Arsenal have an extra incentive for the Europa League final with Chelsea, as a win would secure a spot in next season’s Champions League.
The Gunners missed the chance to seal their spot via a top-four finish in the Premier League, finishing behind the Blues and arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur in that battle.
That has left Arsenal relying solely on Europa League glory to return to Europe’s elite competition next season and a clash with Chelsea is likely to be an extremely tight affair - where the smallest thing may provide a difference.
Gianluca Rocchi, the official for the Europa League final, may not be a welcome sight for Arsenal fans then as he provides a particularly negative omen for the Gunners - who have won just one of four matches with him in the middle.
That game was way back in the 2013/14 season, where Arsenal beat Fenerbache in the qualifying stages of the Champions League - and their record outside of that result is poor.
A 1-1 draw with Borussia Dortmund in 2011-12 is not too bad but Rocchi was also the man in the middle for Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the second leg of last season’s Europa League semi-finals.
On top of that, Rocchi also took charge of Arsenal’s heavy 5-1 defeat to Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in the group stages of the 2015-16 Champions League, where a certain Olivier Giroud scored the Gunners consolation goal.
Meanwhile, Chelsea boast a 100% record in matches where Rocchi has taken charge - beating Steau Bucharest 1-0 in 2013-14 and overcoming Rubin Kazan 3-1 in 2012-13.
Keep up to date with the latest news, features and exclusives from football.london via the free football.london app for iPhone and Android .
Available to download from the App Store and Google Play .
