CONCORD, N.C. — Gio Scelzi gave himself a stellar graduation gift during the recent United Rentals Patriot Nationals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.

Scelzi picked up his second World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series victory on the opening night of the two-day show with a thrilling pass of NASCAR star Kyle Larson.

The 17-year-old, who recently finished his final semester of high school, has turned his focus to life on the road and racing sprint cars under the tutelage of Indy Race Parts owner Bernie Stuebgen.

That focus showed on the race track in Scelzi’s veteran move on to pass Larson, as well as when he was asked if being done with his schooling was a benefit to his racing dreams and endeavors.

“It’s been a long road, but I’m definitely excited to close the school chapter of my life and turn my attention to the race track full time,” Scelzi told SPEED SPORT. “It’s a big weight lifted off my shoulders and I think allows us to reset a little bit. Bernie’s team is pretty unique with just him and I working on the cars together. It takes a lot of time during the week, but we have a really fast program because of it.

“I love doing this; racing is what I’ve wanted to put my focus toward for a long time and I’m looking forward to being able to do that through the summer and fall.”

When one considers that at just 17, Scelzi was finishing school, racing on most weekends and working for Stuebgen in the Indy Race Parts shop as much as he was able to, it’s understandable to think that the California teenager might have struggled at times to organize his schedule.

He’s grateful that it’s a struggle which has gotten a bit easier since his high school graduation, however.

“It’s been tough to balance. There’s been a lot of late nights in the shop and early mornings, too,” Scelzi noted. “To just focus on racing now makes that extra time even more worthwhile. I put my computer down after I got done with my last semester a few weeks ago and haven’t touched it since then.

“It’s been nice just to focus on racing and race cars and have some fun with it all.”

Scelzi scored his first World of Outlaws victory last fall during the opening night of National Open weekend at Williams Grove Speedway, instantly inking his name among legends of the sport as an Outlaw winner at the stark young age of 16.

Since then, he’s continued to impress and excel on the way to his second Outlaw victory at Charlotte, a process that has been aided by Stuebgen’s guidance and wrench-turning as Scelzi’s crew chief.

“Bernie and I spend almost every day together, and when we don’t, we’re either driving down the road or something like that preparing for the next race,” said Scelzi. “We spend a lot of time together and get along really well, and I think that’s a lot of it, is just chemistry between two people and not arguing or fighting. Me being a young driver, I’m always hard enough on myself, so whether we win or run last … he doesn’t really say a whole lot because he knows we’re capable of great things.

“That relationship makes it a lot easier on me to be focused and stay confident.”

As his confidence has risen, so has Scelzi’s performance behind the wheel. His pass of Larson to win at Charlotte made the NASCAR star appear as if he was standing still in turn three, a testament to a newfound driving fire on Scelzi’s part.

“I think just being more aggressive, for me, has been the biggest way I’ve grown,” said Scelzi. “These guys, if you make a mistake, you end up being passed by two, three or even four cars in one corner. That’s tough to make back up, so you have to get all you can get all the time. Me capitalizing on those mistakes from others and being aggressive like the rest of the field is has made me a better driver.

“I think the smarts were always there, but the experience wasn’t and still isn’t, in some cases,” he added. “I lack in a lot of ways, having never seen a lot of race tracks before and having to learn as I go, so I think I’ve grown in that way, as well as a person with living away from home, working with Bernie and growing up a lot more than I would have before I got started on this journey.”

Scelzi knows he still has a lot of growing to do, but feels that he’s at a point where he’s ready to begin shaping his own path forward.

“I hope this is the part of the process where I start to truly grab hold of the dream,” Scelzi said. “With two Outlaw wins now, I feel more solidified with these guys and feel like everyone knows now that (Williams Grove) wasn’t just a fluke deal. It’s a big accomplishment for me and for my confidence.

“It’s tough out here, but hopefully this dream is starting to actually become a reality,” he added. “My Charlotte win was a thinking man’s game, I feel like, and one of the best nights I’ve driven in my life.”

Scelzi has no plans of continuing that dream without Stuebgen in his corner.

“As long as the truck’s got diesel in it and there’s methanol for the car, we plan to keep racing together.”

