Arsenal will face Atletico Madrid in the semi finals of Europa League. It will be more of a battle between the defense of Atletico Madrid and the attack of Arsenal. The Gunners must have to win the Europa League to qualify for the Champions League in the next season as their hope of finishing in the top four in Premier League is almost over. On the other hand, for Atletico Madrid its all about their pride.
Arsenalcore will analyse one of the key battles of the fixture, two of the most dependable central backs – Laurent Koscielny and Diego Godin.
Laurent Koscielny:
Laurent Koscielny will be Arsenal’s key man in the defense against Atletico Madrid. Arsene Wenger will rely on his experienced campaigner to put up a commendable performance here, which would see Arsenal team going to the Final of the Europa League.
Koscielny’s passing, positioning sense are better than most of the defenders in the Premier League. He is very much strong in the ground duels.
Arsene Wenger will probably prefer to play 3-4-3 against Atletico Madrid in the Semi’s. Which will make three central backs backed by two wing backs tracking up and down of the field. They need 3 strong central defenders against Atletico and protect from conceding in the home leg.
Laurent Koscielny will have to play the role of a leader in the defense to nullify the attacking threats of Atletico attackers Antoine Griezmann and Kevin Gameiro. These two players are in good form and are genuine threats on the counter attacks.
Diego Godin:
The veteran defender of Atletico Madrid, Diego Godin is considered as one of the best centre backs in the World football right now. The Uruguayan defender has spent most of his career at Atletico Madrid and reached the UEFA Champions League Final in 2013-14 and 2015-16 season. But they were defeated both the times by the other side of Madrid.
Diego Godin will surely lead the defense of Atletico Madrid, the combination of Diego Godin and Stefan Savic will be really important for Atletico Madrid. They will have to stand like a pillar in the defense. He is strong with his tackling.
Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone prefers to play strong defense in the big games like this. They will sit back and try to score in the counters over the two legs. So, Godin has to play a big role throughout the two legs of the tie.
On the other hand, Arsene Wenger will try to break the defense with their fluent passing Football. So, we can easily say that, Godin’s leadership in the Atletico Madrid defense will be a key factor in this match as he will be the main man for them to resist the attacking threats of the Gunners.
