, no. Arteta needs money from the Arsenal board to further strengthen in the defensive zone. The returning William Saliba from St Etienne should help, but he needs more. 

So which way do I see the game going? I think it will be a very expansive, end-to-end game as both Arsenal and Chelsea are far better going forward than they are at the back. Both teams like to play possession football and will create chances for their respective attacking lines. For me this final comes down to one key battle - Aubameyang, Lacazette and Pepe v Giroud, Abraham and Pulisic. Most teams would be happy with either of these combinations, but, in a one off game, I fancy the Arsenal front 3 to be more of a threat. And if the Gunners defend properly, then Mikel Arteta will end his first season as a manager with a trophy. 

Prediction 2-1.

Connor

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