Pain in the Arsenal
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Arsenal Vs Atletico Madrid: 5 key players to watch — Stage is set

By Andrew Dowdeswell

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 05: Mesut Ozil of Arsenal during the UEFA Europa League quarter final leg one match between Arsenal FC and CSKA Moskva at Emirates Stadium on April 5, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 05: Mesut Ozil of Arsenal during the UEFA Europa League quarter final leg one match between Arsenal FC and CSKA Moskva at Emirates Stadium on April 5, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /
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Arsenal, Mesut Ozil
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 05: Mesut Ozil of Arsenal during the UEFA Europa League quarter final leg one match between Arsenal FC and CSKA Moskva at Emirates Stadium on April 5, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /

Arsenal travel to Atletico Madrid for the second leg of the Europa League semi-final on Thursday night. Here are five key players to watch.

It’s here. The biggest game of the season to this point. It might be the biggest game since the Champions League in 2006. It is Arsene Wenger’s goodbye. It is a European trophy. It is a path back into the Champions League. There is a whole lot on the line. And Arsenal have a whole lot of work to do.

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Here are five key players to watch ahead of the vital Europa League semi-final second leg against Atletico Madrid.

Arsenal, Alexandre Lacazette
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 26: Alexandre Lacazette of Arsenal celebrates after scoring his sides first goal during the UEFA Europa League Semi Final leg one match between Arsenal FC and Atletico Madrid at Emirates Stadium on April 26, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images) /

5. Alexandre Lacazette

Thanks to Antoine Griezmann’s away goal, Arsenal go to Madrid having to score. A 0-0 draw will see them exit the competition that they are so desperate to win. They proved in the first leg that they can create chances — 28 shots in total –, but they only came away with the one goal, a towering header at the far post by Alexandre Lacazette.

But Lacazette did have other chances to score. None of them was a gilt-edged opportunity, but some were the type of opportunities that a player of Lacazette’s finishing calibre would be expected to take. It was a good all-round performance by the Frenchman, with his movement and hold-up play especially noticeable. But there squandered openings.

It will be far tougher for Arsenal to carve out such chances in the second leg. They are away from home; Atletico have a full complement of players. Lacazette must be clinical with the chances that he does get, if any at all. His team need him to be.