Arsenal have arguably their biggest game of the season on Tuesday night in the UEFA Champions League, as Barcelona are in town. The Spanish giants are looking unstoppable at the moment and with their strikeforce of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar destroying every defence they come up against, the Gunners could have a busy night ahead of them.
After a frustrating 0-0 draw on Saturday at home to Hull in the FA Cup, the attention quickly switches to the mouth-watering clash at the Emirates against the reigning European champions and at the moment, the best team in the world.
Each and every player is going to have to perform if the north London side are going to get a result. here are the five key battles where the game could be won or lost for Arsenal.
Here are the five key battles where the game could be won or lost for Arsenal.
Hector Bellerin vs. Neymar
Hector Bellerin has had yet another brilliant season so far, but he is going to be truly tested on Tuesday night when he comes up against Brazilian superstar Neymar.
The Brazilian is expected to operate the left hand side of the ‘MSN’ front three and will not give Bellerin a moment of peace on Tuesday. Bellerin came up against Douglas Costa, of Bayern Munich earlier on this season, and it was a rather difficult evening for the Spanish full-back. He will need to pull out his best performance in an Arsenal shirt if he is to keep Neymar quiet.
Laurent Koscielny vs. Luis Suarez
Another drooling battle. These two know each other well from Arsenal and Liverpool battles in the past. But Suarez seems to have got even better since his move to Barcelona. The Uruguayan has netted a total of 30 goals already this season in the league and Champions League.
With the absence of Gabriel, Per Mertesacker looks set to partner the Frenchman in the Arsenal defence, which will mean Koscielny will be covering the German quite a bit on Tuesday. As well as keeping track of Suarez, Koscielny will have to show exactly why he’s Arsenal’s most important defender.
Nacho Monreal vs. Lionel Messi
This battle could be where the game is either won or lost for Arsenal. Nacho Monreal has undoubtedly the toughest job of the lot on Tuesday night, somehow controlling Messi.
Monreal has come on leaps and bounds this season, and has been Arsenal’s most consistent performer. Of course, at times during the evening, Messi will sometimes play through the middle, but he predominantly loves to come in from the right hand side.
This is going to be probably the biggest test of Nacho Monreal’s Arsenal career, but if he can keep Messi quiet, it will be the biggest feat of his career.
Alexis Sanchez vs. Dani Alves
The Chilean has not yet rediscovered his dazzling form since returning from injury, and Tuesday night would not be a bad night for him to return to his very best.
This is going to be a fascinating battle, as Dani Alves loves to go forward down that right flank, so this is going to be a battle both offensively and defensively for Alexis. Though when Alves does bomb forward, there will be plenty of space for the Chilean to exploit when the Brazilian is up the other end of the field.
Tuesday night would be the perfect time for Alexis to prove to his old club that they were wrong for giving up on him a couple of summers ago, despite their unbelievable trio.
Mesut Ozil vs. Sergio Busquets
Ozil has been simply sublime this season for Arsenal, and he will know all about playing Barca from his Real Madrid days.
He will coming up against Sergio Busquets, who will most likely operate in that defensive midfield area for Barcelona. Ozil will really need to try and get on the ball as much as possible and try and influence the game, likely because Barca will dominate large proportions of the game.
Busquets may not be highlighted as a danger man for Arsenal as much as the likes of Messi, Neymar and Suarez are, but he is one of the most important players in that team. If Ozil can have an influence on the game and unlock the Barca defence, then it could possibly be Arsenal’s night.