Arsenal vs Everton: 5 key players to take crucial road points

3. Granit Xhaka

He was absent against Newcastle and the team, for the first time in his absence, didn’t suffer. But that said, if Granit Xhaka can’t go against Everton, I’d fully expect a chaotic, out of control match that could leave the Gunners scrambling to retain some sort of hold on it.

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That is what Xhaka is here to provide. Now, granted, just because Xhaka is in the match doesn’t mean that the match will be firmly under our control, but it’s certainly got a better chance than if he isn’t.

Unai Emery loves that midfield three of Xhaka, flanked by the energy of Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira and I’d expect to see that reinstated against Everton, in a crucial away match where the battle of the midfield could well spell the result of the match.

It won’t just be about that, though. Xhaka has a ton of creativity in him, and being flanked by two high-energy guys allows him to stretch his creativity a bit and get involved in the attack, which will be another added benefit to having him back in the side. Especially without a central creative force in the team given the 4-3-3 formation.

No list of key players would be complete without these next two. We start with No. 2.