Chelsea eye double, Arsenal seek redemption
A TALE of two different seasons for Chelsea and Arsenal reaches its conclusion at tomorrow’s FA Cup final.
After receiving the Premier League trophy last weekend, champions Chelsea head to Wembley Stadium looking to complete their first double since 2010.
Arsenal, meanwhile, will try to put a little gloss on a season in which they tumbled to a fifth-place league finish amid speculation over the future of manager Arsene Wenger.
“As a club, with the way the season’s panned out, it’s not a position we want to be in at all,” striker Danny Welbeck told Arsenal Player.
“We know that we’ve got the opportunity of playing in the FA Cup final, and it’s something we really want to do our best in.”
The teams split their league meetings this season with each winning at home. A 3-0 loss at the Emirates Stadium in late September turned out to be the turning point of Chelsea’s season.
Manager Antonio Conte followed it by switching to a 3-4-3 formation, a move that sparked a 13-game winning run which propelled the Blues to a spot at the top of the table they never relinquished.
“If we hadn’t won the title, this season would have been good,” Conte said. “Having won it, it’s become great.
“Now I think this season can become fantastic if we are able to win the FA Cup. We must find the right motivation.”
Arsenal’s season has been awash in controversy as they failed to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in Wenger’s two-decades tenure.
The manager faced growing calls to step aside when his contract expires next month, while the futures of top scorer Alexis Sanchez and midfielder Mesut Oezil also dominated headlines.
The Gunners now get the chance to apply a little salve to the wounds by winning the famed trophy for a record 13th time. It would also be Wenger’s record seventh triumph but the Frenchman isn’t thinking of himself.
“I want to do it just to win the cup, because I think the team has redressed very well the situation on the sporting side,” he said.
“That will be a good crowning of what we have done in the last two months.
“The team has given so much, I think they really want to win something.
“On top of that, [if] I have some benefit as well, it’s OK, but that’s not my main worry.”
Wenger does have some major questions to answer in his central defence with Laurent Koscielny suspended, Gabriel Paulista injured and Shkodran Mustafi’s status unknown as he reportedly tries to recover from a concussion.
Still, Conte says the Gunners are the favourites and will be motivated by their league shortcomings.
“Arsenal have missed out on the Champions League for the first time in I don’t know how many years, so we must prepare in the right way,” he said.
“I’m not talking tactically. I’m talking about motivation, the right fire in our soul and our hearts.
“If we have this in the same proportion as Arsenal in that respect, we have the possibility to do the double and win. Otherwise we risk a lot.” – dpa