Why Luis Suarez vs. Koscielny Will Be the Key Battle in Arsenal vs. Barcelona

Arsene Wenger admitted on Saturday he still wasn't sure about how he would set his team up against Barcelona. Whether to defend deep, how to deal with becoming the underdogs, having less possession and so on.

And when asked by journalists after his team's 0-0 draw with Hull City in the FA Cup at the Emirates Stadium about the "MSN"—Barcelona's terrifying attacking line of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar—he singled out the Uruguayan for special praise.

"I believe Suarez gives [camaraderie] to a team. He did it at Liverpool, he did it playing with Cavani and Forlan and did it well. Suarez is the kind of guy who manages to create that spirit in teams," Wenger said.

"We have to keep him quiet on Tuesday night. We have to analyse what we do and do it well and together. Individually all their players are difficult to stop. We have to find a way to do it collectively."

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The principle is admirable, and sensible. The easiest way to stop players of the quality of Messi, Suarez and Neymar is to drown them out with safety in numbers.

Getting the wide players to track back, asking Coquelin to help the centre-backs when needed, so on and so forth.

But then there are the moments in games which, despite the best efforts and best intentions of teams and their collective work, boil down to one-on-ones.

And at this moment in time, the crucial battle looks like it will be Suarez against Arsenal centre-back Laurent Koscielny.

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The French defender played alongside Per Mertesacker in the goalless draw with Hull at the weekend, and those two are set to start for Arsenal again on Tuesday night, when the visitors will be of a rather different calibre.

Arsenal's back line had a mostly quiet afternoon, but there was a moment when the power and determination of Adama Diomande so worried Koscielny that he had to wrestle him down, getting booked for the illegal challenge.

Suarez has power and determination in spades. Aggression, tenacity and relentlessness too.

He has been Barcelona's most effective player this season, racking up an incredible 41 goals already, the latest coming against Las Palmas on Saturday.

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Suarez is La Liga's top scorer, heading the Pichichi chart with 25 goals—three more than Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo.

From the start of this season, he's avoided injuries and dips in form to be a constant for Barcelona when Messi and Neymar were out injured or ill.

And his form lately has been spectacular. He has scored in his last seven consecutive games, with a total of 12 goals in that period, plus five assists. In his last 10 games that becomes 15 goals with eight assists.

Koscielny, meanwhile, has dipped in form since his fine start to the season. As well as against Hull, he’s picked up bookings against Leicester City and Burnley in recent games, while also playing badly against Liverpool and Chelsea.

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Suarez sunk Manchester City in this round last year, scoring both of Barcelona’s goals in the last-16 first leg at the Etihad Stadium, which they won 2-1.

If Koscielny, with the help of his team-mates, cannot keep Suarez quiet, it could all be over for Arsenal by the time they head back to the Camp Nou for the second leg.

Messi and Neymar are harder to shackle in theory, because they are both so unpredictable. Suarez’s game is more regular given he plays as a No. 9 in the centre, but he is still tricky to work against.

If the Uruguayan can tie Koscielny and Mertesacker in knots, Neymar and Messi will be able to thrive one-on-one down the flanks against Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal respectively.

Suarez’s addition to the mix turned the Neymar and Messi duo into an unstoppable trio, and if Arsenal are to have any hope of progressing, they need to limit the former Liverpool man's impact.

They have faced each other before in the Premier League, but both players have improved since they last met—especially Suarez.

All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise stated.