Chelsea thrashed Arsenal 4-1 in Bakuto win the Europa League as Maurizio Sarri won the first trophy of his managerial career and condemned the Gunners to another season in Europe’s second-tier competition.

Olivier Giroud opened the scoring against his former club four minutes after half-time with a superb header before Pedro’s first-time strike and a brace from Eden Hazard secured the Blues their first European silverware since lifting this trophy in 2013.

Arsenal’s 25-year wait for a major continental honour goes on. They have only substitute Alex Iwobi’s thunderous volley to take home from Azerbaijan as consolation after a dismal second-half display in which they conceded four times in 23 minutes.

Chelsea boss Sarri, under pressure for much of the season, was able to savour a landmark moment in his career but Unai Emery must now contemplate continuing his rebuild of the club following Arsene Wenger’s departure without Champions League football and the resultant modest transfer budget of around £40million.

The Blues sprung a major surprise at kick-off as N’Golo Kante was named in the starting line-up, making his first appearance since beating Watford on May 5.