Pain in the Arsenal
Fansided

Arsenal Vs Burnley: 5 key players to watch – Nicolas Pepe under pressure

By Andrew Dowdeswell

Arsenal, Nicolas Pepe (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Arsenal, Nicolas Pepe (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 5
Next
Arsenal, Nicolas Pepe
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 11: Nicolas Pepe of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Arsenal FC at Selhurst Park on January 11, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images) /

On Sunday afternoon, Arsenal travel to Burnley looking to continue their six-match unbeaten run. Here are five key players to watch.

This weekend, Arsenal travel to Turf Moor to face a hardened, embattled Burnley in one final match before a two-week break through to mid-February. Mikel Arteta did not lose a match in January, but he will need to turn his team’s draws into victories if they are to make up lost ground in the Premier League. Nevertheless, they have looked capable of doing such, they just need to put everything together, starting on Sunday afternoon.

Listen to the latest episode of the Pain In The Arsenal Podcast here!—The Rebuild 2.0

Here are five key players to watch ahead of the weekend’s away match against Burnley.

LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 18: David Luiz of Arsenal warms up prior to the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Sheffield United at Emirates Stadium on January 18, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 18: David Luiz of Arsenal warms up prior to the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Sheffield United at Emirates Stadium on January 18, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) /

5. David Luiz

David Luiz’s red card against Chelsea was both untimely and unfortunate. While the Brazilian unquestionably bundled over Tammy Abraham in the penalty area and deserved to see red, it was his central defensive partner who was to blame, a poor backpass leaving Bernd Leno in no-man’s land and Luiz with no other choice than to commit the foul.

After missing Monday night’s FA Cup tie against Bournemouth, Luiz will return to the Arsenal team on Sunday. He will be bombarded by an aerial Burnley attack that may well use both Chris Wood and Ashley Barnes in an attempt to bully the traditionally flimsy and naive Gunners defence, of which Luiz has been a key part of the problems.

These are the types of matches that the former Chelsea defender typically struggles in. The weather will be cold, the ball will be flighted into the penalty area over and over again, and Burnley will look to physically pummel him into submission. Luiz, alongside his teammates, must stand up to the task.