Excitement is brewing once again. The likes of Bernd Leno and Stephan Lichtsteiner have been confirmed as the first signings of the Unai Emery era, with the pair of Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Lucas Torreira expected to join officially after the World Cup.Arsenal have been handed a tough start to the season with Manchester City and Chelsea the opponents for our first two games, but with Emery in charge, there is belief that we can return to the summit of English football. Here is the probable lineup for Arsenal when the new season commences.
Goalkeeper
German goalkeeper, Bernd Leno is expected to be first choice, as the former Bayer Leverkusen man was praised effusively by his new boss. Petr Cech has not looked his best in recent years and while his experience might make him a good mentor for Leno, he should be content with a place on the bench.
Defence
Emery is making the defence his priority. Hector Bellerin will still be first choice, but he knows that Stephan Lichtsteiner is a formidable deputy, who the manager will have no qualms starting should his form drop.
In central defence, a partnership between Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Shkodran Mustafi will be very good, though both men will need to work on their decision-making and reading of the game. Spanish international, Nacho Monreal will still be first choice after his impressive campaign last term.
Midfield
Granit Xhaka is expected to be a prominent feature under Emery after signing a new deal with the club. The exit of Jack Wilshere means that there is void in the middle of the park which Sampdoria midfielder, Lucas Torreira is likely to fill; even if his arrival hasn’t yet been announced.
The defensive midfielder has earned rave reviews for his displays in Serie A and has been compared to various midfielders including Marco Verratti. Completing the midfield trio should be Aaron Ramsey, who will be the box-to-box player tasked with creating chances from the midfield.
Attack
The Arsenal frontline could strike fear into opposition teams. Either in the 10 role or cutting inside from the flanks could be Mesut Ozil or Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who can pick the kind of through balls very few players are capable of. Upfront is the number 1 striker, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who scored 10 times in 13 appearances for Arsenal after arriving from Borussia Dortmund in January, so Alexandre Lacazette might have to wait his turn.
Probable lineup: Leno, Bellerin, Sokratis, Mustafi, Monreal, Torreira, Xhaka, Ramsey, Ozil, Mkhitaryan, Aubameyang