Chelsea vs Arsenal: Unai Emery will commit ‘sackable offence’ if he starts Petr Cech in Europa League final

Chelsea vs Arsenal: Unai Emery will commit ‘sackable offence’ if he starts Petr Cech in Europa League final
Unai Emery will be committing a ‘sackable offence’ if he chooses to play Petr Cech in the Europa League final against Chelsea as it is the biggest match of Arsenal’s season.This is according to Tony Cascarino, the former Blues striker, who says picking Cech makes no sense in such a huge game as he is well below the level of Bernd Leno, the Gunners’ first-choice goalkeeper.Getty Images - Getty3

Cech has been Arsenal’s Europa League goalkeeper – but that doesn’t mean he should play in the final

It may be Cech’s final match as a professional footballer, as he is retiring at the end of the season, and it may be against his former club, but emotion must be put to the side for the good of the club.Arsenal supporters have called for Cech, 37, to be dropped from the starting XI for the final since reports emerged claiming he will be returning to Stamford Bridge at the end of the season to become Chelsea’s new director of football.And while Cascarino agrees that Cech should not play the Baku showpiece, it isnot because of his affiliation with Chelsea or his potential move back to west London.“Petr Cech should not play in the Europa League final for Arsenal,” Cascarino wrote in The Times. “Not because he is due to join their opponents Chelsea as a sporting director but because, at this stage in his career, he is a far inferior player to their No1 goalkeeper Bernd Leno. “Id almost go so far as saying that if a manager picks a second-choice goalkeeper in a game of such magnitude then it is a sackable offence. Its total negligence.“Cech is the No2 at Arsenal for a reason. The club signed Leno for 19 million from Bayer Leverkusen last summer because Cech was on the wane and it will be ridiculous if the 37-year-old starts the biggest game of their season next Wednesday.“There is so much on the line: a major trophy and the glory that brings to the club and its fans, Champions League qualification, the money you get from reaching that competition. Winning will have a huge impact on the calibre of new signings Arsenal will be able to attract in the transfer window. You simply cannot justify picking Cech with so much at stake.Getty Images - Getty3

Leno, who is Arsenal’s No1, should start the Europa League final

“I understand why clubs use cup competitions to keep their No 2 goalkeepers fit and focused during the course of the season but this is the biggest match of Arsenals season, the biggest match since Unai Emery was appointed head coach, and there are no games after this one, so there is no need for Cech to be kept sharp. This is the final match of a difficult campaign and it is clear that they would have a better chance of winning with Leno in goal.“Arsenal fans should not be worried because he is probably going back to Chelsea after this match; they should be worried because he is clearly nowhere near the goalkeeper that he used to be.”Cascarino compared the situation of playing Cech in next week’s final with Watford’s decision to start Heurelho Gomes in the FA Cup final, as it may be the Brazilian goalkeeper’s last ever appearance in football.Getty Images - Getty3

Gomes was given the chance to play an FA Cup final at Wembley in perhaps his last ever match in professional football

Javi Gracia’s decision backfired, with Manchester City thrashing Watford 6-0 at Wembley last Saturday to complete the first ever domestic treble.Cascarino continued: “Watford sided with sentiment and played their second-choice goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes in the FA Cup final to Manchester City which they lost 6-0 and I thought that was a ridiculous decision too.“They are never going to challenge for the Premier League or the Champions League, and its unlikely they will get in another FA Cup final for some time, yet they played a weaker goalkeeper than their No 1 Ben Foster purely because it might be Gomess final match.“I think the Arsenal players will be nervous wrecks about the prospect of Cech playing. They will want Leno to play in Baku.

LIVE ON talkSPORT

talkSPORT is your home of live football! Here's what's coming up on talkSPORT and talkSPORT 2...

