Arsenal: Petr Cech to start Europa League final despite Chelsea job

Despite him joining Chelsea as a sporting director after his retirement, Petr Cech is in line to start the Europa League final for Arsenal against the Blues.

Once Petr Cech retires, the club that most people will associate him with is certainly Chelsea, who he spent 11 years with, winning basically every trophy there is to win at club level.

Despite this, Cech has spent the last 4 years with Arsenal and is now set to end his legendary footballing career in the most fitting scenario possible – in a European final against his former club, where he is a legend.

This interesting scenario gained an entirely new twist on Tuesday, when it was revealed that Petr Cech had agreed a deal to become a sporting director with Chelsea following his retirement.

Naturally, many Arsenal fans were worried about playing Cech against Chelsea in the final, claiming that it isn’t right to do – especially considering the fact that Bernd Leno is a better goalkeeper regardless.

However, Unai Emery seems to be keeping his faith in his 37-year-old shotstopper, in what will be the final hurrah that he deserves. Cech has been Arsenal’s Europa League goalkeeper all season long, and he is expected to start in the final.

"We are going to do all we can to win. I believe in him, I can use him or I can use Leno but above all, I want to enjoy special moments with players.’ – Unai Emery"

While this situation is certainly a little bit sketchy, Petr Cech is a model professional and has been throughout his career – it’s very unlikely that he will be distracted whatsoever, as he aims to end his career on a massive high.

The timing of the news leaking of Cech joining Chelsea has been seen as a distraction tactic pulled off by the Blues themselves, although there is no proof of this.

Petr Cech has responded to the stories, ensuring fans that he has not agreed a deal to join Chelsea just yet, and that his future will be decided after the final.

Although this has caused a big stir ahead of the final, it is likely to be a non-issue throughout the 90 minutes, as 2 bitter London rivals face off in Baku for Europa League glory.