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Arsenal team news: Predicted 3-4-1-2 line up to face Chelsea – Emery drops Petr Cech hint
ARSENAL manager Unai Emery is still yet to confirm whether Petr Cech will start the Europa League final against Chelsea tonight (8pm).
Arsenal: Emery wants to ‘do something important with Cech’
Arsenal are hunting their first piece of silverware since Emery took over from Arsene Wenger at the start of the season but must overcome Chelsea in Baku.
Victory against the Blues will also secure Champions League football next season, meaning there is plenty riding on the Gunners’ final match of the campaign.
Emery must decide whether to start first-choice goalkeeper Bernd Leno or give Cech a fairytale send-off against his former club before the veteran stopper retires - but the Arsenal boss seems to be edging towards the Czech.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday, Emery said: “The first XI for tomorrow, I’m going to see tomorrow.
“Cech is a great man, a great professional, it is amazing his behaviour and final year with us.
“I want to do something important with him in the last moment of your career, playing or not playing.
“He deserves trust in him, his career says to us he is a gentleman. He can start or cannot start, I am going to decide.
“How can we not believe in him?”
Cech has played 10 of Arsenal’s 14 Europa League matches so far this season and is expected to round off his career with one last appearance in the showpiece final, judging by his manager's comments.
Meanwhile, Emery is expected to deploy a three-man defence with Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Sead Kolasinac are most likely to start as wing-backs – despite the latter wearing strapping on his knee in training.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal should line up in central defence behind a midfield of Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette are likely to be supported by one of Mesut Ozil or Alex Iwobi with Henrikh Mkhitaryan left at home due to political tensions while Aaron Ramsey is sidelined with injury.
Arsenal v Chelsea: Europa League final preview
Arsenal predicted line-up vs Chelsea – Europa League final
(3-4-1-2): Cech; Sokratis, Koscielny, Monreal; Maitland-Niles, Xhaka, Torreira, Kolasinac; Ozil; Lacazette, Aubameyang