£32m man warms up for Arsenal with two goal MOTM performance 2

The man who can kill Arsenal's Champions League aspirations is back in the goals.

When the Champions League draw was made, the clash between Napoli and Arsenal was one which caught the eye, not least because it pitted Gonzalo Higuain up against the club he nearly signed for in the summer.
His transfer saga was one of the more dramatic stories of the summer, and when he ended up signing for the Italian side instead it was a slap in the face to the Gunners, who had reportedly set their sights on him.

So when he pulled out of Napoli's match at the Emirates with an injury two months ago it was a bit of an anti-climax, with the Gunners winning comfortably 2-0.


The £32 million has had a troubled time with on-off injuries since, but he has remained integral to their attack when fit, netting three goals in four Champions League games, and seven Serie A goals.

He bagged two of those last night in a 4-2 away win at Lazio, significant because they were his first goals in almost a month, having gone four games without a goal.
The timing is potentially ominous for Arsenal, because they travel to Napoli in a week's time, needing to avoid losing by three goals or more to secure qualification for the second phase.

Higuain, awarded the man-of-the-match for his two-goal display, is the one Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny will have to shut down to be sure of progression. Napoli have shown themselves to be dependent on his goals so far this season, but when he is firing like last night - he is very difficult to stop.