Premier League 2018/19: 3 players who would be crucial for Arsenal against Fulham

Arsenal are to take on Fulham at Craven Cottage today in a London derby. The visitors are currently on an 8 game winning streak but a trip to Fulham is never easy. Arsenal currently sits at the sixth spot on the Premier League table while Fulham are down at the 17th spot having won just one of their 7 games.

Here are 3 players who'll have to be at their best today for the Gunners if they are to maintain their winning streak.

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1) Sokratis

Sokratis will have to stand up to Mitrovic

Sokratis has looked like a very good signing following his acquisition in the summer. He is strong, intelligent and quick enough to deal with the pace of the Premier League. The Greek defender has also shown good leadership skills and covered for his error-prone partner in Mustafi.

Against Fulham, he goes up against arguably the most aggressive forward in the Premier League in Aleksandar Mitrovic. The tall Serbian is a fiery character, constantly bullying opposition defenders. He is absolutely deadly in the air and has been in good form this season. Fulham's game plan will definitely involve putting in crosses for him to head and Sokratis will be vital in ensuring that he is kept quiet or he will punish Arsenal.

2) Mesut Ozil

Ozil will be crucial if Arsenal are to utilise the spaces offered by the Fulham defence

Ozil has enjoyed a good run of form in recent weeks following a timid start to the campaign. The German scored against Watford last weekend and will be coming up against one of the worst defences in the league against Fulham.

Ozil has been pretty subdued while being played wider but Unai Emery should look to play him centrally and start proper wide players like Mkhitaryan and Iwobi because Arsenal have looked very unbalanced when all of Ramsey, Ozil, Lacazette and Aubameyang have started.

Ozil will be looking to record his first assist of the season when he comes up against this Fulham defence which has a tendency to offer plenty of space for players to run behind.

3) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Arsenal will have to utilise Aubameyang by bringing him into the box

Aubameyang has been limited to a wide role in the Premier League so far which is clearly not suiting him. The Gabonese forward is a world-class poacher and relies on his movement in the box to finish or utilizes his pace on the counter. Since Arsenal are a possession-based side, his role should be in the box and not out wide.

A player of his ability is criminally underused when played in wide position. If Aubameyang starts centrally, he's bound to get goals and it would be great if he could get a couple against Fulham heading into the international break.

While the majority of Arsenal fans want both Lacazette and Aubameyang to start together, the current system is quite imbalanced when they do despite the great chemistry the duo have. Perhaps with a few tactical tweaks, we could see both of them playing to their full potential.