• England Women vs Denmark Women (Saturday, 1pm) talkSPORT
• Newport County vs Tranmere (Saturday, 3pm) talkSPORT
• Charlton vs Sunderland (Sunday, 3pm) talkSPORT
• Aston Villa vs Derby County (Monday, 3pm) talkSPORT
• Chelsea vs Arsenal (Wednesday May 29, 8pm) talkSPORT
• England Women vs New Zealand Women (Saturday June 1, 1pm) talkSPORT
• Tottenham vs Liverpool (Saturday June 1, 8pm) talkSPORT

“The defenders in particular will feel far more comfortable with Leno behind them. Cech has never been great with the ball at his feet but he has particularly struggled this season when trying to play it out of defence.“The centre backs will want to know that they can play the ball back to their goalkeeper and not worry about surrendering possession in dangerous areas because of sloppy passes.“If Cech plays they will be praying that he clears it straight up the pitch.”

---

Arsenal moved into third in the Premier League after goals from Aaron Ramsey and Alexandre Lacazette saw them cruise to a comfortable 2-0 victory over Newcastle United.
Post-Match Thread: Arsenal 3 - 0 Stoke City : Gunners

---

Tottenham Hotspur news: Dele Alli posts image of bottle being thrown by Arsenal fan and makes joke about the incident Tottenham Hotspur star Dele Alli has continued to take a light-hearted approach to dealing with the bottle-throwing incident against Arsenal. Alli was struck by the missile at the Emirates as Spurs..
Arsenal release statement after bottle thrown at Dele Alli

---

Transfer news and football gossip: Real Madrid's 'plan' to sign Liverpool star, Marcus Rashford linked with stunning Barcelona move, Chelsea target Philippe Coutinho.
Real Madrid's 'plan' to sign Liverpool star, Marcus Rashford

---

Transfer news LIVE: Man Utd signing 'very close', Griezmann to Liverpool backed, Chelsea TRANSFER NEWS LIVE - All the latest rumours and gossip coming out of Manchester United, Chelsea

---

Barcelona player confirms Matthijs de Ligt transfer talk amid Manchester United speculation Manchester Evening News 16:58 In the last 8 hours Philippe Coutinho 'informs Barcelona of transfer decision' amid Premier League links Mirror.co.uk 14:53
Man U News - Latest Manchester United FC News and Transfers

---

Caretaker manager Jimmy Shan will remain in charge of West Brom for the remainder of the season, the Championship club have confirmed. The 40-year-old has overseen four wins in six games since
WBA Confirm Shan Will Stay In Charge For Rest Of The Season

---

Premier League round-up: Huddersfield's relegation confirmed, Manchester City go top again, Manchester United rise to fourth The best of Saturday's action from the top flight concerning matters
Premier League round-up: Huddersfield's relegated confirmed

---

Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez and Anthony Martial remain doubts as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Manchester United prepare to face Bournemouth. The caretaker manager has overseen comprehensive wins
Match Preview - Man Utd vs B'mouth | 30 Dec 2018

---

Breaking news headlines about Man Utd Transfer News & Rumours, linking to 1,000s of sources around the world, on NewsNow: the one-stop shop for breaking news

---

Charlie Daniels underwent surgery immediately after sustaining a knee injury last week and will miss the start of next season, Bournemouth have confirmed. The 32-year-old defender injured his left
Bournemouth defender Daniels set to miss start of next season

---

Danny Murphy a confié à Aaron Wan-Bissaka de Crystal Palace un avenir prometteur dans l'un des plus grands clubs de la Premier League. Le joueur de 21 ans a connu une brillante saison de percée pour les Eagles et a même été associé à un appel de l'équipe senior de Gareth Southgate en Angleterre.
Nine Champions League-ready right-backs for Spurs after

---

Mauricio Pochettino says he is confident Tottenham will move into their new stadium before Christmas after talks with Daniel Levy. Spurs were supposed to move into the new White Hart Lane-based arena earlier this month, with the first game originally scheduled against Liverpool on September 15th.
Mauricio Pochettino casts doubt over when Spurs will move

---