Lift the trophy and Sarri will put two fingers up to critics

Bridge in August, Aubameyang (above) started but Lacazette didn’t, and Chelsea won 3-2. At the Emirates in January, they both started and Arsenal won 2-0. The statistics say it all. In the Europa League this season, they have started together five times and Arsenal have won all five. On the nine occasions they haven’t started together, Arsenal won six, drew once and suffered two defeats. It would be wrong to split them up. I interviewed Aubameyang earlier in the season. When he started talking about his teammate, his eyes lit up. They enjoy working together and making goals for one another. They love playing as strike partners. I remember Arsenal’s trip to West Ham when Aubameyang was on the right and Lacazette up top. It didn’t suit them and Arsenal lost 1-0. They need to be together, in front of a midfield diamond. Those two in the starting line-up would be a statement of intent. They are match-winners. THIS could be Mesut Ozil’s defining night in an Arsenal shirt. It is a chance to justify the support the club have given him. Arsenal rocked Chelsea to the core when they beat them 2-0 in January. It was a defeat that made Maurizio Sarri so angry that he addressed the media in Italian to express his disappointment. Key to Arsenal’s victory was Aaron Ramsey, pulling the strings from the top of a midfield diamond. With Ramsey injured, the onus is on Ozil to find the necessary passes for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette. Ozil has that languid look about him in the way he plays but that could work in his favour. You have to conduct yourself differently in finals. Sure, a bit of steely toughness can help but you cannot just go charging around. I found that out to my cost in the 1995 Cup-winners’ Cup final when I had to be replaced at half-time because of an injury. Ozil has experience in finals, including the 2014 World Cup, and the quality to hurt Chelsea. In front of him, he will have two strikers who are as good as any in all of Europe. Aubameyang and Lacazette will be ready to jump on whatever he feeds them, and this might be the occasion we see Ozil turn into their great provider.