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

1. Laurent Koscielny

Remember that rhetorical question regarding who else you’d rather trust with the responsibility of this match? This guy is the answer. He is so beaten and battered from a hard-fought season (and career) and is only being used in the Europa League now, which will hopefully serve to stir up his determination even more.

This reminds me of Per Mertesacker stepping in against Chelsea in the FA Cup final and showcasing one of the best defensive matches I think I’ve ever seen. We need Koscielny to do that here, and one more time when we take on whoever we take on in the final.

Thankfully, Koscielny is just the guy to do it. He’s been a tremendous beacon of hope all year, he’s an organizer as much as he is an individual performer, and he continually shows that he is the only trusted No. 1 centerback on this team. Everyone else serves a complimentary role next to him. Which is part of the problem of this defense, as he can’t always be there to bail them out.

But now that he is here, we can count on him to coordinate a defensive effort that will keep this lead in tact and see his club through to the finals.