Twitter Reacts as Hazard & Giroud Pounce on Arsenal Collapse to Crown Chelsea UEL Champions

It was all to play for between London rivals in Baku. A place in next season's Champions League. A European trophy. A place in history, for either Unai Emery or

It was all to play for between London rivals in Baku. A place in next season's Champions League. A European trophy. A place in history, for either Unai Emery or Maurizio Sarri.

Arsenal were the side most under pressure ahead of kick-off, with their opponents Chelsea having already booked their place in the Champions League next year, but some nerves for Kepa Arrizabalaga nearly presented Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with an early opening goal.

Is Kepa okay? Why on earth is he punching that? 😂

— Ellis (@ntaylorellis) May 29, 2019

The first real talking point came just before the 20-minute mark, when Chelsea's Kepa appeared to clip Alexandre Lacazette in the penalty area.

A goal kick was initially given, and although there was clear contact in the box, the Europa League final's Video Assistant Referee didn't deem there to be a clear an obvious error - something which went down very well on social media...

I really don’t understand VAR. You can see on the replay that is a clear penalty and they don’t change the decision. Bizarre! #EuropaLeague #ChelseaArsenal

— Josh Bambury (@Bambs01) May 29, 2019

Dude Arsenal gets robbed of penalties even with VAR!!! Clear peno on Lacazette! #UELfinal

— El Gori TV (@elgoritv) May 29, 2019

Granit Xhaka then saw an effort kiss the top of Chelsea's crossbar with a long-range effort on his weaker right foot (yes, Xhaka does have a right foot), but their ability to survive Arsenal's early pressure allowed the Blues to grow into the game.

Emerson and Olivier Giroud forced Petr Čech - making his last ever appearance as a professional footballer against his former club Chelsea - into two smart saves, but both sides ended up going into the break on level terms. 

It didn't take long for the deadlock to be broken after the break, however, as just four minutes into the second half, Giroud pounced on a low cross from Emerson to guide a diving header into Čech's near post.

Ohh My it had to be Olivier Giroud! What a goal 💯⚽️

— Shiresh Rajendran (@Shiresh_resh94) May 29, 2019

Giroud is now the Europa League's top-scorer outright, only Aubamayang can stop him and he needs a hat-trick to match him which has never been done in a Europa League final. #CFC #UELfinal

— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) May 29, 2019

That’s a world class finish from Giroud. So much to do there.

— RG (@registability) May 29, 2019

That movement from Giroud is what every striker needs to watch. Get across the goal and ahead of defender 👏🏻👏🏻 world class #CHELARS

— Matthew 🦉 (@matt_h4) May 29, 2019

And within the blink of an eye, Chelsea doubled their lead.

Eden Hazard picked out an onrushing Pedro to fire the ball into the far corner of the net, leaving Pedro helpless to stop his former side from taking a two-goal lead.

Very nice finish from Pedro. Chelsea should be able to see this out now.

— Jacob (@bfcJacob01) May 29, 2019

🔵 Pedro Rodríguez becomes the 1st player in history to score in a #UCLfinal & a #UELfinal 👏 pic.twitter.com/7KnZ5ZIDRo

— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) May 29, 2019

As if things couldn't get any worse for Arsenal, Ainsley Maitland-Niles's reckless tackle on Olivier Giroud inside the penalty area gave Hazard the chance to score in what many expect to be his last ever game for the club.

There was very little doubt when the Belgium international stepped up to take it, and Hazard coolly sat Čech down before rolling the ball into the opposite side of the net.

EDEN HAZARD COOL AS YOU LIKE

— TB (C) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇵🇱🇮🇹 (@SomeoneNamedTay) May 29, 2019

All over, surely? 3-0 #cfc. Pedro to Giroud, fouled by Maitland-Niles, crazy challenge. Hazard cool pen. That Arsenal defence needs so much work but then everyone knew that before this collapse. #UELfinal

— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) May 29, 2019

But just as Arsenal looked down and out, substitute Alex Iwobi fired the ball into the back of the net with a stunning effort from the edge of the box, offering Unai Emery's side a glimmer of hope of a remarkable comeback.

Why does Iwobi turn into prime Zidane every time he plays against Chelsea?

— Emmanuel ⭐️⭐️ (@Longe712) May 29, 2019

Great strike from Iwobi. Comeback on the cards? Surely not. #UELfinal

— Andy Cleave (@CleaveO) May 29, 2019

Surely Arsenal couldn't complete a remarkable comeback, could they?

No. They couldn't.

In fact, the Gunners went on to concede almost straight away, with Giroud and Hazard combining before the Belgian winger converted with one of the easiest goals of his career.

4-1. Beautiful combination play between Hazard and Giroud. Arsenal are dead and buried now. #UELFinal

— Richard (@rpenners1) May 29, 2019

Whoever signs Hazard has to try and get Giroud onboard too. The two of them have a thing going on there #ARSvsCHE

— Robert Cox (@extratime_sport) May 29, 2019

Chelsea continued to press for a fifth as the game went on. But for Arsenal, the realisation that Thursday nights were on the cards yet again started to sink in.

Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missed chances in the closing stages of the match which they would normally take in their sleep, while youngster Joe Willock wasted a sitter with a few minutes left on the clock.

Baku is BLUE! 💙#UELfinal pic.twitter.com/yIlV8biB1E

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 29, 2019

The game fizzled out, with Chelsea seeing things out through to the final whistle with ease.

The scoreline might be deceptive on the face of it, but Maurizio Sarri's side timed things to perfection and they were at their brilliant best just Arsenal were at their worst, running out deserved winners of the Europa League final.