Arsenal vs Valencia: 5 key players to avoid a complete disaster

4. Granit Xhaka

Granit Xhaka had been having a truly tremendous season until he got hurt about a month ago and struggled to regain his fitness. Since then, he has looked a step behind everyone else (which is bad for a player who is already slow) and hasn’t been as sharp as we are used to seeing from the majority of the year.

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In all likelihood, no one feels more guilty about Brighton than Xhaka, as he gave up the penalty that leveled the match, and as he is going to have a front and center role against Valencia, no one is going to be in a better position to make up for their previous mistakes than him.

Valencia are going to be attacking hardcore, they are going to be gunning for goals, and anything we can do to take the sting out of the match will be so incredibly welcomed. That is what Xhaka can give us. No matter what mistakes he makes, he is always good for one big thing – his strength on the ball is to die for. He doesn’t surrender possession to tackles. He may pass it away, but that is where we need his focus to be sharp, because if he cuts out the errant passes, he cuts out losing the ball altogether.

The more we keep the ball, the less Valencia can score. Plus, Xhaka’s passing is always going to be a razor-sharp tool to cut through opposing defenses, especially with speedy runners on counters.

On to No. 3.