Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny and Everton striker Romelu Lukaku are likely to be in direct competition this weekend.
Arsenal and Everton head into their Premier League clash this weekend after very different European results.
The Gunners are under pressure after a 3-1 defeat against Monaco whereas Everton go into the game as the only British side to make it through to the next round of the Europa League.
Players on either side are also going into the game in very different situations with Laurent Koscielny under pressure in Arsenal’s back four while Romelu Lukaku has scored five goals in his last two European appearances for Everton.
It’s a key clash this weekend and the stats suggest how they could play against each other.
| Position | Team | Passing Accuracy | Duel Won | Aerial Won | Interception Won | Fouls | Appearances | Mins Played | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laurent Koscielny | DF | Arsenal | 88% | 77 | 51 | 54 | 12 | 16 | 1,376 |
| Romelu Lukaku | FW | Everton | 76% | 96 | 41 | 1 | 21 | 26 | 2,078 |
In straight up duels, Lukaku is ahead, which suggests that he’s a difficult player to brush off the ball physically.
Koscielny does have the edge in terms of aerial duels and he has a much better ability in terms of reading the game.
If Everton keep the ball on the floor, Koscielny needs to stay tight to Lukaku looking to step in and intercept possession before it reaches the Belgian attacker.
If the Arsenal defender gets drawn into a general physical battle then Lukaku has enough about him to bully him out of the game.
Koscielny can also try and play on the fact that Lukaku is giving away more fouls, which will help in terms of providing a release for the Arsenal defence in terms of pressure.
It looks set to be a great clash between two very good players.
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