Europa League 2018/19: 3 Rennes players Arsenal need to be wary of

#1 Hatem Ben Arfa

Hatem Ben Arfa

This player needs no introduction at all. Everyone knows how talented Ben Arfa is and his time at Newcastle, especially that goal against Bolton and Blackburn Rovers proves that. The Frenchman is exceptionally talented and is considered one of the best footballers who just never could.

The pacy attacker seems to be getting his career back on track at Rennes at the moment and has so far registered seven goals and three assists with the Ligue 1 club. He will be determined to show the world that he has still got it and playing against Arsenal will be extra incentive particularly because of Unai Emery.

For those who don't know it, Ben Arfa and Emery had a tiff during their time at PSG. It got so bad that Emery completely froze the attacker out of the PSG squad. Ben Arfa reacted by telling the manager that he would never get past the quarter-finals of the Champions League as a manager, even if he had the best team in the world after that famous loss to Barcelona in the 2016/17 season. Ben Arfa would also do impressions of Emery attempting to speak French when around other players in the dressing room.

So clearly the two do not have a great relationship and knowing the kind of player Ben Arfa is, he will definitely be eager to get one over his former manager. With Arsenal's defense still facing their regular problems, Ben Arfa will not hesitate to take them on.

Unai Emery will certainly have his hands full when Arsenal take on Rennes and the three players mentioned in this list will certainly be ones to watch out for in this Europa League Round of 16 tie.

Honorable Mention: M'Baye Niang and Benjamin Bourigeaud - Both these players have scored four goals each in Ligue 1 this season.