Pain in the Arsenal
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Arsenal Vs Manchester City: 5 key players to watch – We’re back, baby

By Andrew Dowdeswell

Arsenal, Mesut Ozil, Mikel Arteta (Photo by Harriet Lander/Getty Images)
Arsenal, Mesut Ozil, Mikel Arteta (Photo by Harriet Lander/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 15: Kevin de Bruyne of Manchester City celebrates after scoring during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Manchester City at Emirates Stadium on December 15, 2019, in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 15: Kevin de Bruyne of Manchester City celebrates after scoring during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Manchester City at Emirates Stadium on December 15, 2019, in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) /

2. Kevin de Bruyne

Kevin de Bruyne is the best player in the Premier League. He has been for many years now. He is central to City’s dominance in recent seasons, despite missing much of last year with a knee injury, and this year, he is on course to break Thierry Henry’s outrageous record of 20 assists in a single Premier League season.

He also ripped Arsenal to shreds in December. He was sublime, dominating the midfield, scoring twice, including in the first 90 seconds to instigate the romp, and entirely controlling the match. By head and shoulders, he was the best player on the pitch and Arsenal had no answer as they vainly attempted to contain him.

If the Gunners harbour any hopes of snatching anything from this game, they will have to somehow limit the impact de Bruyne has on the match. That is much easier said than done. He is so brilliant that man-marking him out the game is impossible because no player is good enough to match him. Arteta will have to bracket him, push him deep, and not allow him to swing balls into the box from the inside-right channel that he has mastered. De Bruyne can singlehandedly take the game away from Arsenal, as he proved in December.