Not only were Arsenal mightily impressive in being the first team this season to put four goals past Valencia to easily reach the Europa League Final, but our opponents were forced to spend a gruelling two hours struggling to get past Eintracht Frankfurt, and only managing to do it in the last penalty kick of the game. This must have been their most mentally draining game of their season.
To cap it all off, some idiot in the Blues marketing department scheduled Chelsea to play a charity match against New England Revolution in Boston on Wednesday night after having their last game against Leicester on Sunday. Their coach Maurizio Sarri believes this gives Arsenal a big advantage over Chelsea for the Europa League final. When asked if he thought the charity match would disrupt Chelsea’s preparation, Sarri said: “A problem? We go there for a good reason I think, so as a man I am very happy to go there,”
“But as a coach, of course, I am a little bit worried because I know very well that the team now needs rest. So it is not the best way to prepare the final, I think.
“I don’t know (if it is a disadvantage), Arsenal is not my problem. I have to look to my players, so I know very well that my players need to rest, and after four or five days they need to work for three or four days and then they need to prepare for the match. The match will be interesting and difficult.”
Sarri was then asked if his players would need a long rest after this gruelling week, and he replied: “I think so, I think so,”
“I want to speak to the physical staff, to the doctor and then we need to prepare the program. I think that they need three or four days completely in rest.
“I am not worried about the physical side, I think it is more difficult to recover mentally. Because in a match like this one you spend, usually, a lot of energy and then of course you have to go down and then it is not easy to go up again.”
Perhaps Arsenal can make use of Chelsea’s stupidity and teach them not be so reckless in the future. Surely they must have known they had a good chance of reaching the Finall when the Boston game was scheduled?
COYG!
I disagree. It doesn’t give us the advantage
Chelsea are former Champions League winners
They are trophy hungry and will be up for this
They won’t tire out in a Friendly
Hopefully we will too be up for it
Emery will be in yet another Europa League final. Hopefully a 4th for him.
Let’s get to the pitch first. Remember Barcelona won ( in the minds of many people) even before they touched down at Liverpool.
I know we can beat Chelsea.
Ridiculous game to play, but I still think it’ll be pretty even in the final. Kante might be out, and Rudiger is out, who have both been regulars, but then we have no Ramsey, and our player of the season, and best keeper, won’t be picked.
But they still have four dangerous wingers/ wide forwards in Hazard, Pedro, Willian and Hudson-Odoi
Arsenal would also be highly dependant on Aubameyang and Lacazette again. If both of them are willing to take high risks again as what they did at Mestalla, I’m sure we can pin Chelsea’s defenders down in their own half
Hudson-Odoi is definitely out as well, but yes, the rest of those wingers can cause some problems.
I feel semi-confident though. We have the better manager, who knows how to win the EL, and I don’t think Sarri has ever won anything. We’ve played each twice this season, and we have been the better team in those two games.
Our main weakness is that throughout our entire history, Arsenal have been very poor on the European stage. Chelsea have a huge psychological advantage.
To laughably think that history has ANY bearing on this final is plain silly. How can it possible be relevant when history is years ago and this is now. This pathetic but common bringing up of previous eras just because the clubs are the same name – though completely different players, managers, formations,etc – is immature thinking” Or rather NON thinking! People should be above this nonsense.”Huge psychological advantage” is no more than a figure of your too vivid imagination. Get real, man!
You know nothing Jon Snow! Haha! Psychology plays a big part in football. Stoke being the perfect example of this. EVERY time we played Stoke away, we had a far better team than them. It didn’t matter if Stoke had changed their manager, players, style of play, etc, we always struggled. Why? Because our team were mentally beaten before kickoff.
Our players, and manager, go into this final knowing we haven’t won a European trophy for a quarter of a century. On some level, that will play on their minds. It’s ridiculous to think that people within Arsenal will not be thinking about this. Also, Chelsea have already qualified for the CL, so they will be a little more mentally relaxed for this game. I think you’re delusional to think otherwise!
Arsenal for the win! Up the gunners #COYG We must take our chances coz am sure we will concede a couple chances to Chelsea as well…we are definitely under pressure cz we need to win more than Chelsea bt hope the nerves don’t get to the younger players. Plus considering spuds could actually win their final…pressure pressure!
History? These players are entirely new on this stage. Can’t remember any player taking part in any European final here. Auba and Lacca are out to showcase themselves. The cup is coming to London, specifically North London.
“Ha -Ha” has become your childish trademark when you have nothing constructive with which to come back to those who challenge you. Of course recent psychology has its place but it is widely accepted that it has to be relevant. THIS season we have twice played Chelsea and beaten them on Prem aggregate. THIS SEASON, take note. NOT in ancient or long ago and irrelevant history. Not even the last cup final where we played each other, which we won, but which is also too long ago to be relevant. As for “Jon Snow” , you may well watch the TV drama series he is in but I would not even know what he looks like. The real and non fictional Jon Snow, to educated people, is the Channel Four journalist. Q.E.D !
Jon Fox & ThirdManJW, You both have identified pertinent points for argument but have also erred and and got confused and trapped yourselves among the trees and not visualised the all important big picture.
Jon Fox, you are incorrect to assert ; “How can it possible be relevant when history is years ago and this is now”, for one, history is what happened micro second ago or millennia ago and secondly, Individual’s character is of their DNA and Experiences which is history, thus all history, specially one’s own history(experiences is highly relevant in how that individual behaves NOW, consciously or otherwise. Which is why one practices because it imbues one’s “Muscle Memory” and imprints a “Blue Print”.