BOSTON - The St. Louis Blues will sit winger Robert Thomas for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final due to an injury they said is unrelated to the massive hit he took from Boston Bruins defenseman Torey Krug in Monday's series opener.

Forward Robby Fabbri, who has one goal in eight playoff games this postseason, is expected to draw in for the Blues.

Thomas has frequently missed morning skates with the Blues in the last few weeks, but has played in every playoff game for them. His line with Tyler Bozak and Pat Maroon was effective against the Dallas Stars in Round 2, where Thomas had a goal and three assists in seven games. But he had just one assist in his last seven games, and was a minus-2 in the Blues' 4-2 loss to Boston in Game 1.

"Obviously it's a change for sure, but these guys are veteran players and have been around for a long time," said coach Craig Berube. "They'll be fine. It'll just be a different look for them."

Forward Jaden Schwartz said that the Blues have the depth to handle injury losses, and was excited to see what Fabbi can do after coming off multiple knee surgeries that limited him to 32 games.

"We've had guys all year (be hurt), we've got guys sitting out who have played a lot of big games. This time of year, there's always injuries and we've been pretty healthy for the most part. But Fabs is a guy who's ready to go and he's played in big games before. So we'll miss Thomas, but other guys are ready to go," he said. "Guys who sit out are hungry to get in and you're excited. They want to take advantage of it. Any time you get fresh legs in they're obviously pumped up. We can use guys like that."

Game 2 between the Blues and Bruins is set for 8 p.m. on Wednesday night. Defenseman Vince Dunn is also out against for St. Louis, still recovering from a puck to the face in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final against San Jose.

BOSTON -- Zdeno Chara and Rod Brind'Amour overlapped in the NHL as players for 12 seasons, and Brind'Amour spent most of that time resenting the 6-foot-9 defenseman.

"Not too many fond memories, that's for sure," Brind'Amour said earlier this month. "A lot like Scott Stevens for me. He was the kind of player you knew when you were in the corner that you were either gonna get crushed or something was gonna happen."

Brind'Amour retired in 2010 and now coaches the Carolina Hurricanes. Chara is still the captain of the Boston Bruins, imposing his size and will on opponents -- while giving zero indications of retirement, even as the NHL morphs quickly around him as a younger, faster man's game.

And so when Chara's Bruins beat Brind'Amour's Hurricanes in this year's Eastern Conference finals, the coach couldn't help but stop when he met his former foe in the handshake line.

"Much respect for you," Brind'Amour said. "You can't keep doing this. Good for you. Good luck to you."

Like Brind'Amour, most of the NHL is in awe of what the six-time Norris Trophy finalist has been able to achieve over 21 seasons, 1,485 regular-season games and counting. After all, at 42, Chara is now closer in age to Brind'Amour (48) than he is to all but one of his current teammates. To get a sense of what others in the league think of Chara, just consider these comments from his opponents in the Stanley Cup Final.

"To play at that age, at that size?" Blues center Brayden Schenn said. "It's pretty incredible to watch him to see what he's done so far. I think all guys in the league respect him."

"Honestly, it's just fun to watch him play," St. Louis defenseman Colton Parayko added. "He's still got it. He's big and still moves well, he's actually unbelievable."

"He's not as fast as he was when he was younger," fourth-liner Oskar Sundqvist said. "So you need to get the puck behind him, try to get him to turn around as much as possible. Of course, that's still not very easy."

And Blues veteran winger Chris Thorburn: "I've actually fought him twice. The second one I asked him [to fight]. The first one he came after me. I think our tough guy fought [Milan Lucic], and then I bumped [Chara], and he grabbed me and he hit me pretty hard with one. He could have hit me again, but another part of him is such a respectful player, he didn't. If you're willing to fight him -- well first, good luck. But he plays by the code and the rules, and that's why everyone respects him."

Chara, a native of Slovakia, is the son of an Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler. He is a notorious gym nut (he keeps detailed logs of each of his offseason workouts). Chara says he got a sense a few years ago of how the NHL was trending in terms of speed, and made necessary training adjustments. It helps that he studies hockey as hard as anyone.

"He knows every single guy's tendencies on the other team, and if he doesn't, he's asking the assistant coaches, he's asking the video coaches what they've seen from so-and-so from games past on film," teammate Torey Krug said.

