Arsenal vs Blackpool: 5 key players to kickstart FA Cup campaign

3. Alex Iwobi

Literally, take either of the previous slides I wrote about Maitland-Niles or Guendouzi and replace their names with ‘Alex Iwobi‘ and it’ll read much of the same. Iwobi was primarily a side competition player, and with the return of Mesut Ozil, it will more than likely mean that Ozil will be given his chance to fight for his spot, while Iwobi will fall again to substitute duties.

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The FA Cup, therefore, is a big chance to Iwobi to continue his run of good form, which is turning into a serious run and some equally serious good form. He is creating more consistent chances, he is really thriving as a winger, and he provides so many of the attributes that we just aren’t finding out of our other creators.

This has been the theme no matter the competition – the chances have to come from somewhere. That remains true in the FA Cup, and Iwobi figures to be the primary source of any chances. With Sead Kolasinac unlikely to feature and the rest of the XI a question mark, I would think that Iwobi would have a chance to really show that he has turned a corner.

What this comes down to is a need to show consistency. He’s been good lately, but he’s been good before too, so we need to see more of the same.

On to No. 2.