Arsenal: 5 players who must shine against Manchester City
By Kian Long
4. Lucas Torreira
Again, the midfield battles are a factor which could determine the tie. Luckily for fans, Manchester City may have an army of midfielders, but Arsenal has a Lucas Torreira. If anyone can be relied upon to win many duels and win back possession for his side, it’s the Uruguay international.
He will be key to competing with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva for the ball, which is never an easy task. However, it’s important to remember that Torreira has pocketed the likes of Lionel Messi and Christian Eriksen in his career, so he’s not fazed by the competition.
3. Kieran Tierney
Kieran Tierney is the player that I’m most looking forward to see back in action and he couldn’t be returning at a better time. City rely on overlapping full-backs and electrifying wingers, which means that Tierney will be pinned back more often than not, but this isn’t such a bad thing since, while Bukayo Saka is very good going forward, I wouldn’t count on him dealing with the City press.
When Tierney is given freedom, of course, he can give the City full-backs a taste of their own medicine. He loves to bomb forward and overlap the winger while possessing a cross of pinpoint accuracy, which the Gunners can utilise to their advantage.