That has led to his impressive longevity. Since making his playoff debut in 2002, Chara has played more than 4,629 playoff minutes. The next-highest player in that span? Nicklas Lidstrom, at 3,721. And within that time frame, Chara's game has evolved.

"The way he plays the game was a lot more tilted years ago to those physical one-on-one battles," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "Now it's a little more pace. Use your stick and angles to play defense more so than in the past. He's adjusted real well. He's still going to be Z -- heavy in front of the net, a shot suppressor on the PK -- but he's had to change playing against smaller, quicker guys, and he's done a nice job."

This season, Chara's ice time dipped below 22 minutes per game for the first time in 20 years, though he's still on the top pairing, and in the playoffs he's second on the team in ice time per game, trailing only partner Charlie McAvoy. Chara has maintained his even keel (it's difficult to find examples of Chara not speaking in a mild manner) and toughness (consider Game 1, when Chara's arm bled profusely after being hit by a shot near the end of the third period; about 20 minutes later, he was standing by his locker, calmly telling reporters that he got stitches but was totally fine).

But perhaps just as important to the Bruins is the way Chara leads. The captain -- fluent in Slovak, Czech, Polish, Russian, German, Swedish and English -- is committed to inclusivity. He infamously hates using the word "rookie," explaining he doesn't like to create divisions in the locker room among younger and older players.

"He treats everyone the same way," teammate Brad Marchand said. "You'd expect sometimes guys with that big of a presence, and how famous he is, he'd be a little arrogant. But that's not him at all. He's extremely humble, he's thankful for everything that he has, and he's worked extremely hard for it. He's an incredible leader in that sense. He makes it very easy to learn from, and to feel welcome and part of the group. I think it's part of why our young guys are very comfortable being the loudest guys in the room. We need that, it's energy we feed off of."

Krug explained that dynamic further on the ESPN On Ice podcast this month: "For a young guy to walk into our locker room, I'll be completely honest with you. If you walk into our room and you try to have a conversation with Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, David Krejci, go down the list, it's pretty intimidating. That is, in itself, tough to do. What people probably don't understand is how welcoming those guys are. Z is a big part of it. He is obviously doing his own thing and trying to prepare the right way and everything like that. But his conversations and his willingness to let guys do their own thing -- and obviously get to the rink and enjoy his time at the rink -- has been special."

Chara is so committed to evolving, he even tried something new last season: his own Instagram page. The defenseman has been diligent about posting; like most athletes, there are quite a few selfies and some gym videos, but also thoughtful captions about friendship, the importance of expanding one's mind, and a few cultural lessons about Slovakia.

And after the Hurricanes series, Chara decided to post about Brind'Amour.

"Rod is a true leader and was a tough warrior to play against," Chara wrote in the caption. "At last night's handshake line, his words meant a lot to me. Balancing respect and intensity are what the playoffs are all about."

Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final is Wednesday night between the Boston Bruins and the St. Louis Blues at TD Garden, with the Bruins leading the series 1-0.

What can we expect from the second showdown in Beantown? Let's attack it as a Q&A primer in today's Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily:

Is Torey Krug the new Scott Stevens?

In the sense that he laid out an opponent with a hit that instantly sparked joy on his bench, anger in his opponents and controversy among the fans? Krug's rink-length rush to wallop Robert Thomas of the Blues in Game 1, sans helmet, was still the talk of the Bruins' dressing room on the eve of Game 2. "Yeah, it was just a perfect moment. A lot of things lined up for me. I have a few hits here and there. If you don't watch our team much, you probably don't realize that because of my stature. But you can go through the archives. There's a few," he said.

Is Torey Krug a smaller Brad Marchand?

Marchand referred to Krug as "the Little Bad Bruin" on Tuesday, and told the media that Krug has been inspired to be more of a pest because he is "rocking my shirt under his jersey" and that "it's a little big for him, but he fits in" the No. 63 shirt. "I couldn't find it one day and I saw him wearing it. He stole it from me," Marchand said. He also claimed that Krug skated the full rink for the hit for cosmetic reasons. "He's got some sexy flow and it waves in the wind and everything. I'm sure that's why he took that run up the ice, because he knew there would be some good pictures of it," he said.

Is Torey Krug on something?

