Arsenal vs Leeds: 5 key players to keep Cup run alive

1. Dani Ceballos

I am so happy that he is back to full health. It may seem like a stretch to throw him right into the starting XI, but it’s not like he has to play the full 90 minutes. He can play a cool hour and call that a day. Regardless, with Mesut Ozil sitting this one out and the midfield shake-up behind him, Ceballos is going to need to be a creative force. He’s going to need to play that transitive role where he moves the ball from defense to the attack.

If he can’t do that, we’re in trouble. We might have Joe Willock out there, and Guendouzi will be out there too, but Ceballos is here to create, to transition, to be the link-up.

The big question here is how he will return from injury. We don’t know yet how his body will react, we don’t know how his confidence will react. He was already struggling to settle this year, so it would make sense if he didn’t just magically overcome that struggle by being hurt, but that’s what makes him so key—we don’t know what will happen. If he’s on his game, like he was in that one magical match against Burnely, it’s a cruise control.

If he’s not, we’re struggling. Time will tell.