Wednesday's Europa League final in Baku, Azerbaijan will be contested between two teams from England as Chelsea and Arsenal prepare to face off for another piece of silverware.
The Gunners will do all they can to win, as their Champions League hopes rely on them winning the trophy. On the other hand, Chelsea have already secured their place at the top table next season thanks to their third-placed Premier League finish.
Unfortunately, history is not on Arsenal's side for this one, as Opta confirmed that the Gunners don't exactly have the best track record when it comes to facing English sides in Europe.
In fact, in all European competition, Arsenal have faced opponents from 27 different nations and beaten teams from 26 of those countries, with the only exception being against English clubs.
Fortunately, the last time they attempted to beat an English side in Europe was ten years ago, when they came unstuck against Manchester United in the semi final of the 2008/09 Champions League, and plenty of things have changed since then.
Before that, they have fallen to both Liverpool and Chelsea, and they are yet to muster up anything better than a 1-1 draw against any English side in Europe.
In more recent history, the Gunners managed a 2-0 win over Maurizio Sarri's Blues in January, and Unai Emery will certainly be eager to see a similar performance from his team on Wednesday.
In Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, they have two of the Europa League's top scorers this season, with the pair combining for an impressive 13 goals throughout the competition.
However, in Olivier Giroud, they will come up against the leading scorer this season. The Frenchman has struck ten goals in 13 appearances for Chelsea, and he will be looking to add to that tally when he faces his former employers on Wednesday.
Source :
90min