Krug and Blues goalie Jordan Binnington glared at each other during Game 1. "It was more of a stare. His pupils were pretty big -- I don't know if he's on something -- but he was pretty fired up," Binnington said. OK, doctor, whatever you say.

The Blues dominated the first 21 minutes of Game 1. Then the Bruins rallied from a two-goal deficit and absolutely rolled them, from shot attempts to the scoreboard. How does St. Louis prevent that from happening again?

These are two teams that try to exert their will on the other via their forecheck. The Blues especially thrive on that pressure in the attacking zone. They aren't a team that can generate much offense off the rush. They earn their chances from winning battles below the goal line and creating outward -- look no further than Vladimir Tarasenko's goal in Game 1.

But that forecheck went the way of Blockbuster Video and the California Golden Seals in the second and third periods, and coach Craig Berube believes it all comes back to how the Blues handled the puck and supported each other. "We need a lot more O-zone time in the game. We turned too many pucks over, couldn't get on the forecheck enough. Never made them play in their end enough," he said. "They're a good forecheck team. They pressure, they've got good speed, they're a well-structured hockey team. Our puck support wasn't very good in the second and third period and puck play in general. Just too many turnovers. We need better support, better puck play."

What about their other big failing in Game 1, those five trips to the penalty box?

The Bruins are 4-0 this postseason when they get at least five power-play chances, and 6-1 when they get at least four such chances. So, um, the Blues need to fix that.

Right, so what's the solution?

That's the other benefit of an effective forecheck -- you're putting yourself in a better position to earn penalties and preventing situations where you need to take ones. But overall, the least-penalized team (on average) in the playoffs was short-handed for 9:37 of Game 1. The silver lining is that they dropped the Bruins' power-play success rate from 34 percent down to 32.7 percent by killing four of the five penalties. The bad news is that the one goal they allowed by Charlie McAvoy was a critical, game-tying goal in the second period.

"Obviously I think the first thing, just using our feet to check and your heads to check is the biggest thing. Just playing our game, getting to our game early on and just playing a full 60 that way. Moving our feet is going to be the biggest thing, checking that way," defenseman Colton Parayko said.

The Blues have prided themselves on a strong forecheck, winning physical battles and staying disciplined. So we're not sure who that team was wearing the Blue Note for the last 39 minutes of Game 1, because it didn't look like them.

Should the Blues be worried about Binnington?

No. The goalie who famously responded to a question about his nerves with "Do I look nervous?" wasn't at his best in his first Stanley Cup Final game, especially on Sean Kuraly's game-winning goal. "I've got to be better. That's my puck there," he said. "It happens and unfortunately we couldn't get back tied up. It is what it is and we move on." But if there's one common trait for Binnington since he took the crease for the Blues, it's his ability to follow less-than-stellar games with strong ones. Expect that trend to continue in Game 2.

Could St. Louis defenseman Vince Dunn return for Game 2?

Berube said "there's a chance" his smooth puck-moving defenseman could return after being struck with a puck in Game 3 against San Jose. "Dunner's a good puck mover for sure, can skate and get up the ice, he does a lot of good things with the puck. We love him in there. He's not available right now, maybe we'll see after today," Berube said Tuesday.

Does it even matter anymore for St. Louis? The Bruins won Game 1. That's the series, right?

Historically, yes. Since the Final went to the best-of-seven format in 1939, the team that has won Game 1 has gone on to capture the Stanley Cup 77.2% of the time, or in 61 of 79 series.

"I was actually thinking about how long it was going to take until somebody brought up a fact like that," Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask said when asked about that stat. "Whatever. We go out there every night and we try to win. We're not going to get caught up in those kinds of stats."

Besides, there are exceptions to that rule. Look no further than last season when the Washington Capitals lost Game 1 and roared back with four straight wins. And if there ever was a postseason where trends are bucked and the unexpected is expected, it's this one. I mean, Torey Krug just had the hit of the playoffs. It has been that kind of spring.

UEFA will ask FIFA and football's lawmakers to review their concussion guidelines to ease the pressure on doctors and ensure that concussed players are not allowed to continue playing, the organisation said on Wednesday following a series of worrying incidents.

