Gunners analysed ahead of the new campaign.
SEE ALSO: Top 25 Ugliest Football Shirts Ever, Including Arsenal, Liverpool And Chelsea Abominations.
After ending their nine-year silverware drought in May, Arsenal can add another trophy to their cabinet by beating Manchester City in the Community Shield this weekend.
However, the Wembley curtain-raiser ranks low on the Gunners’ agenda for the new season.
Having tasted FA Cup success, the North London club want more and, while qualifying for 17 successive Champions Leagues is very impressive, a top-four finish alone will no longer cut it.
Here, we take a closer look at Arsenal ahead of the 2014-15 campaign.
Preseason form: WLWL
Boreham Wood 0-2 Arsenal (Kris Olsson and Benik Afobe)
New York Red Bulls 1-0 Arsenal
Arsenal 5-1 Benfica (Yaya Sanogo [4] and Joel Campbell)
Arsenal 0-1 AS Monaco
Summer transfer business
Arrivals:
Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona for £30m
Calum Chambers from Southampton for £16m
Mathieu Debuchy from Newcastle United for £12m
David Ospina from Nice for £3m
Departures:
Johan Djourou to Hamburg for £2.5m
Thomas Eisfeld to Fulham for £800,000
Wellington Silva to Almeria on loan
Benik Afobe to MK Dons on loan
Carl Jenkinson to West Ham on loan
Chuks Aneke to SV Zulte-Waregem on free transfer
Zak Ansah to Charlton Athletic on free transfer
Bacary Sagna to Manchester City on free transfer
Lukasz Fabianski to Swansea City on free transfer
Zach Fagan to Welling on free transfer
Chu-Young Park – released
Daniel Boateng – released
Nicklas Bendtner – released
Main strength:
Arsenal will be deadly on the counter attack. With the likes of Theo Walcott and Alexis Sanchez, the Gunners have some of the fastest attackers on the planet.
Meanwhile, all of their midfielders are extremely comfortable in possession and have the ability to deliver a defensive-splitting pass.
Major weakness:
The lack of a midfield enforcer has often caused Arsenal problems, especially away from home, since the departure of Alex Song to Barcelona in August 2012.
When things are going well and the Gunners are dominating possession, Arsene Wenger’s men look like world-beaters, but the lack of a plan B is their undoing all too often.
Real Madrid star Sami Khedira has been heavily linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium. The Germany international is exactly what is needed, but Wenger says a move is unlikely.
Key man: Aaron Ramsey
The Wales international has the potential to be better than former captain Cesc Fabregas.
Ramsey is a genuine all-round midfielder – he made more passes and more tackles per game than any other Arsenal player except Mikel Arteta last season.
Ramsey missed almost half of the campaign through injury, but he still managed to score 10 goals and provide eight assists in 23 Premier League outings.
One to watch: Gedion Zelalem
The 17-year-old midfielder only joined Arsenal in January last year.
He has played just one senior game for the Gunners – the 4-0 FA Cup win over Coventry City last season.
However, he has turned a lot of heads with his impressive performances in development matches.
Wenger said of the German youth international: “I honestly think Gedion has the talent to become a great player.”
Realistic target:
Arsenal’s target should be to win their first Premier League crown since 2004, but their expectation must be to make sure that they are at least competitive in the title race.
Despite topping the table in February, the Gunners finished seven points below the eventual champions.
They have not ended up within six points of the league’s winner since 2008. The gap must be closed.
Predicted finish: Third place and a domestic cup
Arsenal will hand out a fair few thrashings this season and their goal difference should end up much healthier than last season’s +27.
They have a first XI to frighten the elite, but the superior squads of Chelsea and City should ultimately prove too strong.
SEE ALSO: All 20 Premier League Clubs Ranked By Their Best All-British Starting XI.