When Arsenal swept Chelsea aside so comfortably at the Emirates in January in the Premier League, it was Laurent Koscielny who walked away with the man of the match award.
But it could be argued that there was another player in red who was the key ingredient in Arsenal’s London derby success, although his contribution was perhaps not as tangible.
And that player was Aaron Ramsey, who Unai Emery deployed at the tip of his midfield diamond against the Blues.
Watch the Europa League Final May 29 LIVE on DAZN CA
Ramsey didn’t score either of Arsenal’s goals and he didn’t set either of them up, but his importance to the home side’s victory was huge nonetheless.
Arsenal were dominant at the Emirates and, having taken a two-goal lead into the break thanks to strikes from Alexandre Lacazette and Koscielny, they never looked like surrendering their lead.
Chelsea ended the game having just one shot on target and a key reason for that was the role Ramsey played in stopping their supply line at source.
And that source is, of course, Jorginho.
The game in January was played around the time when it had become clear that if you denied Jorginho time and space to dictate the play, then Chelsea would really struggle to open teams up.
The Italy international midfielder is the fulcrum of the Chelsea side, he is the player that Maurizio Sarri looks to in order to get his team moving up the pitch with his incisive passing.
But, whenever he has faced an opponent who has marked him tightly and disrupted his rhythm, then both he and Chelsea have struggled.
And Ramsey did that perfectly in January. Operating at the tip of the midfield diamond, Ramsey did not stop harassing Jorginho from the first whistle until he was eventually replaced with 23 minutes remaining having run himself into the ground.
By then, though, he had done his job and Arsenal were well on their way to three points.
Unfortunately for Arsenal and Emery, they do not have Ramsey to call upon on Wednesday night in Baku when Arsenal and Chelsea meet in the Europa League final.
The Wales international’s injury leaves Emery with a big decision to make, especially as he is also without Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who has had to stay in England due to safety concerns.
Tactically, Emery got it spot on at the Emirates. Arsenal choked the life out of Chelsea in midfield and, having got themselves in front, they were never going to be pegged back.
But without Ramsey and Mkhitaryan, the Gunners will not have things so easy in Azerbaijan.
There are plenty who say Mkhitaryan’s absence should not really be considered as a major loss, given the Armenian’s inconsistent form this season.
But if Emery was planning on replicating the same tactics he used against Chelsea in north London just four months ago, then Mkhitaryan may well have been in line to start in the No.10 role.
That is the position we have seen Mesut Ozil operate in for the past few weeks, including in the semi-final second-leg victory over in Valencia.
But Mkhitaryan’s workrate and better discipline would have perhaps made him a better bet to sit close to Jorginho and ensure he is not given the freedom to get his head up and dictate the pace of the game.
So Emery must now decide whether to go with Ozil behind Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Lacazette, or to use someone else in that role.
In January, the Spaniard went with a flat back four at the Emirates and then a midfield diamond behind the two strikers. It’s unlikely he will use that formation in Baku, with Emery now preferring a 3-4-1-2 system.
Lucas Torreira and Granit Xhaka will almost certainly start in front of the centre-backs, with Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Sead Kolasinac providing the width from the wing-back positions.
It just leaves that one advanced midfield role needing to be filled. If Emery does not trust Ozil enough, then Alex Iwobi could be an option. He would certainly provide the workrate that his coach would demand, but he would not offer the sort of quality in terms of service to the strikers that Ozil would from that central position.
It’s a big conundrum for Emery. One that he must get right if he wants to get his hands on the Europa League trophy for a fourth time.
