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Attendance: 89,472
Arsenal logo
FA Cup | Final
May 27, 2017 at 5.30pm UK
 
Chelsea logo

2-1

Sanchez (5'), Ramsey (79')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Costa (76')

Why Michy Batshuayi should replace Diego Costa for FA Cup final

Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi has spent the majority of the season on the substitutes' bench, but he should get the nod over Diego Costa for the FA Cup final.

Since January, Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte has chosen to avoid tinkering with a successful team by keeping a disgruntled Diego Costa at the head of his attack. The Spanish international has been heavily linked with a lucrative transfer to the Chinese Super League and despite Tianjin Quanjian now distancing themselves from an offer for the forward, the seed has already been planted and it has naturally been questioned whether Costa has had his head turned by the riches on offer should he move to Asia. However, while Conte has remained consistent with his choice of number nine, the 28-year-old has not continued the form that had made him one of the stars of the opening half of this season's Premier League and ahead of the FA Cup final - which you can bet on at the 10bet homepage - he should be having to settle for a place on the substitutes' bench.

It has often been forgotten during this campaign that Chelsea splashed out £33.2m on another striker last summer. You could have been forgiven for thinking that Michy Batshuayi had been purchased to play a role as a squad player but that was not necessarily in Conte's thinking. He regarded the Belgian as straight competition for Costa but such was Costa's start to the campaign, where he netted five times before the Blues landed on their hugely-rewarding 3-4-3 formation, he was left in the background to contemplate why he had not opted to join the likes of West Ham United, who were interested in his signature and could have offered him a starting role every week. The Hammers would have most probably found themselves in eighth place or above last weekend as well, rather than having to defeat Burnley just to claim 11th place.

Chelsea's Michy Batshuayi during the Premier League match against Watford on May 15, 2017© SilverHub

After making just one Premier League start all season, the 23-year-old is being linked with a transfer away from Chelsea but with Costa's future still unclear, Conte needs to show faith in Batshuayi to convince him that he has a part to play at Stamford Bridge going forward. It is all very well acknowledging that he will be forced to rotate his squad when Chelsea return to the Champions League next season but this is a period in Batshuayi's career where he wants to be regarded as an important member of a team, and that can be at Chelsea if Conte shows loyalty to him rather than to a player who would have walked to China in January had Chelsea given the green light for his exit. His potential inclusion would not be regarded as a surprise, either - this is a player who started the semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur last month.

Not only that, Batshuayi deputised for Costa during the early stages of the competition, with goals coming against both Peterborough United and Brentford. It was hardly the opposition that he needed to prove himself against but nevertheless, he had taken advantage of being handed a rare start by his head coach. Up until the Spurs game, it had only been possible to judge him on his contributions against Football League clubs, and it appeared that he would end up consigned to the shadows once again after his lively Wembley appearance but in Chelsea's final three top-flight games of the season, he has proven his worth for Saturday's showpiece occasion in North London and for next season.

Michy Batshuayi in action for Chelsea on August 20, 2016© SilverHub

During that time, he has spent 126 minutes - plus added-on time - on the pitch and scored four goals. In that period, only Harry Kane possesses a better strike-rate and is now being called one of the best strikers in world football. There is nothing to say that Batshuayi cannot reach the heights of Kane over a longer timeframe but he needs the chance to show that he will be remembered by Chelsea supporters for more than the striker who scored the goal that won the club their fifth Premier League title. That effort was as scrappy as it was clinical, but the record books do not care for style. The celebrations which followed were a release of frustration which would have inevitably built up this season - over 50% of his minutes in the Premier League came in the final three matches - but he deserves the chance to progress into more than the cult hero he has become.

His goal during the 4-3 triumph over Watford was similar to his historic effort at The Hawthorns, but his two strikes against Sunderland showed exactly why he should have a long-term future in West London. His opener saw him beat the offside trap before showing quick reactions to convert the ball past Jordan Pickford, while his second displayed his ability to make something happen. A faltering Sunderland backline is not the ideal measuring stick, but the directness of the goal showed that he can provide the same qualities as Costa, as well as offering different ones.

Costa probably holds the edge in Conte's thinking ahead of this weekend's final but with Arsenal missing their three first-choice centre-backs - and potentially having to use an unfit Per Mertesacker - Batshuayi is perfectly suited to exploit the weaknesses in Arsene Wenger's defence and placing a bet on either the 15/4 on offer for first or last goalscorer or 11/10 for an anytime goalscorer is surely the way to go when you consider your football bets over the coming days.

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