Rennes vs Arsenal: 5 key players to avoid the nervous twitches

1. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

I don’t know what could be more soul-sucking than missing a penalty that would have given your still relatively new team a win over their most hated rivals, as well as significantly boosting their odds of staying in a Champions League place in the toughest footballing division in the world. Seriously, what else?

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That is what is going to be on Aubameyang’s mind (though hopefully not) as he gets a defacto start against Rennes, with Alexandre Lacazette still serving his suspension for a rather untimely elbow to the face (are there timely elbows to the face?).

We have never yet had to see what kind of effect such a missed chance will have on a player like Aubameyang, who is the embodiment of confidence more times than not, but Rennes is an excellent chance for a rebound, and it is crucial that he get exactly that, as he will be absolutely necessary to ensure that we take an imperative three points from the visiting Red Devils on Sunday.

The chances will be there for Aubameyang, he just has to put the Spurs behind him and tuck those chances away, which I have no doubts he can do.

Still, it will feel a lot better when he does it.