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Arsenal will play a total of three matches this week, and it includes a short trip to Portugal for the third Europa League group stage match. Their opponents, Liverpool and Manchester City, both successfully grabbed all three points over the weekend. Meanwhile, Chelsea could only afford to secure a last-minute draw against Manchester United. The result is favourable for the Gunners as it could see them level on points with Chelsea and Tottenham after Monday night.
The Gunners have been enjoying nine successive victories in all competitions. Fans are praying that this great form under Emery will continue even though they are still conceding far too quickly as compared to their rivals. Arsenal will soon their toughest match in a long while when they host Liverpool in early November. If the club wants to remain in an excellent position to fight for the title, they would have to pocket all three points from all games this week. For the previous few seasons, Arsenal has dropped points too easily along the way to significantly weaker teams.
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To perform well, Emery would have to count on every single player that he has. During this stressful period, many players end up injuring themselves and have to remain on the sidelines for an extended period. There are three key players that Arsenal cannot do without this week. Here is a look at the three players that Arsenal will have to count on to win the upcoming matches.
#3 Bernd Leno
With Petr Cech still out injured with a hamstring injury, Leno is expected to start in all three matches this week. The first test for him will come on Monday night when he is set to face Jamie Vardy, a lethal striker known for scoring against the Gunners. The Englishman has a reputation for scoring against the top-six clubs and back in May, he helped the Foxes inflict a 3-1 damage against Arsenal.
Although Leno looked unsteady in the early stages of his career as the new Arsenal goalkeeper, he has performed so far so good in the Premier League. Unfortunately, he conceded a goal in the match against Fulham before the international break. That goal was certainly not his fault. In fact, he pulled off a string of great saves to deny the hosts from taking the lead first.
The German keeper would then have to face Sporting Lisbon in Portugal before travelling back to London to face Crystal Palace in a London Derby. Arsenal looks almost certain to advance from their Europa League group after recording two straight victories. If the team is to secure a positive result against the Portuguese side, they would have a foot into the Round of 32.
Cech is also expected to be unfit for the match at Selhurst Park, as such Leno could be playing three matches in a single week. Even though it is not surprising to see a goalie do that, it still involves full concentration from him to ensure that he does not let his team down. After all, this is the 26-year-old's debut season in the EPL. He needs time to fully adapt to the rigour of the EPL and having such a short period of time to rest. Arsenal would really have to count on Leno to continue their winning streak in all competitions.
#2 Mesut Ozil
Arsene Wenger claimed that Ozil's international retirement could play a role in affecting his club performance. On the other hand, Emery remains adamant that the Frenchman's views could possibly be correct. Ozil has now missed two stints of international breaks and been given proper rest to recharge himself for the next run of Premier League battles.
Many would have to agree that the club has yet to see the best of Ozil this season. In eight matches played this season, Ozil has scored three goals but he has yet to lay an assist for his team. The main playmaker of the club seemed to be anonymous in the first few matches and many singled him out for extremely poor performances.
Arsenal will need to heavily rely on the German to unlock the defences of Leicester City and Sporting in the coming days. The teams that the Gunners will be facing this week all have quite a leaky defence. It is crucial for Ozil to make use of the chances that he has to allow his team to get in front as soon as possible and seal the result of the match.
The club has other playmakers namely Alex Iwobi and Aaron Ramsey. If the 30-year-old continues to be unable to live up to his expectations, Emery would surely be fearless enough to drop Ozil from the starting lineup. For now, Arsenal still looks likely to go with the formation of partnering Ozil and Ramsey in the midfield. Even though the former may not play 90 minutes in all three matches this week, he will definitely have a significant role to play this week.
#1 Alexandre Lacazette
Lacazette is definitely in a great form and looks confident in every game. The Gunners would be hoping that the international break had not had much impact on his form else they would be ranting online once again. It has been a long time since Arsenal had such a prolific goalscorer and someone who works so well with the rest of his team.
The French striker has great awareness of his surroundings and on most occasions, he manages to position himself at the right place to score. The greatest fear a fan would have is that the striker suffers from a lack of belief in himself. Very often, the forwards gradually suffer a dip in form after not scoring for a couple of games and it becomes extremely hard for them to pick up the momentum of scoring.
Looking at Alvaro Morata of Chelsea, the Spanish attacker tries his best to score in each game that he plays. However, he has been unable to get on the scoresheet. Truly, when a fan watches him play, Morata looks uncertain of himself, his ability and his team. At this moment, it is a different story for Lacazette.
His partnership with Hector Bellerin and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is working well so far for the club. It has also empowered him to score crucial goals for his side. Like Ozil, the 27-year-old probably will not play the full match for all three games as that would take a toll on his fitness levels. Even as such, Arsenal will have to rely on his form to bring the club more goals.
