Arsenal will take a two-goal lead to Italy this Thursday after a dominant performance in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-finals against Napoli.
Thanks to a well-worked string of passing in the final third, Aaron Ramsey slotted home to put the Gunners up 1-0 just before the 14-minute mark.
The second goal came after a poor pass in midfield from Fabian Ruiz, allowing Lucas Torreira to push forward, and find the back of the net through an unfortunate deflection off centre-half Kalidou Koulibaly.
Carlo Ancelotti will be looking to avoid the same mistakes in the second leg, and although they do take the home advantage, it will be down to Unai Emery and his men to capitalise on the lead they take to the Stadio San Paolo, and progress into the semi-finals.
It is vital that Emery gets as far as he can in the competition, as he is yet to find silverware with Arsenal since being appointed last May.
Here are some key battles to watch out for on Thursday evening that the Gunners will be hoping to conquer in order to push on towards the final stages of the competition.
Mesut Ozil v Allan
One of the most important jobs on the pitch will be keeping German maestro Mesut Ozil quiet on Thursday evening, as in the first leg he linked up with surrounding teammates in almost every attack, whether that be the strike force ahead of him or the oncoming full-backs from behind. Allan will have to be on top form.
Sead Kolasinac v Elseid Hysaj
A battle in both the offensive and defensive departments, it will be down to Hysaj to prevent Kolasinac from pressing forward and making overlapping runs as he did last week. However, it is equally as important that Kolasinac does the same by preventing Hysaj and the supporting winger to link up.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang v Nikola Maksimovic
The Serbian centre-half will need to keep a watchful eye on Arsenal’s star striker in order to prevent his quick runs in behind the defence and into the box, as an opportunity in the final third for Aubameyang could punish Napoli’s hopes of pulling back the tie.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos v Lorenzo Insigne
Insigne was unable to produce in front of goal last Thursday, and it will be down to the Greek defender to ensure he isn’t allowed any space in the box as, on his day, the Italian is arguably Napoli’s most dangerous player, and has a keen eye for goal.
Nacho Monreal v Dries Mertens
Monreal played a central role in the back five of the Gunners defence last week and will be required to silence the Belgian threat that is Dries Mertens going forward.
Aaron Ramsey v Fabian Ruiz
Although at fault for Arsenal’s first goal in the first leg, the Spaniard will need to ensure he doesn’t give Ramsey too much space to control the game, as he can create key chances in any game and even push forward on to goal himself.