Arsenal vs BATE Borisov: 5 key players to make this easy

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 22: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Arsenal celebrates after scoring his team's second goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Burnley FC at Emirates Stadium on December 22, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 22: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Arsenal celebrates after scoring his team's second goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Burnley FC at Emirates Stadium on December 22, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) /
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Arsenal, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
(Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) /

3. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Like I said in the last slide, without that Premier League match at the weekend, there isn’t a lot of concern about over-exertion and, besides, it’s not like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is a heavy-lifting kind of guy. He’s puts in a very specialized kind of effort.

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And since he was too sick to play against Huddersfield, you have to imagine that, barring some kind of multi-week virus, he will be healthy and excited to get back out there. Not to mention this being a match that will favor his ability to score goals.

That said, the reason why he makes a rare appearance on the key players list is because he is going to have to take his chances. This is the away leg of the round, meaning that any goals scored here are worth more than just any ordinary goal, but with the theme of late being an inability to create chances, I have to believe that the problem may continue, and this being the case, the Gabonese hitman is going to have to be less wasteful than usual.

I also wouldn’t expect Alexandre Lacazette to be out there, as he may fall in the realm of players that have actually earned a rest day and, depending on how the result goes, his rest day may extend to another week.

Anyway, on to the theme of the day (week [month]) at No. 2.