Kits
The home kit’s had a bit of stick, but we think it’s alright. Traditional Gooners would like to see a bit of yellow in their away strips, but both of these efforts are a bit fresh and different.
Reasons to be positive
Arsenal fans are understandably giddy that the Wenger era that dragged on for far too long is finally over, with Emery looking perhaps the perfect antidote to the long-serving Frenchman.
Arsenal also look to have strengthened well, even if big names have not exactly been forthcoming and some areas still looking a little light, such as wide-left, where the likes of Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi have often played and struggled to impress in recent times.
Overall, whether Arsenal make a major step forward or not, fans will be glad to see something different, and they can surely expect a little more in the way of organisation after years of some frankly calamitous displays of Wenger’s teams.
Even if the north Londoners still have some way to go to close the gap on the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool, they should at least have more of a team they can feel proud of this season.
Causes for concern
Has it perhaps been too much change, too fast for Arsenal?
As well as Emery replacing Wenger, the club notably made a number of changes to its structure last season as Sven Mislintat was brought in as head of recruitment, with Raul Sanllehi also on board as head of football relations.
Five new signings is also quite a lot, and yet it’s not particularly clear with any of them if they look like guaranteed improvements on what Arsenal already had, with Sokratis and Lichtsteiner a little old and playing in the Premier League for the first time, while it’s not clear if Leno has been brought in as a new no.1, which seems ridiculous given Cech’s woeful form last season.
Though promising, there are no guarantees from youngsters Torreira and Guendouzi, so there can be little doubt most of Arsenal’s rivals have done more to strengthen with proven names in this transfer market – and most of them were in stronger positions to begin with.
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Can it really get worse than under Wenger in his last season? Perhaps not much. But Emery is stepping into very big shoes in replacing such a long-serving and loved club legend, despite a tough end to his reign, and the knives could be out quickly for the new man in charge if things don’t start well.
Top four has to be the target, and anything else is a bonus, but it’s unlikely to be an easy ride, particularly with a nightmare fixture list that sees them take on Manchester City and Chelsea in their first two games.