Nigerian players will still be at the centre of attraction tomorrow when English Premier League kings, Chelsea take on ‘embattled’ Arsenal Football Club in the FA Cup final at the Wembley stadium.
The stadium, which recently hosted the victorious boxing bout of Anthony Joshua against Wladimir Klitschko, will stage another historic football final on Saturday.
Football pundits are already looking forward to this great match with anxiety as Super Eagles attacking midfielder, Victor Moses and Nigerian British born, Ola Aina are expected to feature for Chelsea while Iwobi play for the Gunners.
Arsene Wenger is speculated to be facing a defensive crisis ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup final. The Frenchman saw his team fail to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in almost two decades on Sunday as victories for Manchester City and Liverpool meant they held onto third and fourth places in the league respectively.
Wenger’s only trophy of the season could come at Wembley on Saturday when Arsenal looks to win the FA Cup for the third time in four years, against Premier League champion Chelsea.
But the north London club is facing a problem. When Wenger sits down to select his starting line-up, he could be without his preferred three centre backs due to injury and suspension.
Laurent Koscielny’s red card, which he got for a lunging tackle during Arsenal’s 3-1 win over Everton on Sunday, will keep him sidelined for the game, while his usual partner Shkodran Mustafi is also a doubt.
Mustafi, the German center-back, missed the game against Everton after suffering a suspected concussion during last week’s win over Sunderland, according to the BBC. Gabriel, the third choice in the middle of defence, is also likely to be out of action after being stretchered off with a knee injury over the weekend, which Wenger said “doesn’t look good.”
So it could be down to 32-year-old Per Mertesacker, the giant German who made his first appearance of the season on Sunday, to keep out Diego Costa, Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas. Mertesacker’s 37-minute cameo at the Emirates Stadium was the first time he had played for the club since a 1-0 win over Norwich in the Premier League in April last year.
Rob Holding, the 21-year-old signed from Bolton last summer, who has been part of a back three in recent weeks, is likely to start. But injuries may prevent Wenger from using his new system.
A 3-4-3 formation was designed for Holding to play alongside two experienced centre-backs, but with only Mertesacker likely to be available Wenger would have to look to youth and inexperience to persist. But former international, Friday Ekpo, predicted a tough outing for both teams. He said the match will bring out the best in the two teams and give the fans the worth of their money.
“Chelsea and Arsenal are at their best. I can’t predict what will happen on Saturday. It is going to be a tough match. Arsenal will go all out because they are hungry for title and Chelsea may want to add the FA Cup to their kitty,” he said.
