Arsenal beware: Christian Benteke is back to his best - thanks to this unlikely figure

With England's domestic calendar set to come to a close with the FA Cup final this weekend, Arsenal are strong favourites to secure the trophy for successive seasons when they face Aston Villa on Saturday.

The Gunners come into the game with a somewhat unsettlingly large squad to choose from, with Danny Welbeck the only man certain to miss out for Wenger's side. The Frenchman is usually accustomed to coping with far more casualties. It's a different story for Villa, meanwhile, who continue to have fitness concerns at the back and have suffered disappointing results in recent weeks to make matters worse.

However, if Tim Sherwood can inspire the sort of performance that his side have proven they are capable of, not least in the semi-final that led to a return trip to Wembley, then Arsenal need still be wary. The former Spurs manager achieved what was asked of him in the league, albeit ending the campaign in 17th, and managed as much by getting the ball to, and in turn the best out of Christian Benteke.

WhoScored.com look at the Belgian's improvements under the new management and the threat he will no doubt pose to Arsenal's backline this weekend.

In terms of this season's meetings between the sides it appears there will only be one winner, with Arsenal romping to an 8-0 aggregate win over their two encounters with Villa. Context, however, is needed as far as both matches are concerned, the first of which saw an illness-ravaged Villa side - without Benteke - fall to a 3-0 defeat and the latter played out by a confidence-ravaged team coming to the end of their tether under Paul Lambert.

The Midlands outfit, despite a recent slump, have been much improved since the Scot's departure, owing to the fact that they are looking to get their star striker more involved in proceedings. Villa actually edged the game at the Emirates at the start of February in terms of possession (52.9%), but Benteke had just 40 touches in a crushing 5-0 defeat.

Since Sherwood's arrival a fortnight later, the powerhouse forward has averaged 50.3 touches per game across 13 league appearances. The side are now more direct through searching balls from the likes of Fabian Delph and, in particular, Leandro Bacuna.

The Dutchman has a strong relationship on and off the field with Benteke and it's undoubtedly played a big part in the fact that he has kept his place in the side at right-back despite the return to fitness of Alan Hutton. Bacuna has endeared himself to the new manager, who was in the stands as the 23-year old scored the opener as Villa dispatched Leicester en route to this final.

The versatile youngster has started nine league matches since, registering five assists in the process, four of which have teed up goals for Benteke. Despite starting just 10 games all season, only Cesc Fabregas laid on more assists to a single goalscorer (six to Costa) in the Premier League all season. While it's clear Bacuna will have to be on his mettle to keep the likes of Alexis Sanchez in check, the Chilean's defensive work rate will also be required to prevent what is a common combination for Villa under Sherwood.

Doing so won't necessarily keep Benteke quiet though, with the 24-year old netting 11 goals in 13 league appearances since the new manager came in, as well as the leveller against Liverpool in the semi-final last month. Said goals have come from just 15 shots on target in that time, so preventing the Belgium international from pulling the trigger will be crucial. Benteke's WhoScored.com rating is up at 7.80 in the league under Sherwood, so Arsenal's centre-backs will need to be on top form.

One man that has impressed once again all season has been Laurent Koscielny, who may be tasked with dealing with Villa's target man ahead of the less mobile Per Mertesacker. Given that the Frenchman earned a place in WhoScored.com's Premier League team of the season with a rating of 7.39, he is certainly capable of putting up a real battle with the Belgian.

Koscielny, despite being shorter than his defensive partner, remains impressive in the air, winning 3.2 aerial duels per game in 2014/15. He'll need to be at his best then to thwart Benteke, who is deemed 'very strong' when it comes to aerial duels according to WhoScored.com's statistically calculated characteristics - winning a massive 6.5 per game - and 'strong' in terms of headed attempts.

Arsenal are rightly favourites to retain their FA Cup crown, denying Villa a place in the Europa League in the process, but cutting off Villa's supply to Benteke at source will still be crucial. However, this is unlikely to be a game that the Gunners can afford to switch off defensively, with Villa's star striker looking to add to the three goals he has scored in his last three appearances against the Londoners when it really matters this Saturday.