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

Mikel Arteta vs Jorge Jesus

The battle in the dugouts might be the most enticing of all. These two have actually been on opposite sides before when Arteta’s Arsenal hosted Jesus’ Benfica some seven years ago during his playing days.

Totally different circumstances this time around will pit a veteran of the dugout against a relative rookie, setting the stage for a tactical showdown.

Jesus has proven himself to be flexible in his systems to accommodate the opposition, and how drastically he shifts from his status quo to match up against Arsenal will be noticeable from the opening minutes.

Arteta has shown there are more strings to his managerial bow with tweaks in how his side press and which areas of the pitch they can be most threatening, thus whether he sticks with the winning formula against Leeds or opts to add pace in wide areas to complement Benfica’s diamond midfield is another intriguing subplot to Thursday’s encounter.

Having built a solid defensive foundation and built his way up the pitch from there, Arsenal are finally starting to click as an offensive unit and the lengths of their spells of dominance have grown.

However, they will not be granted such luxuries against strong opposition in Europe. Does he opt to keep things tight and bypass Benfica’s solid core or play through them with the fluidity on display in recent weeks?

A battle of the minds to come.