European football's governing body want The International Football Association Board (IFAB), who manage the laws of the game, to "consider potential changes to the Laws of the Game (such as in terms of substitutions)" to allow the sport to move forward in handling concussion in a more responsible way.

At present, referees must stop the match to allow the injured player to be assessed by the team doctor. The player can only continue with specific confirmation by the team doctor to the referee that he is fit to do so.

However, the world players' union FIFPRo said this does not go far enough. They want temporary substitutions to be allowed while a player is examined and authorisation given by a neutral, rather than a team doctor.

"I strongly believe that the current regulations on concussion need updating to protect both the players and the doctors and to ensure appropriate diagnosis can be made without disadvantaging the teams affected," UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said.

During Tottenham's Champions League semifinal first leg clash with Ajax, Jan Vertonghen suffered a head injury and initially returned to the pitch, before was forced to go off moments later and appeared to collapse on the sidelines.

Major League Soccer and Liga MX have confirmed the creation of an annual Leagues Cup between teams from each competition, as reported by ESPN last February.

The inaugural cup competition will begin in the United States over July 23 and 24 and see Houston Dynamo face Club America, Real Salt Lake host Tigres, Chicago Fire play Cruz Azul and LA Galaxy take on Club Tijuana. The MLS teams will all play at home.

The winners of the quarterfinals advance to the semis, which be played on Aug. 20. MLS clubs will play at home if they face Mexican opposition and the games will be in either BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston or Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles if they are all Liga MX or all MLS affairs.

The final will take place on Sept. 18 in the United States at a location yet to be be announced.

"We are excited to take our partnership with Liga MX to the next level with Leagues Cup," MLS Commissioner Don Garber said in a statement.

"We have an intense rivalry between our national teams, and Leagues Cup provides a terrific opportunity to increase the growing rivalry between MLS and Liga MX clubs."

The tournament has been sanctioned by CONCACAF, with Liga MX and MLS clubs not taking part in the CONCACAF Champions League until the Round of 16 stage in early 2020.

"Alongside our own expanded regional club competitions, which includes the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League, the Leagues Cup organized by Liga MX and MLS further strengthens our sport in our Confederation and is a precursor for future collaboration between CONCACAF, Liga MX, MLS and other key stakeholders," said CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani.

Leagues Cup is part of a drive from both MLS and Liga MX to strengthen the working relationship, which was formally cemented in a strategic partnership announced in 2018.

"We are taking this extremely seriously," Real Salt Lake head coach Mike Petke said. "This is not like when we played Manchester United in a summer friendly. Of course, we want to win that too but this is a tournament-style.

"It's something that's going to have a trophy at the end of it, so that's something that we take extremely seriously, and it's something that's going to motivate the players, as it will myself, coaches and staff."

It will be the first time Mexico international and LA Galaxy midfielder Jonathan dos Santos will be competing against a Mexican team in an official competition.

"Yes, for me I think it will be the first time that I will face Mexican teams," Dos Santos, whose Galaxy side will face Tijuana, said.

"It will be a one-of-a-kind experience for me, just like for the club, the league. I think it is important for the growth. I think it is important to be seen worldwide. The Liga MX is growing, too. I think it was a good decision to put this [Leagues Cup] together."

Mexican clubs haven't competed in South America's Copa Libertadores tournament since 2016 and Montagliani said earlier this month that the focus would be on strengthening on regional competition and the CONCACAF Champions League.

Liga MX clubs have dominated CONCACAF's regional club tournament, winning the last 14 editions, although for Leagues Cup the Mexican teams will be coming into the tournament with only one competitive game, with the 2019 Apertura only beginning on July 19.

Current MLS champion Atlanta United will host Club America or Tigres on Aug. 14 in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the Campeones Cup, another part of the deepening relationship between MLS and Liga MX.

MLS and Liga MX sides used to play the SuperLiga, which included four teams from each league and ran between 2007 and 2010, before it was discontinued.

The only thing left to settle in the 2018-19 club season are the European honors and it begins on Wednesday as Arsenal take on Chelsea for the Europa League title. Gab Marcotti gets you prepared with what you need to know ahead of the game.

BACKSTORY: These two clubs are less than 10 miles apart -- roughly 40 minutes by London Underground -- but they've had to travel nearly 3,000 miles to face off in Baku, Azerbaijan, where they'll contest the Europa League final. Perhaps unsurprisingly, neither team sold out its allocation of about 6,000 tickets each (in a 60,000-seat stadium).

