Unai Emery has signed no fewer than five players this summer as he attempts to take Arsenal in a new direction in his first season at the club.
The Gunners missed out on Champions League football in Arsene Wenger’s last season, but fans are hopeful Emery is the right man to turn their fortunes around. Here we look at how Arsenal could line up on the first day of the season against Manchester City, if Emery opts to play his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, which he often deployed while in charge of Paris Saint-Germain.
GK: Bernd Leno
Emery didn’t explicitly confirm that Leno will be Arsenal’s new number one this season in his recent press conference.
“I want to work with Petr Cech, with Bernd Leno, with Emiliano Martinez, with Matt Macey, with David Ospina,” said the Arsenal boss. “It’s clear that we have [a lot] of goalkeepers but we want to work in the future with three goalkeepers in the first team.
But given Cech’s less than convincing last campaign and the fact the Gunners splashed out £19million to land Leno, suggests he will be in goal when the north London club take on Manchester City on the first day of the new season.
RB: Hector Bellerin
The Spaniard was immense when he stormed onto the scene in 2014, following a brief loan spell at Watford.
He looked destined to become the world’s best right-back, but his progression has stalled in the past two seasons at Arsenal. Still, Bellerin is only 23 and has plenty of years left in him in which to reach the pinnacle of world football. He possess electric pace and bags of potential, and you can bet Emery is keen to unlock this over the next few seasons.
CB: Sokratis Papastathopoulos
The big Greek centre back is one of Emery’s five summer signings, and you’d expect him to slot straight into his Arsenal back four. He’s already been handed the number five shirt, which speaks volumes, and comes with huge experience having previously played in Germany, Italy and Greece.
CB: Shkodran Mustafi
Arsenal are short of options at centre-back, and despite Calum Chambers catching Emery’s eye on the training ground in recent weeks, we suspect Mustafi will get the nod against Manchester City.
The defender has all the tools to be a world-class operator for Arsenal, but has failed to pull all these components together in recent years. Emery, you can expect, will already be on top of the German and making it clear that there are younger players knocking on his door. It’s a big season for Mustafi – one that will make or break his career in north London.
LB: Nacho Monreal
It looked for everyone that Nacho Monreal’s days were numbered when Sead Kolasinac joined the north London club from Schalke. But arguably the Spaniard was the Gunners’ best player last season – if not, then certainly their most consistent.
CM: Aaron Ramsey
Jack Wilshere was told he wasn’t going to be a major part of Emery’s plans, and therefore left the club this summer. Ramsey on the other hand, who emerged in the same way and at the same time as Wilshere, was told the complete opposite.
CM: Lucas Torreira
Arsenal have been screaming out for a top-drawer holding midfielder for years, and they have finally got one. Despite a decent World Cup for Switzerland, Granit Xhaka just isn’t consistent enough, and he will likely see his game time dramatically reduced next season.
CAM: Mesut Ozil
If this season is a big one for Mustafi then it is giant for his compatriot Ozil. The midfield maestro has been a shadow of his former self in recent months, and missed Wenger’s final few games in charge last season through injury. All the while he posted pictures to Instagram reiterating his excitement in getting to play for Germany in the World Cup.
LF: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Arsenal’s most exciting player as things stand. The talented striker showed he’s raring to go in the Gunners’ pre-season demolition of Boreham Wood on the weekend, where he scored goals for fun.
RF: Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Playing on the opposite side to Aubameyang, Mkhitaryan would be the more defensive of the two wide players – the man who could slot back into midfield along with Ozil, with Ramsey pushing out left and the Gabon international joining Alexandre Lacazette up front, if need be.
CF: Alexandre Lacazette
Like Ozil, Lacazette needs to perform this season. The Frenchman’s honeymoon period was cut short all too quickly last year, after he completed his £56million move from Lyon at the start of the campaign. He scored on his debut, and looked set to be the answer to all Wenger’s problems.