It’s a new era at Arsenal, and we’ve got their 2018/19 season previewed in depth right here.
Read on for our review on the new manager, the club’s signings, and how they might get on ahead of the start of the new campaign…
Manager situation
Well, you can’t start anywhere but here for Arsenal, who changed manager for the first time in 22 years this summer as they said au revoir to Arsene Wenger and hola to Unai Emery.
The Spanish tactician maybe isn’t the name many fans were expecting, but he looks an intriguing appointment who should represent a major change from the Wenger era.
While Wenger was somewhat relaxed on the training ground, putting an emphasis on players expressing themselves, Emery is much more hands-on and likes his teams to play to a strict plan. An intense and demanding perfectionist in the Pep Guardiola or Antonio Conte mould, Emery looks the archetypal modern coach and could yet emulate their success.
MORE: Personal terms agreed: Arsenal close in on sealing transfer departure for Gunners ace
The 46-year-old’s biggest success came at Sevilla, where he won a remarkable three Europa League titles in a row with a side that was more than the sum of its parts – built on the cheap, but well organised and instilled with real work ethic and team spirit.
If that doesn’t sound like exactly what Arsenal are crying out for, then we don’t know what is.
The Independent are among those who reported of former Gunners midfielder Mikel Arteta long looking the favourite for the job, though Emery eventually emerged as the outstanding candidate as Ivan Gazidis spoke of his extremely impressive interview.
This is unknown territory for Arsenal after over two decades of Wenger, and while it’s next to impossible to tell how it will go, that’s part of the charm for Gooners as they finally escape Groundhog Day and prepare for an unpredictable season for what feels like forever.
Transfers
Not huge amounts spent, as usual, but some promising signings made by Arsenal to key areas.
Bernd Leno comes in in goal, and fans will hope that is with the aim of replacing struggling veteran Petr Cech as number one after impressing at previous club Bayer Leverkusen.
Lucas Torreira looks an exciting addition in midfield, with the young Uruguayan surely an upgrade on the likes of Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny, who have not impressed in that role, while Jack Wilshere’s departure to West Ham left a big gap to be filled.
Experienced defenders Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Stephan Lichtsteiner have come in at the back and should prove solid squad players if nothing more, while Matteo Guendouzi looks a very promising young player with some strong pre-season performances in midfield.
MVP
Based on a quietly impressive second half of last season, we’d have to go with striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as Arsenal’s most valuable player for the season ahead.
If the Gabon international can kick on after scoring ten goals in his first 13 league appearances in English football, then the Gunners will have a very deadly centre-forward on their hands indeed.
Aubameyang was one of the most prolific attackers in Europe at Borussia Dortmund and should only improve with Arsenal now under new management, and with a full pre-season behind him to boost his confidence and understanding with his team-mates.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKKQBWEx0-E
Rising star
There are a couple to choose from here, with Guendouzi, as already noted, looking a very smart signing indeed after arriving in a relatively low-key deal but quickly making a name for himself in pre-season.
Apart from that, however, it could be worth keeping an eye on Ainsley Maitland-Niles this season after he made something of a breakthrough last term.
The Evening Standard are among those to report on Emery seeming to know a lot about the versatile 20-year-old, who can play midfield or full-back to good effect, and may well get more of a chance at left-back after the injury sustained by Sead Kolasinac.
Reiss Nelson is another rising star who got a look-in last season and has again been part of the first-team set-up in pre-season this year.
Wenger may be gone, but Arsenal really are spoilt for choice with their conveyor belt of promising talent coming through.
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.
MORE: Video: Arsenal new-boy stuns team-mates with beautiful training-ground goal
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.