Limited airport capacity and hotel availability also drew criticism from supporters when it came to the choice of venue, but it doesn't end there. Azerbaijan is technically still at war with neighboring Armenia over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. Tensions between the two countries run high and Arsenal's Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who is Armenian, elected not to make the trip, citing security concerns.

At stake is the second biggest trophy in European football and, for Arsenal, a place in the Champions League next season. (Chelsea already qualified by finishing third in the Premier League.)

THE ROAD TO BAKU: Both teams breezed through the group stage, often fielding second-string sides, but Arsenal had the tougher run in the knockout phases. They had to come from behind to dispatch BATE Borisov from Belarus and Rennes before hitting their stride and impressively knocking out Napoli and Valencia. It was a photonegative of Chelsea's run, which saw them win home and away in every round until the semifinal, when Eintracht Frankfurt took them all the way to penalty kicks after two draws.

- Sources: Kante set to miss Europa League final
- Premier League: Who qualifies for Europe?
- Toe Poke: The road to Baku -- how fans can make it
- Laurens: How BFFs Lacazette, Aubameyang transformed Arsenal

QUESTION MARK FOR ARSENAL: Goalkeeper Petr Cech started every knockout game in the Europa League and is retiring after Wednesday night, but two factors make you wonder whether he'll get the nod. One is that Bernd Leno has been the first-choice keeper in the league since October. Loyalty and sentimentality are great, but potential revenue from qualifying for the Champions League next season could run into the nine figures. The other is that Cech will reportedly join Chelsea in a front office role when he hangs up his cleats next month. Arsenal boss Unai Emery is giving nothing away, saying he "trusts" both keepers.

QUESTION MARK FOR CHELSEA: N'Golo Kante thought he'd recovered in time from a muscular injury late in the season only to injure his knee in training last week. Chelsea coach Maurizio Sarri says he's 50/50 and his absence would be a massive blow. Kante, a midfield terrier who has developed into an effective two-way player this season, is arguably Chelsea's most important figure not named Eden Hazard. What's more, a season-ending injury to Ruben Loftus-Cheek means Chelsea are down to just three able-bodied midfielders, which is a problem when you play in a 4-3-3 formation.

TACTICAL CONTRAST: Both Emery and Sarri believe in pressing and a pass-oriented game, and both men have occasionally had a rough time from fans and pundits (more so Sarri, to be fair). But where Sarri is a staunch 4-3-3 man, hardly ever deviating from his favored system and (somewhat counterintuitive) style of play, Emery is a tactical chameleon. Back three or back four, midfield three or two, man in the hole or outright wingers or both: he seemingly pulls out a bespoke formation based on availability and opponent for every single match.

NEEDS TO PERFORM FOR ARSENAL: Mesut Ozil was once the poster boy for the all-conquering multicultural German national team, the slight wizard who conjured up oodles of assists for Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid and Arsenal's record signing. He's still the latter but has had a bumpy ride, with Emery benching him at times and questioning his effectiveness away from home -- Baku is very much away from home -- at others. He has the magic to unlock any defence and a big-time pedigree to match. With Aaron Ramsey injured and Mkhitaryan watching from a distance, it will be up to him to link midfield and attack.

NEEDS TO PERFORM FOR CHELSEA: As the Blues' deep-lying playmaker, Jorginho set records for the number of passes in a single game, but as his critics point out, it's purely meaningless stat-padding if the system doesn't work. Too often, it did not. Still, he's the point guard who makes Sarri's motion offense function. If he gets flustered, careless or simply passes the ball sideways endlessly, the whole machine grinds to a halt.

STAR MAN FOR ARSENAL: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is your plug-and-play striker. Whether he lines up in a front two alongside Alexandre Lacazette, up top on his own or placed out wide, his combination of speed and finishing means he'll get his chances. After all, 41 goals in 64 games (all competitions) since joining the club 18 months ago tell their own story. Whatever Arsenal's ills may be, he ain't among them.

