Arsenal vs Leicester City: 5 key players to avoid another capitulation

1. Matteo Guendouzi

I have seen enough of this midfield fiasco to know that without a midfielder who can establish a presence, we are screwed. And right now, there are only two guys capable of establishing that presence: Granit Xhaka, and Matteo Guendouzi.

I don’t think Xhaka returns in this one, though the likelihood of establishing a presence is much higher with Xhaka than it is with Guendouzi. But regardless, Guendouzi is getting better and better at it, and with Leicester likely to field a beefy midfield, as is their preferred formation, we’re going to need someone who knows how to protect the ball and, most importantly, do something with it once he gets it.

Guendouzi is adding more and more skills to his tool belt, including splitting long passes and dribbling into the teeth of the defense, and while there is still considerable risk involved with both abilities, in time, that risk will dwindle to relatively nothing. That’s what happened to Xhaka, who never loses possession anymore, and that’s what will happen to Guendouzi.

If he can establish himself, get into the flow, and really get a feel for the game, he will change the face of it and give us hope of actually taking points from this.