Arsenal will face AC Milan in the round of 16 tie in the Europa League and the fans are getting more excited for the match day by day. There is a rich history of the previous meetings of these two sides. Both the sides had knocked out each other one time each in the round of 16 clash in UEFA Champions League. Now the Football World is eagerly waiting to see which team will come out on top this time.
Both the sides have good set of players in each position and there will be many ‘key battles’ in the field. Today Arsenalcore will analyse one of the most interesting key battles of this match between the two dependable central backs of both the teams – Laurent Koscielny and Leonardo Bonucci.
Laurent Koscielny :
The Frenchman is leading the Arsenal defense with responsibility for last few seasons and Arsene Wenger has full confidence on this defender that he will be able to handle the goal threats of the Milan attackers.
Arsene Wenger will probably prefer to play with a 3-4-3 formation against AC Milan in the round of 16 of the Europa League. So there will be 3 central backs with 2 wing backs tracking up and down of the field. In this formation the defenders must be alert all the time as one mistake could lead to a gift to the opponent.
Laurent Koscielny will be leading the Arsenal defense and will try to dismiss the goal threats of the Milan trio- Suso, Cutrone and Calhanoglu. This three players at the upfront of the AC Milan Line up is really in good form and can score anytime in the match. So, the job of the Arsenal defense won’t be very much easy but the experience of Koscielny in the back line will certainly keep them confident ahead of the clash.
READ MORE ON ARSENAL VS AC MILAN:
UEFA Europa League Arsenal vs AC Milan – Hector Bellerin vs Davide Calabria
UEFA Europa League Arsenal vs AC Milan – Petr Cech vs Gianluigi Donnarumma
Leonardo Bonucci :
The AC Milan veteran defender Leonardo Bonucci is considered as one of the best centre backs in the World football right now. The Italian defender had spent most of the parts of his career in Juventus and reached the UEFA Champions League Final in 2015-16 season.
He is also known as the pillar of the defense for his side. AC Milan have not conceded a single goal in their last 6 matches in all competitions under the management of Gattuso and the defense is looking really solid. Leonardo Bonucci is leading the defense with all his experience of playing in the big stage throughout his career.
The attacking line up of Arsenal is not looking quite strong. Aubameyang can not play in the Europa League as he is cup tied with Borussia Dortmund. The sensational summer signing Alexandre Lacazette is doubtful with injury.
So Arsene Wenger may have to play Danny Welbeck upfront with Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan at two sides. Ramsey, Wilshere and Xhaka can also score Goals when needed. The pace and the link up play in the Arsenal attack will be the main concern for the Milan defense. Arsene Wenger’s experience will play an important role here and if thinngs click for Arsenal with their passes – its going to be tough for Milan.
Bonucci’s leadership in the Milan defense will be a key factor in this match as he will be the main man for AC Milan to resist the attacking threats of the Gunners.