STAR MAN FOR CHELSEA: Eden Hazard is appropriately named because when the ball is at his feet, danger is near. Few men in the game can wreak havoc out of seemingly innocuous situations. Fewer still have a body that seems built for what they do: powerful backside, low to the ground, twinkle-toes on his feet. It will be a poignant occasion for him as well. He's a year away from free agency, has refused a contract extension and appears to be on his way to Real Madrid, where he'd join his boyhood idol, Zinedine Zidane.

ARSENAL WILL WIN BECAUSE ... Emery is a cup knockout specialist, particularly in the Europa League, a competition he has already won a record three times. He's pragmatic enough to spot weaknesses and make adjustments during games and with Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira, he has the weapons to neutralize and frustrate Chelsea's midfield.

CHELSEA WILL WIN BECAUSE ... Arsenal's defence has a penchant for individual errors and self-destruction like few others and Chelsea have a knack for punishing mistakes. Hazard against Arsenal's fullbacks is a mismatch regardless of whether Emery plays a back three or a back four. And there's the distinct possibility, as sometimes happens, that Ozil shows up in body only.

PREDICTION: Arsenal 2, Chelsea 1 (after extra time, which means this game, kicking off at 11 p.m. local time, will go well into Thursday)

There's very little to separate these two teams but the uncertainty over Kante sways it slightly in Arsenal's favor. There's also the fact that while both teams have plenty of players unavailable (Mkhitaryan, Ramsey and Hector Bellerin for Arsenal, Loftus-Cheek, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Antonio Rudiger for Chelsea), Emery's side have more individual match-winners.

Eoin Morgan believes the World Cup in England can inspire "every young kid in this country" to take up cricket.

While Morgan, the England captain, accepted that the impact of the tournament will be greater if his team "go a long way" in it, he believes that simply hosting the event for the first time since 1999 will capture the public imagination and attract a new generation of supporters. And he drew on the example of England's women's side, who won a home World Cup in 2017, to show the effect a successful side could have.

"The World Cup alone raises the profile of the game," Morgan said. "And provides a platform for every young kid in this country to have a hero or inspiration to pick up a ball or a bat.

ALSO READ: The importance of Moeen and Rashid to England

"The impact of this World Cup is not as big an impact unless we go a long way, but it will have an impact on everybody. We got knocked out of the '99 World Cup early, but I still remember it like it was yesterday.

"The impact of that [women's] World Cup two years ago was amazing. The women's game is thriving. It would mean a huge amount for us to win it. I couldn't imagine what it would do."

While much live coverage of the tournament remains, in England and Wales at least, behind a paywall, the ECB hopes that the publicity generated by it will overflow into the mainstream media and create a similar level of excitement as experienced during the football World Cup last year.

In a reflection of the efforts being made to capture the public imagination, Morgan and all the other World Cup captains have been invited to meet Queen Elizabeth II at a reception at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday evening, while an opening party will take place along the Mall in London.

The England squad also welcomed Gareth Southgate, the manager of the England football side, into their dressing rooms in recent times to share his experience of reaching the semi-finals of last year's World Cup in Russia. And while Morgan recognised the similar challenges facing sides who had struggled in previous tournaments, he did hint that the expectations of the teams were quite different.

"Yes, we did a session with Gareth," Morgan said. "And it was brilliant. He talked about his journey with the team in and around the World Cup and its build-up and how they built bigger expectations and came together more as a group.

"I think everybody who has been involved with our team over the last four years recognised that they are where we were two years ago and we started exactly where they did. We recognised what had happened in the past, tried to do things differently and moved forward.

"Gareth did brilliantly. They got to the semi-final and everybody said it was great. But we got knocked out of the Champions Trophy semi-final and everyone said we were crap."

Morgan, clearly, was joking on that point. However, he was not seeking to play down the expectation upon his team. Having gone into previous tournaments considered no-hopers, he relished the fact his England team are ranked No. 1 in the world and seen by many as favourites for the trophy.

"The level of expectation and favourite tags is there for a reason," he said. "Over the last two years, our form at home, in particular, has been outstanding. That's the reason the expectation is there.

"In a lot of the World Cups I've played in - or in which a couple of the guys in the changing room have played in - we've gone in with very little expectation and not done that well. I'd pick this position over any other.

"There's a lot of belief within the room. The transformation of the team has been brilliant. We're very confident within our own game."