With the halfway stage of the season upon us, the time has come to shine a spotlight on the players who have made the biggest impact across Europe's major leagues. But first, let's run through the lay of the land.
Pure excitement has been the theme of this Premier League season. Arsenal, Manchester City and Aston Villa are locked in a three-way title race while practically the rest of the division is competing for a European place. Indeed, the table is so crowded it feels more like the Championship than the top-flight, with back-to-back wins being all it takes to propel teams from 15th to the top five.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has explained why Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori were left out of his starting XI to face Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday night. The Gunners were already without key defenders Gabriel and William Saliba due to injury, meaning midfielder Christian Norgaard was handed a surprise start in central defence in Belgium.
Jurrien Timber says Harry Kane is one of the best players in the world but admits that Arsenal are relishing the chance to keep the Bayern Munich striker in check. The Gunners have had an outstanding start to their Champions League campaign, scoring 11 goals and conceding none in four games. That record has only been bettered by Bayern, who top the competition's league phase table on goals scored. Now, they are preparing to lock horns.