Arsenal: 5 key players to see us through Bournemouth in FA Cup

2. Rob Holding

There’s no way around it. Rob Holding has to start. Well, actually, there is a way around it. A very long way around, which involves starting Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis, but surely Mikel Arteta won’t do that. Surely Mikel Arteta will call on Holding to play the part he was meant to play in a much bigger capacity this year, if only injuries hadn’t gotten in the way.

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This defense was looking pretty awesome with Arteta first arrived. And, to be fair, if you factor out a few moments of individual failure, it still looks pretty decent. But the long term still doesn’t, and Holding is, again, a big part of that long term as well as a big part of the here and now. If only we could get him back to his best self.

Much like Guendouzi, this is our best chance to do so. Throwing him in to a Premier League fixture carries considerable risk, but letting him run the gambit in the FA Cup will be a great way to reestablish confidence and ascertain where he is on his quest back to normality.

Also, it’s obviously just important that we defend well, and with this defense in such an unsteady position, Holding will have a huge part to play in this side’s ability to stop the Cherries.

Lastly, No. 1.