Arsene Wenger is facing the biggest summer of his 21 years as manager of Arsenal. His team failed to qualify for next season’s Champions League and, in doing so, probably slipped further away from the Premier League title, a trophy it hasn’t won since 2004. Now, he has a summer to rectify that.
Having agreed a two-year extension to his contract at the Emirates Stadium, the Arsenal board has applied pressure to Wenger to be more assertive in the transfer market; it does not want to be chasing key signings on the final day of the window. Wenger appears to have responded, and is closing in on big-name signings that could revive Arsenal as a titan of the Premier League.
So, how could the team line up next season? Newsweek takes a look:
Goalkeeper
Arsenal may look to plan for the future soon with Petr Cech turning 36 next season, but the Czech goalkeeper remains one of the best shot-stoppers in the league, commanding the players in front of him.
Defense
While Wenger looks to recruit this summer, his dual responsibility is to keep hold of his best players, and Hector Bellerin is one of the key figures who could be on the way out. Barcelona has shown strong interest in bringing the defender back to the Camp Nou, but Wenger will want to have him as his right-back next season. On the other side of the pitch, at left-back, the club’s first and only signing of the summer so far, Sead Kolasinac, will look to make an impact in his first year at the Emirates Stadium. The 24-year-old is the first of three Germans likely to start in Wenger’s defense next season.
The other two, in the center, are Per Mertesacker and Shkodran Mustafi. Mertesacker, the club captain, played just one match last season due to injury, and will act like a new signing for the team. The signs are positive after his only appearance came in the FA Cup final, putting in a spectacular performance to beat Antonio Conte’s Chelsea. Mustafi, meanwhile, has had a season to settle into the Premier League and Wenger will expect the four men to create a formidable defense.
Midfield
Like Mustafi, Granit Xhaka has now had a year in English football to get used to the pace and pressures after his £35 million ($45.3 million) move to the Emirates Stadium. He may be joined in the defensive midfield position by William Carvalho, after A Bola suggested the Portuguese could be on his way to north London.
In the attacking position, Wenger will be trying to keep hold of Mesut Ozil, the most creative cog in the Arsenal team since the German joined from Real Madrid in 2013. Arsenal needs Ozil to agree a contract extension this summer, though, or it will be in danger of losing him for free next summer.
Attack
At the point of the Arsenal attack, Wenger looks set for a new front man. Lyon President Jean-Michel Aulas has said prolific French striker Alexandre Lacazette’s move to the Emirates will be complete in the next 48 hours. Lacazette, 26, has scored more than 20 goals in each of his last three seasons at Lyon, and his 37 goals in all competitions last season matched Luis Suarez, beat Harry Kane by two and Alexis Sanchez by seven.
Sanchez’s future has been decided, he has said, and Wenger will still be hoping that will see him remaining at the Emirates. The Chilean forward was the only player in the Arsenal team to reach double figures for goal-scoring last season, and if he can convince him to stay Arsenal is bound to head back up the Premier League table.
The third prong of the potential Arsenal trident is Riyad Mahrez. A Premier League champion in 2015-16 with Leicester City, Mahrez is heading for the exit at the King Power Stadium and Arsenal has always been a club that has suited his artistic style of football. According to Italian newspaper Calciomercato, Arsenal is on the verge of announcing Mahrez as a new signing.
