Alex Steine
Despite closing out last season with an FA Cup victory, a good proportions of Arsenal supporters were less than delighted when it was announced that Arsene Wenger was staying on as manager for a further two seasons. The cup win along with a fifth place finish (and no Champions League play for the first time in almost 20 seasons) has divided the fanbase perhaps more than ever.
With so many transfer dominoes still yet to fall, predicting the XI that takes the pitch against Leicester on August 12 is impossible. While depth might be helpful to have on his side for the grueling Europa League campaign, Wenger has said himself that he is seeking to trim down his very 'heavy' squad.
For the sake of Wenger, Gunners supporters, and those that have taken the 5/6 online sportsbook odds of Arsenal making it back to the top four, let's hope that turns out to be true. UK punters who want to back the Gunners there are plenty of options online! Check out the online guides on all your possible betting options (such as top scorer or winner) before placing the bet!
Even though the first team may look drastically different by then, there are several players likely not going anywhere that are worth watching closely this season for one reason or another.
The man with the most eyes on him inevitably will be Alexandre Lacazette, the club record transfer from Lyon. Paired with Ozil, he has already looked brilliant in some of the summer tour matches. With Lyon the past three seasons, Lacazette scored 28, 21, and 27 league goals, all tallies which would have easily led the Gunners in scoring in their respective seasons.
So far, the only other incoming transfer has been Bosnian left back Sead Kolašinac. The free transfer from Schalke 04 was one of the Bundesliga's Team of the Season members last year and so far looks like he will be a boon to the back line. Kolašinac is highly regarded for his physicality, superb positioning, and ability to play any defensive position.
Behind him will be Petr Cech, who is still reliable but definitely did not perform last season as well as he did in his first with Arsenal. Now 35 years old, it will be interesting to see if this slide is the beginning of the end for the one of the generation's greatest keepers or merely a blip ahead of a few more years of reliable consistency. Supporters are certainly hoping for the latter, as the departure of Wojciech Szczęsny to Juventus and what looks-to-be-imminent move for David Ospina will leave him without a suitable backup.
This season a different veteran will be captaining Arsenal, although it's guaranteed that this will be Per Mertesacker's last campaign before taking over the club's youth academy in a year. August will be the first Premier League start in over a year for the BFG, who made just two total appearances last season due to a knee injury. However one of those was in the FA Cup Final against Chelsea, an excellent performance that proved his recovery period had been a successful one. Where, when, and how he'll fit into the lineup will be very much up the air, although if Wenger sticks with the back three formation that worked so well toward the end of last season, he will have more chance of making the starting eleven.
No matter if he's starting every Premier League match (unlikely) or appearing mostly in early Europa and cup matches (more likely), Mertesacker will likely rotate with some combination of Arsenal's wealth of defenders.
Shkodran Mustafi was arguably the club's best signing last summer, going unbeaten in his first 22 games as a Gunner. The 25-year old was an absolute stalwart in most of his 37 all-competition appearances, and although his form fell off slightly toward the end of the season, he looks like he could be a mainstay in the lineup for years to come.
Perhaps the only player out of the back more consistent than him was Laurent Koscielny. Last season's captain will surely be the defence's anchor again this year and has also played a pivotal role in helping fellow French international Lacazette adjust to his new surroundings.
Although he wasn't a regular in the lineup until late in the season, Rob Holding has yet to have a bad start and Arsenal and the team have only lost two matches with him in the lineup. As always, the big question will be: go all-in on him now as a full time starter or rotate him into less competitive matches in order to build the 21-year old's confidence further?
Of the major defensive candidates to see the most playing time this season, that leaves Hector Bellerin, who had nagging injuries much of last year. But his form near the end remained solid enough that even Barca thought him worthy of pursuing for several months. If he picks up where he left off, the right back should have a season as good as his 2015-16 one.
Nacho Monreal didn't really shine until the switch to 3-4-3 near the end. Although he can also play centre back, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Wenger put him at his natural LB position when tactics require a switch to four in the back.
The biggest question mark in the middle of the pitch will be the usage of Aaron Ramsey. Like Monreal, the formation switch perhaps bought him some more time at the club thanks to his run of a goal or assist in four of the season's final five matches. If he can keep his legs healthy (and Arsenal doesn't make any surprise star midfielder signings) he could have his best season in years, especially if his partnership with Granit Xhaka remains as good as it was last May.
Remaining is a cluster of players whose presence isn't guaranteed on 1 September. The elephant in the room is of course the club's 2016-17 Player of the Year, Alexis Sanchez. While a move to PSG seems more likely by the day, in the meantime Wenger has been insisting there's a place for both him Lacazette in the lineup.
