Arsenal vs. Hull City: Key Issues That Will Shape Premier League Game

After what has seemed like an interminable layoff, Arsenal will get back to action this weekend against Hull City.

The two sides have not met since the Gunners thrillingly came back to beat the Tigers in the FA Cup final in May. Now Hull will be able to come to the Emirates and have their revenge.

As always, the game is bound to come down to a few key issues. Let's explore some of them in detail.

Nacho Monreal at Center-Back

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This week we got the news that Laurent Koscielny will miss the Hull game due to a worsening of tendonitis in his Achilles, with which he has played the entire season.

In the absence of Calum Chambers, who misses out through suspension, Nacho Monreal will be forced to play in the center of defense.

It's pathetic, really, but that's what things have come to. The Spaniard, who is only 5'10" tall, will have to be combative in the air and read the game well with the lumbering Per Mertesacker beside him. Otherwise, Arsenal will get bullied and caught out on the counterattack.

Who Will Drop This Time?

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I do not intend the title to mean "Who will Arsene Wenger drop from the team," but rather "Who will get injured."

Arsenal have hardly been able to make it through a game this season without losing at least one player. Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey and Mikel Arteta have all picked up injuries of varying severity in the Gunners' last few games.

The squad is at the breaking point in defense, and though it is not quite there in attack, it might well get there soon if the wrong players go down.

Whomever is taken off partway through the game will probably not be replaced by someone of quite the same quality.

How Cazorla and Wilshere Work as a Pair

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With Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey—Arsenal's two usual advanced midfielders—out injured, Santi Cazorla and Jack Wilshere will most likely step in to fill their void.

Both are active, energetic players who look to make chances for themselves rather than more lethargic players who let opportunities come to them.

That means, in practice, that each will have to be willing to let the other take the reins when it is best for one to do so, playing a supporting role rather than taking up valuable space.

They will probably be able to jell; the coherence of Arsenal's attack depends on them doing so.

Mikel Arteta's Fitness

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If Mikel Arteta is even minimally fit, he will play. Arsene Wenger values his captain as a holding midfielder too much to sit him in favor of Mathieu Flamini.

Arteta is on the edge right now, and the Gunners' setup will be very different if he does not play.

They will be less fluid in their attack, as Flamini is not nearly as good at transitioning from defense to attack as Arteta. There will also be less of a hard edge in defensive midfield if Arteta starts. Consequently, the entire team will have to work a bit harder to collectively protect the back four.

Regardless of who gets selected, Arsenal should be able to beat Hull. The Gunners getting their captain back would certainly be a boost, though.

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