Arsenal vs Benfica: 4 key battles to watch out for in Europa League showdown

Arsenal won’t be familiar with their Europa League foes on Thursday, and neither will Benfica. Both sides met seven years ago in the Emirates Cup (Yaya Sanogoals scored four!) but have only met twice competitively in their history.

Benfica got the better of Arsenal on that occasion, progressing through to the third round of the 1991/92 European Cup with a 4-2 aggregate success. To avoid a repeat of that season each player Mikel Arteta selects will need to hold their own as they face the most successful club in Portuguese history, and doing so almost always includes winning your individual battles.

There are only a few positions up for grabs for Arsenal based on recent form and with the fixtures to come, with certain players already eyeing up their opposite numbers with a view on getting the better of them.

Benfica have won only two of their previous five matches and while they’ve only lost one game during that run, the wins came against a second division side and the team bottom of Primeira Liga.

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Arsenal vs Benfica: 4 key battles in Europa League round of 32 first leg showdown

Meanwhile, Arsenal secured a morale-boosting 4-2 win over Leeds last time out which ended a three-game winless run in the Premier League, matches that produced only the solitary point but breathed life into an upturn in form with some moments of encouragement.

Stadio Olimpico will host the first leg of this knockout tie, boasting the same pitch dimensions as both the Emirates Stadium and Estadio da Luiz, not that it matters, with the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium hosting the return leg.

A cohesive performance with tactical understanding will be key to victory, of course, but so too will these four key battles.

Rob Holding vs Darwin Nunez

Throughout his Arsenal career Rob Holding has enjoyed indifferent spells of form. In and around injuries he’s had troublesome spells, while when given a long run in the team he’s also shown his qualities. The current period is certainly the former.

Gabriel has been superb since joining in the summer, but it’s the Englishman’s accomplished performances under pressure and ability to thrive in intense matches that will see him play a crucial role on Thursday.

Darwin Núñez is taller than Holding, most definitely quicker and loves to press high on central defenders. His overall game is strong having recorded nine assists to go with his 12 goals this season, with his only standout weakness being refinement needed in his technical ability.

This isn’t a match-up that should make Holding uneasy. He relishes such battles and seems to up his game in the face of adversity, so asking him to get tight and physical with Núñez, which he’ll have to on occasion, is precisely the motivation he’ll be after.

Despite being on the bench for the win over Leeds, the reasons for that are purely to grant him rest having played more outfield minutes than any other player in the squad this season. Holding will be fit and firing.