Arsenal: Benfica’s strengths, weaknesses, style, form and key men

When the draw was made for the knockout stages of the Europa League, Arsenal could hardly have been pitted in a tougher tie than Benfica in the round of 32.

Braga, perhaps? Lille are flying high in Ligue 1 and wouldn’t have been overly welcome? Yet, it was the Portuguese side’s pedigree that made them the standout option and, lo and behold, Arsenal drew them.

With the tie taking place away from home first for the Gunners in Rome with the return leg in Athens, do Mikel Arteta’s side have what it takes to come out on top over two matches?

We’ll have to wait and see for that, but until then it’s time to profile Thursday’s opponents and identify where their strengths and weakness lie, how they’ve performed this season and what style they implement.

Arsenal: Profiling Benfica’s strengths, weaknesses, style, form and key men

Looking across their squad, the quality is evident. Strikers with experience are blended neatly with exciting young forwards, while their backline boasts Premier League titles and Champions League know-how.

However, it’s in the dugout where one of their key strengths lies, as the vastly experienced Jorge Jesus is in his second spell with the club after retaking the reins at the beginning of the season.

Extensive knowledge of Portuguese football will do him no favours here, but countless trophies in his homeland and silverware abroad are testament to his managerial acumen. In his first spell at Estadio de Luiz, he reached two Europa League finals so the 66-year-old knows precisely what is required to perform in this competition.

An avid researcher, there will be no repeats of Marcelo Bielsa claiming that Arteta planned for this match better than him, and he will know every weakness within this Gunners team. He also knows Pablo Mari first hand.

He does, of course, need the players to suit his approach and notable among this Benfica side is how they spread goals throughout the team. There are 41 goals shared among their top five scorers with strike duo Haris Seferovic and Darwin Núñez sitting on 12 apiece.

Their attacking philosophy has served them well this season netting 76 goals in 39 matches for an average of just under two per match. Defensively they boast good numbers in Primeira Liga, although the quality of opposition in that division miscues the stat somewhat.

Benfica Weaknesses

There are areas of their side that can be exploited. While their experienced central defensive pairing will be familiar foes to many of the Arsenal players, both are in their latter years and awareness covering deep runners and pace are not their strongest areas.

It’s an approach Arsenal shouldn’t adopt, as playing on the front foot and aiming to take as many away goals into the second leg is desirable, but Benfica struggle against sides who look to sit in, soak up pressure and strike on the counter-attack. That is partly due to the lack of speed at centre-back, and also down to the diamond system Jesus likes to adopt, leaving them susceptible to overloads and pace in wide areas.

While not certain, first-choice right-back Gilberto missed their last two outings with a muscle injury and has been replaced by right-winger Diogo Gonçalves, who does not possess the positional awareness his Brazilian counterpart does. For that reason, Nicolas Pepe‘s explosiveness could be a valuable asset down the left flank.

Not so much a weakness and more so a potential lift is the form of striker Núñez who having enjoyed a prolific start to the season has just one goal in his previous eight league outings. If Arsenal do keep Benfica pinned back they will nullify his best strengths, which are pressing high and relentlessly running in behind.

Benfica Style of Play

Throughout Jesus’ career he’s acknowledged the work of one of the greats, Johan Cruyff, seeking to instill similar levels of identity and intensity that made the late Dutchman one of the finest who ever lived. That attacking ethos is evident in his Benfica side, who always seek to play out from the back.

His preferred setup is a 4-4-2 that can morph into a diamond. In keeping possession, his sides like to compact the central areas and keep shifting the ball, which creates the space in wide areas for the full-backs to overload and stretch the opposition.

In having neat, technical players such as Adel Taarabt, Everton Soares, Franco Cervi and Pizzi, they can rotate around those positions and keep the ball for extended periods of time. Due to their lengthy spells on the ball they can defend in a mid-block and Julian Weigl and drop in to form a triangle with the centre-backs to add protection.

This is not their only system, as Jesus even adopted a 3-4-3 setup this term prior to Jardel’s injury to match whomever he faced. There is tactical fluency in the way Benfica operate, but Arsenal can expect the 4-4-2 system with a strike duo working in tandem with one another and full-backs running the channels when the midfield diamond invite extra bodies infield.

Benfica Form

Last seven matches:

Moreiense 1-1 Benfica – 14/02/21
Estoril Praia 1-3 Benfica – 11/02/21
Benfica 2-0 Famalicao – 08/02/21
Benfica 0-0 Vitoria SC – 05/02/21
Sporting CP 1-0 Benfica – 01/02/21
Benfica 3-0 B-SAD – 28/01/21
Benfica 1-1 Nacional – 25/01/21

Benfica are way off the pace at the top of Primeira Liga, with Sporting racing ahead undefeated after 19 matches. A solid opening to the season has tailed off since the turn of the year with disappointing results against sides they’re expected to beat in the league.

Two wins from their previous five matches may not seem all too disheartening, but factor in that they came against sides in the bottom of Primeira Liga and the second division respectively, and their form is less than inspiring.

Benfica Key Men – Pizzi, Alejandro Grimaldo, Darwin Núñez

Pizzi – The versatile midfielder can play anywhere in across the middle from box-to-box up to second striker, fitting in with Jesus’ ethos of positional interchangeability in his side.

For Pizzi, the 31-year-old has followed a growing trend of players reaching their peak in the latter stages of their career, with his best goalscoring season last term (30) surpassing his previous best the year before (15). His 31 outings this term have produced 11 goals and three assists, but the key is six of those coming in six Europa League appearances as Benfica remained unbeaten in the group stages.

He’s a difficult customer to dispossess and there are no better finishers in the squad on their right foot than him.

Alejandro Grimaldo – Coming through the famed La Masia academy, left-back Alejandro Grimaldo possesses all the traits one would expect in a Barcelona full-back. While he never played a minute for the senior side before moving to Benfica in 2015, he has continued to develop his skills across his 162 outings for the club.

An offensive defender with superb delivery, Jesus has also used him as a left midfielder on occasion as well as a wing-back in a 3-4-3 system. Pacey and with excellent dribbling, Hector Bellerin can’t afford to go to sleep like he did for Leeds’ second goal last time out. Arsenal will get punished.

Darwin Núñez – The aforementioned spell Darwin Núñez has had in front of goal in Primeira Liga may offer some encouragement but he is not a striker to take your eye off, and the reasons for top sides such as Barcelona snooping around are not without reason.

Despite his height, he offers pace in behind and the expected aggression in the air, with his five goals in this season’s Europa League all demonstrating natural composure in front of goal.

Rob Holding tends to thrive on individual battles with physical forwards. This is a duel he won’t be able to shirk.