This takes me to ThirdManJW, Yes all what has been said is psychology, “I think therefore I am”, Its all psychology, but you limit your argument and from it extract only the negative attributes. What is PMA? if not analysing all aspects of what has gone before, the positives and the negatives and why , how and what for; then addressing the solutions to the mistakes and further taking a Positive Mental Attitude and believing “Yes I Can”, much like President Obama’s slogan “Yes We Can”
Arsenal Team Must Imbue themselves in the Psycho;ogy of “Yes We Can and Yes We Will”
Jon Fox you are simply clueless if you don’t understand the role history plays in the Psyche of footballers. How many footballers perform consistently to the same level? There are many factors responsible for that including the fact that in certain games based on history with their opponents or in a particular competition players do raise the level of their game or become absolutely shit facing an opponent they have a poor record against.
You have clearly not even understood my argument. Try reading my post replying to Third Man JW. “History” can mean anything from last week to last century. My point is that it HAS TO BE RELEVANT TO TODAYS TWO TEAMS OR ELSE IT IS MEANINGLESS. You may choose (or may not)to take note that his original post which I rightly challenged talked about ” throughout our entire history…. “. Our “entire history” is no more relevant to this match than are the times when crossbars had tape instead of wood on top. You really ought to think far deeper than you are doing and reply to precisely what I say, NOT what you misinterpret my thoughts as being. My English is concise and carefully phrased as a long ago English graduate would expect. It is hardly my fault if others, such as you, cannot understand English properly. I was challenging the misuse of ” ENTIRE history”, EVEN THOUGH YOU SEEM TO HAVE MISSED HAT CRUCIAL POINT!
I have one question for you ThirdManJW , what would be the psychology of our players knowing that they’re going into this final under the guidance of a coach who has won the competition 3 times, and not just that, he repeated the trick 3 times in a row. They are playing against a Sarri that is yet to win a spoon, let alone a European Cup in all his managerial years.
Let me remind you that we have the BEST coach in recent history as long as the Europa league is concerned and chelshit have a coach that has zero idea how to win a major trophy. That is the biggest psychological advantage ever.
We were by far the better team when we faced them in the league, I won’t be surprised if we beat them very well again in the final.
Total BS, as if they are gonna put time in tactics and coaching into that game, nor will they play their best players. It’s a really stupid argument, it was silly arranging that fixture but they don’t have to take it seriously.
When I saw the headline I didn’t click on it, I thought the advantage he was talking about was going to be about us having more incentive than them. I thought to myself that that can go both ways though, the pressure is more on us, with the need for funds and all as well as wanting to be in the CL. I thought that was a bit of a stupid excuse he was trying to come up with, everyone wants to win silverware, but this, jeesh, this is just plain stupid.
He was asked a question and he said “I don’t know if it is a disadvantage “, arsenal are not my problem .
Then on you’re paragraph above you say sarri says this gives arsenal a big advantage ,so I’m. It sure what he said because the post says 2 different things
Chelsea are anyway already in the CL AND will invest in the coming summer wich we will probably not.So there is a bigger picture w’re failing to see and since at least a decade w’re compared to theme second best….
On the contrary, Chelsea’s warm-up match against New England Revolution will make their players stay sharp for the EL final
Whereas Arsenal don’t have any warm-up match after their last EPL game tomorrow. I’m afraid the training sessions at the Emirates alone would not suffice and our players would slack off or lose their focus because of the long break
Arsenal should change their lazy culture if they want to succeed in big European competitions and arrange some practice match before the big event. They must force the players to go out from their comfort zone and let them know nobody is safe if they bottle it again this time
A sensible summing up which destroys the silly argument so misused in the idiotic article. Well said!
I would agree if they were not travelling to America. It’s not fun having to go on long flights, play a game, take a long flight back, and then rest, and then get your head right for a European final. It’s very stupid actually.
I see Man Utd have agreed to sign that speedy James kid from Swansea 15 mil looks a steal .
That’s both Manchester clubs now starting there transfer business even before the season finishes .
Both have extra money to spend on some kids. One of them could be a stellar star like Cristiano Ronaldo, but most of them would turn into outcasts that fail to live up to their potentials like Federico Macheda
A club of Arsenal’s stature should be able to gamble like that as well. Hopefully this Gabriel Martinelli kid would not turn into another Wellington Silva
So happy ? the season is ending this week…….transfer news will follow up sharply.
Can I see xhaka going??
I would love to be there to actually watch Xhaka leave the club in person and never come back,. A stupid, damaging and harmful purchase for us by a manager way past his sell by date, even many years prior to Xhaka coming in.
Talk about clutching at straws for hope of advantage. No reason on Earth why a friendly trip which will refresh minds should disadvantage Chelsea at all a full fortnight before the final. Nonsense to even pose this daft question at all.
Reminds me of the beginning of the season when everyone said City players will be tired and how that was the best time to play them.
Off Topic this steve bould mystery what the hell does he do get him out taking money for nothing chicks for free too bit of dire straights Get your Steve Bould Money for nothing chicks for free all part of the inspector clueso regime never a manager in a million years it was the strong minded players who brought the success not this idiot wenger he was talking about barcelona having a dodgy defence well he should know all about that
Arsenal need to just worry about bringing their A game to the final. Let Chelsea look after themselves. They will not be looking forward to playing Arsenal, as currently Arsenal currently have the better record one on one against Chelse in finals eg last FA Cup win.