Emery’s first season at Arsenal hinges on Europa League outcome – and yet Sarri needs it more

After Liverpool and Tottenham reached the Champions League final in the most dramatic of circumstances this week, Arsenal put in a commanding performance at Valencia to ensure their lead would not slip.

It had looked ropey when Kevin Gameiro broke the deadlock after 11 minutes – reducing the deficit to 3-2 on aggregate – but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s hat-trick, with an Alexandre Lacazette strike to boot, made it another memorable night on the road for Arsenal in Europe.

Arsenal have already been to Azerbaijan – as well as Ukraine, Portugal, Belarus, France, Italy and Spain – this season, and they will return on May 29 with a trophy in their sights.

With Aubameyang and Lacazette, Arsenal fans will be dreaming of Champions League football next season, while in Emery they have a manager who won the Europa League three seasons in a row at Sevilla.

After a rollercoaster of a first campaign at the Emirates, Emery will know it is on this final stage where he will ultimately be judged. And he knows he has won nothing yet:

"We have played badly in the Premier League during the last month and now we have to use this opportunity. We want to play in the Champions League next season and we want the trophy."

The question of whether Arsenal have made progress under Emery is a difficult one to answer. There have been moments of both promise and despair, two steps forward followed by one step back.

In many ways, it has been a campaign typical to the second half of Arsene Wenger’s reign at the club, though on this occasion it will end – for the first time since 2006 – with a European final.

That showdown with Chelsea on May 29 will define Arsenal’s season, but more crucially, it will shape the outlook of what Emery’s Arsenal looks like for years to come.

With the Champions League comes the promise of elite competition football, a luxury Manchester United cannot offer this summer, and one that can influence recruitment heavily.

Reports suggest Arsenal may have a miserly budget for the upcoming window, but that could be boosted should they have a spot in the Champions League group stages confirmed.

Of all the teams, it is Chelsea who will be out to stop them in Baku, and though the club are set to finish in the top four, it could also be a season-defining match for Maurizio Sarri, so often on the brink of losing the Chelsea job, but now on the cusp of silverware to go with a potential third-placed finish in the Premier League.

It seems bizarre to think Sarri could still lose his job this summer, but the Italian enters the final with his position far more precarious than Emery’s, with Arsenal seemingly more willing than Chelsea to accept a period, a year even, of transition is needed.

It therefore adds another intriguing layer to this encounter of familiar foes, and it is remarkable to think that after relatively difficult seasons, one of Arsenal or Chelsea will come back from Azerbaijan with a trophy to show for their efforts.

Arsenal need this more. Sarri needs it more. A fascinating match-up awaits.