🤔 Four conclusions as Arsenal and Chelsea set up all-London final | OneFootball

The Europa League final in Baku will be an all-London affair after Arsenal and Chelsea booked their places in Azerbaijan.

Chelsea overcame Eintracht on penalties and Arsenal swept Valencia aside as European football continued to deliver midweek thrills.

We look at what we learned from Thursday night’s action.

Let the Loftus-Cheek era begin

This is the shining example of what can happen at Chelsea if they just give their talented youngsters (and there are many of them) an opportunity to shine in the first team.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek has went about it the hard way, via a loan spell at Crystal Palace, but at 23, it really is now or never for his Blues career.

The Englishman was a standout in the game in Germany and followed it up with another big time performance here. The boos when he was subbed said it all.

Chelsea’s transfer ban also requires them to put more trust in the men they have. That should start with their midfield maestro.

Case closed with Jović

The bigger the occasion, the better it gets for this guy – a very encouraging sign for potential suitors.

He was starved of service for much of the game but when he carved out a chance for himself, he was ice cool in front of goal and took his penalty very well too.

Believe the hype around the 21-year-old because he has risen to the challenge in two of the biggest games of his career so far.

Arsenal have a proper strikeforce

How refreshing it is to watch a team, particularly away from home in Europe, playing with a two-man attack in an era when strike partnerships appear to be a thing of the past.

And it worked so well for Arsenal too. Lacayang or Aubamazette, whatever you want to call it, but those two together up front are a joy to watch.

They give Arsenal a different dimension – after all, how many times do you see an Arsenal goal coming from one striker flicking it on to another?

As a tandem, they are one of the most dangerous on the continent and Chelsea will have their work cut out in Baku big time in stopping them.

London calling

After two exciting semi-finals, the English capital is sending two clubs to Azerbaijan to compete for the trophy.

It promises to be a nail-biting affair. Just four points separate them in the Premier League this season and they both have a win apiece over the other.

Both defences can flatter to deceive at times and each attack has genuine individual match-winning quality in it.

You try to call it because we simply can’t. But we’re certainly excited about it.