Arsenal vs Qarabag: 5 key players in Europa League week 2

Arsenal continue rolling into week two of the Europa League, this time against Qarabag. Looking for eight in a row, here are their five key players.

Arsenal, Bernd Leno (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Arsenal have won seven in a row and, perhaps more impressively, they have kept two Premier League clean sheets in a row. No matter if you think they deserved those clean sheets or not, they still got them, and they got them ugly.

They also won their first Europa League match, that one against Vorskla, by a score of 4-2, though, by all rights, it should have been a clean sheet.

Regardless, the beat goes on, and the Gunners are looking for their eighth in a row in all competitions. Their opponent, Qarabag, from the Azerbaijani Premier League, will be looking to stick a dagger in those plans, but all signs point to the Gunners being able to handily put this one away and take six points out of a possible six to start the Europa League group stage.

On the injury front, the Gunners will officially be without Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who wasn’t able to feature at all against Watford either. With his absence, the five key players list gets shaken up a bit, so let’s get to it and talk about the five guys that can make this game an easy one. We start with No. 5.

5. Bernd Leno

I would imagine that, in light of Petr Cech’s injury, Bernd Leno will be getting free reign in all competitions. The other option is Emi Martinez, and I wouldn’t rule out him starting, but the point remains the same no matter who starts.

Maintaining another clean sheet, for the third in a row, would be a massive boost, and one that would give even more reassurance to a defense – and a keeper – that could really use just that.

If it is Leno that gets the nod, look for him to want to reassert himself as the best keeper on the team. He had some very positive moments on the pitch against Watford, but he has to be aware that his time is limited. If he can make a strong enough case, I’d like to believe that he will keep the role, but Cech will always be knocking.

On to No. 4.