Arsenal beat AC Milan last night, in what was in the end a relatively comfortable victory for the Gunners, as they booked their spot in the last eight of the Europa league.
Wenger’s men will now be one of the firm favourites for the title, as the London club will now surely focus all their energies in this competition.
While you can say that almost every player needs to improve their game, here are a few Arsenal players that really need to step up their game if Arsenal need to lift the Europa Legaue trophy in a few weeks from now.
Mesut Ozil
Mesut Ozil has had a patchy season with Arsenal this year. The German wizard hit a purple patch around November, when he was taking every match by the scruff of the neck and driving his team forward at every chance.
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But Ozil’s form tapered off a bit, before he put in another imperious performance away at Milan. The undisputed star and leader of the team, Ozil will be called upon to inspire his team to a European trophy this season.
Ozil has a brilliant record in cup competitions at Arsenal, and will be hoping to lead from the front this time around as well.
Granit Xhaka
The Swiss midfielder is quite a polarizing player at Arsenal, as Xhaka has as many fans as critics at the Emirates.
His calm presence on the ball, fantastic cross field passes and ability to shoot from distance makes Xhaka a unique player in the Arsenal setup. But for some reason, Xhaka always has a mistake or two in him during the game, something that often puts his team under pressure.
Xhaka has cut down the reckless challenges and unnecessary cards, that were a feature of his game last year, but still has work to do before he becomes one of the best midfielders in the world.
After two commanding displays against AC Milan, Xhaka will now need to continue to grow and control the team from the base of the midfield in the remaining games to come.
Shkrodan Mustafi
Mustafi needs to become the leader of this Arsenal defense now, as it is becoming painfully obvious that Laurent Koscielny’s time as a first choice center back is rapidly coming to a close.
Brought in two summers ago, Mustafi is another player who has not yet fully endeared himself to the Arsenal faithful. The German has a couple of brilliant matches, before he self destructs and commits mistakes at crucial moments.
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Arsenal need the Mustafi who turned up against Chelsea away, Tottenham at home and more recently Milan away, and not the clueless player who inexplicably looked lost against Brighton away just a few days back.
The German needs to step up on a more regular basis!
Hector Bellerin
The Spaniard has come under a lot of criticism lately, with many people suggesting that he should be sold in the coming summer.
At his best, Bellerin is one of, if not the most exciting right back in world football, and should be looking to show us all why people rated him so highly just a couple of years back.
Wenger needs his right back to certainly up his game in the Europa league, as Bellerin would face far greater tests in the latter stages of the tournament.
Time for Hector Bellerin to stand up and be counted!
Alexandre Lacazette
The ace striker will lead the line for Arsenal in the Europa league, as Lacazette is almost certain to return to the starting lineup upon his return form injury.
While Welbeck has certainly done his part against Milan across both legs, Lacazette is the more clinical finisher and should be the first choice striker in the Europa league.
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Wenger may also toy with the option of playing both Lacazette and Welbeck together, but that will mean one of Wilshere, Ozil, Mkhitaryan or Ramsey to miss out from the staring eleven.
With Aubameyang currently finding form in the league, Lacazette will be Arsenal’s main man in Europe, as the Frenchman will look to finish his debut season at Arsenal on a real high.
