Wesley Sneijder Is the 1 Galatasaray Player Arsenal Must Shut Down

Every team has its creator, linchpin and main attacking threat.

These are the players who can unlock an elite defense by themselves, and who teams must be careful to not rely too heavily upon.

These are the dynamic players who are as much a threat to create a goalscoring chance for someone else as they are to score a goal themselves.

These are the players other teams have to devote a disproportionate amount of energy to stopping.

All elite teams have one, and the very best have several. Chelsea have Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas, Manchester City have David Silva and Yaya Toure and Arsenal have Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey.

Galatasaray have a core of several stars that carry the rest of the team, but the best of the bunch is clearly their No. 10 and vice-captain: Wesley Sneijder.

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The Dutchman has only been at Gala for a season-and-a-half, but he has quickly become an absolutely essential part of their starting XI. Cesare Prandelli has structured the team around Sneijder, making him its focal point and central creative conduit.

It's certainly no surprise. Though it may seem like Sneijder has been playing forever, he is only 30 years old and still very much in his prime.

He earned his 100th cap for the Netherlands at the World Cup this past summer and continues to be an integral part of the Dutch national team. Sneijder, Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie form what is known among Oranje fans as the "Golden Triangle."

Sneijder is so intimidating because he is extraordinarily dynamic.

Though he was deployed as a holding midfielder in a Mikel Arteta-like position toward the end of his time at Inter Milan, he is best used as a true No. 10, sitting behind the striker and using his vision and technical skill to create chances for other forwards.

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So Sneijder has the Mesut Ozil role down, but he is much more versatile.

He has flourished as a goalscorer at Galatasaray after being asked to shoulder more of that burden than he had been at Inter or Real Madrid. Sneijder has already scored more league goals for Gala than he did for Inter, despite the fact that he has made 32 fewer appearances.

This goalscoring glut can partially be explained by Sneijder's proficiency at free-kicks. The fact that he is able to smash the ball into the top corner from 18 or 35 yards makes defenders back off of attackers as they surge forward, as they know even the most minor kick can, if ill-timed, result in a deflating goal.

The task of harrying and pressuring him will largely fall to Mathieu Flamini, but the entire team will have to collectively take responsibility for containing Sneijder's chance-making and goalscoring threat.

Arsenal must press and harry every Galatasaray player to prevent them from finding Sneijder in the first place, and there should be a man tracking the Dutchman's every movement once he crosses the halfway line.

Laurent Koscielny, who is exceptionally adept at man-marking and defending high up the pitch, is the perfect man for the job. His preoccupation with Sneijder will obviously leave the defense more imbalanced than one would like, but that is why the entire side must assume defensive responsibility.

If Sneijder is frustrated, Galatasaray will see their chances begin to dry up. And Arsenal will be able to focus on scoring goals, which they are built to do.

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