Pain in the Arsenal
Fansided

Arsenal Vs Manchester City: 5 key players to watch – FA Cup on the line

By Andrew Dowdeswell

Arsenal, Mikel Arteta, Pep Guardiola (Photo by LAURENCE GRIFFITHS / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by LAURENCE GRIFFITHS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Arsenal, Mikel Arteta, Pep Guardiola (Photo by LAURENCE GRIFFITHS / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by LAURENCE GRIFFITHS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 5
Next
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

There is no better player in the Premier League than Kevin de Bruyne. In fact, there hasn’t been a better player in the Premier League for many years. The Belgian is simply fantastic, as Arsenal have experienced on several occasions before. In two games this season, he has scored three goals and provided an assist.

For club and country, de Bruyne has 16 goals and 27 assists this season. In the Premier League, he has 11 goals and 19 assists and is chasing down Thierry Henry’s assist record from the 2002/03 season. How you stop a player like de Bruyne is almost unknown at this point. So few players and teams have been able to even slow him down that there is no book on how to do so.

And so, Arsenal have to come up with a plan for the best player in the Premier League. Maybe Lucas Torreira starts and man-marks him. Maybe Arsenal press high up the pitch. Maybe Granit Xhaka’s inclusion provides more structure in the midfield. In reality, none of these plans will work, such is de Bruyne’s brilliance. Arteta, though, will have to try something.