Arsenal Not Affected By Europa League Loss To Chelsea 

By Ibrahim Taiwo, The Nigerian Voice Sports

Arsenal manager Mikael Arteta has revealed that his players are not haunted by last year's Europa League final loss to Chelsea.

The Gunners lost 4-1 to Chelsea in Baku, Azerbaijan in 2019 which denied them a route back to the Champions League.

"A year in football is a different life," Arteta said in a virtual news conference on Friday. "Even two weeks or three days later you can see a team performing one way then they can be a different team so there is not many things to take from that."

The Spaniard acknowledged the gulf in class between the two sides as Frank Lampard's Chelsea finished 10 points ahead of the Gunners in the Premier League.

However, Arteta insisted Arsenal would not be overawed by the occasion as they chase a record-extending 14th FA Cup triumph.

"I always say that the league table doesn't lie too much. You can look at some decisions, even in the games that we played together, where we could have the gap a little bit smaller," he said.

"...Our only aim and all our energy is going to be on winning that trophy, it doesn't matter where we start. They are playing at a really good level but we are going to go for it."

Chelsea and Arsenal will battle it out for the FA Cup trophy on Saturday evening at Wembley.