Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri got his wish to avoid former club Napoli after the Italian side were drawn to face Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
Chelsea will take on Slavia Prague in the last eight following the draw in Nyon, which also produced an all-Spanish clash between Villarreal and Valencia.
The remaining tie pits Benfica against Eintracht Frankfurt, with the winner facing Chelsea or Slavia Prague in the semi-finals.
Arsenal will face Villarreal or Valencia in the last four if they can get past Napoli, with the first leg switched to the Emirates to avoid two ties being played in London on the same night.
🤩 The quarter-finals draw in full 🤩— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) March 15, 2019
See more
Arsenal were forced to make the switch due to having the “lower priority” as Chelsea won the FA Cup last season.
The draw keeps alive the possibility of an all-English final in Baku, Azerbaijan on May 29.
Arsenal boss Unai Emery has already lifted the trophy three times with former club Sevilla and saw his side overturn a 3-1 first-leg deficit in the last-16 against Rennes on Thursday.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
Sevilla manager Unai Emery and president Jose Castro Carmona (right) celebrate winning the Europa League after the match at St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland (Adam Davy/PA)
Chelsea cruised into the last eight with an 8-0 aggregate win over Dynamo Kiev, after which Sarri expressed his preference to avoid Napoli in Friday’s draw.
“I prefer to face them in the final. First of all, because it means we are in the final and I am happy with that,” Sarri said.
“And second, it means that Naples are in the final and I am happy. You know very well my relationship with the city, with the people. So, for me, it will be very difficult to play against them in Naples.”
The quarter-finals take place on April 11 and 18, with the semi-finals on May 2 and 9.
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
FourFourTwo was launched in 1994 on the back of a World Cup that England hadn’t even qualified for. It was an act of madness… but it somehow worked out. Our mission is to offer our intelligent, international audience access to the game’s biggest names, insightful analysis... and a bit of a giggle. We unashamedly love this game and we hope that our coverage reflects that.
