For one reason or another, there are a few Arsenal players that owe the club and fans a performance of high quality against Aston Villa tomorrow afternoon at the Emirates.
It is not simply because of previous poor performances but also because of players breathing down the necks of a teammate or even because of a high transfer fee which kicks us off nicely with Arsenal’s record signing.
Nicolas Pepe
Time is fast approaching when the 24-year-old needs to put in a top draw performance, he has not necessarily played poorly but he has not set the world alight yet and a home game against a promoted team is the perfect setting for the Ivory Coast forward to show us all his true quality.
David Luiz
He needs to be beyond approach tomorrow, he has made too many errors already and shown little leadership in defence and with Rob Holding coming back and Calum Chambers deserving of a recall he has to deliver an efficient display or he could end up being dropped sooner rather than later.
Granit Xhaka
He is the captain and the time has arrived for him to put in a captains display, he needs to cut out the silly tackling, be better with his passing and command the midfield. Unai Emery may put up with his inconsistency but the fans will not and if the Swiss international wants to get back in the good books of the fans then he needs to deliver a captains performance.
There are other players that need to do well including Bernd Leno, Sokratis and even Reiss Nelson, if he plays, but I would suggest the three named players above are the ones in most urgent need of a top-class display.