With summer transfer deadline day now firmly behind us and nothing left but angry, angry Arsenal fans, in the actual days that led up to September 1st, our Gooners contingent were quietly confident that Arsene Wenger was just being coy ahead of pulling something remarkable out of the hat.
Undoubtedly tighter with his money than fellow Premier League bosses, the Gunners started their summer recruitment drive well landing Petr Cech from Chelsea in a deal that would’ve seemed unlikely last season.
The lack of new signings thereafter however is even more disappointing for fans to take as for the first time in a long while, it appeared the club were on the cusp of being a real force to be reckoned with again.
But in true Arsenal fashion, the North London club appear to have shot themselves in the foot for the umpteenth time.
When you consider Danny Welbeck was ruled out until Christmas time yesterday with injury, this fact makes it even harder to understand why Wenger didn’t try even harder to secure another forward at all costs like Manchester United did with Anthony Martial.
If the truth be told, it now looks as if Arsene Wenger had all of his eggs in one basket chasing after Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema all summer long only to come across a tough stance from Paris Saint-Germain when he averted his attentions to Edinson Cavani as an alternative too late in the window.
While Cavani may have struggled to recapture the form he showed in his Napoli days at the Parc Des Prince, he is still considered a world class forward and somebody Arsenal desperately needed to get signed.
It may be torture for some but here’s how he would’ve lined up in what we believe to be Arsenal’s strongest starting eleven.
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Click on the image below to reveal the best Arsenal XI including potential future signing Edinson Cavani.
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Petr Cech
With the Czech Republic international now the undisputed number one at Emirates Stadium, Petr Cech’s signature has been described as a game changer in many quarters and after a terrible start against West Ham United, the stopper has since displayed his class.
Having enjoyed a simply fantastic display between the sticks against Liverpool a little while back at Emirates Stadium, Cech saved Arsenal from losing to the Reds on that night in North London with some top notch goalkeeping.
With the pretender Wojciech Szczesny now sent out on loan to Roma in a character building mission, Arsene Wenger is intent on the Pole returning a better player but in the meantime, Arsenal finally have a ready-made world beater in Cech.
Hector Bellerin
Having enjoyed a fantastic breakthrough campaign last term, for many, Hector Bellerin is now Arsenal’s undisputed first choice selection at right back.
Although Mathieu Debuchy is still rated highly, Bellerin has been steadily consistent in his performances and with the Frenchman ageing, many Arsenal fans prefer the pace of the young Spaniard in the team.
A pacey customer who provides attacking flair, Bellerin even managed to score two goals last term and given his rapid rise to prominence, he is now a firm fixture in Arsene Wenger’s plans.
Per Mertesacker
Before the start of the season, many Arsenal fans were expecting January transfer window capture Gabriel Paulista to step into Arsene Wenger’s starting eleven this term and although the Brazilian has featured and to great effect of late, the Arsenal boss still seems to trust Per Mertesacker as a first choice.
Having been at the club longer than most now, Mertesacker is still a leader at the back and reads the game incredibly well to make up for a lack of pace.
A fantastic performer for Arsenal in the 2013/14 season, Arsenal fans still worry about their big German when Laurent Koscielny isn’t around – like at Stoke City away last season – but when the Frenchman is playing alongside him, the pair seem a decent partnership.
Laurent Koscielny
With Per Mertesacker’s best performances undoubtedly taking place when he has Laurent Koscielny alongside him, this duo is one of the Premier League’s best defensive partnerships.
Having impressed season upon season to rightly being considered one of the best centre backs in the Premier League, Koscielny is rugged in the tackle while boasting fantastic recovery pace to boot.
With both Mertesacker and Koscielny missing in the recent 0-0 home draw to Liverpool in which the Reds surprisingly dominated the Gunners, Arsenal looked so much more vulnerable with non-usual pairing Gabriel Paulista and Calum Chambers marshalling the back four.
Arsenal fans will hope their first choice defenders can remain fit so they don’t have to field a similar untried partnership so frequently this season.
Nacho Monreal
Back at the start of last season, Nacho Monreal was scapegoat number one amongst Arsenal fans after being deployed as an emergency centre back during their injury crisis.
In fairness to the Spaniard, he’d never played in the position before and was called upon due to Wenger failing to replace Thomas Vermaelen but after he was reinstalled at left back, he enjoyed new beginnings.
Relishing the chance of playing in his normal position again, Monreal got better and better and even scored that crucial opener against Manchester United in the FA Cup at Old Trafford last term.
Starting the season as Wenger’s first choice left back ahead of Kieran Gibbs, the England international has a battle on his hands to get back into the team.
Francis Coquelin
One of the Arsenal success stories of the 2014/15 season was Francis Coquelin who returned back from his Charlton Athletic loan spell a man after looking like he was on his way out of the club for good.
His temporary spell with the Addicks really seemed to toughen the young Frenchman up while making him realise that he was fighting for his Arsenal career.
In a very lucky way for Arsene Wenger, the Gunners boss stumbled upon his talents really due to the injury suffered by Mikel Arteta but in fairness to the player, he really buckled down and sustained fantastic form right up until the end of the season.
The only problem for the Gunners now is that they are pretty reliant on Coquelin staying fit with many Arsenal fans being sceptical about the capabilities of both Arteta and Mathieu Flamini in a Premier League title challenging team.
Santi Cazorla
Finding himself in central midfield more often than not nowadays, Santi Cazorla is proving to be the Spanish maestro all Arsenal fans knew they were signing.
A decent player ever since signing from Malaga back in 2012, the Spanish international took his form to new heights last season while showcasing that he can also dictate the pace of Premier League fixtures.
A clever player who is able to change direction ever so quickly with his two-footedness, Cazorla is able to negotiate his way out of tight spots incredibly well and let’s not forget, is an excellent penalty taker to boot.
A crowd favourite at Emirates Stadium, Cazorla will be looking to maintain his superb form from last season as he approaches the latter end of his career.
Aaron Ramsey
A bone of contention amongst Arsenal fans, Aaron Ramsey has now often been deployed on the right hand side of midfield by Arsene Wenger and some Gooners really don’t like it.
With the criticism that Wenger is trying to accommodate too many central midfielders into his starting eleven, Ramsey often doesn’t possess the pace to trouble opposition full backs while getting drawn into the centre anyway.
While these points are valid, every game Ramsey has played on the right hasn’t been a disaster and when you consider Hector Bellerin can bomb on from right back, he has proved he can make this side of the pitch wide for the Gunners.
We reckon that given the injury crises that always continually strike the Gunners’ squad season in, season out, Ramsey might get his chance back in central midfield sooner rather than later.
Mesut Ozil
It may have taken him a little while to get going but now, Arsenal fans have seen more evidence to suggest that Mesut Ozil can indeed prove himself to be a hit at Emirates Stadium.
The German international is something of an enigma and that kind of cigar footballer like Dimitar Berbatov who does things at his own pace but when it comes off, what a footballer he is to behold.
Performing admirably away at Crystal Palace earlier this term, Arsenal fans would just love if the German could produce those kind of displays week in, week out instead of going back into his shell seemingly every couple of games.
Alexis Sanchez
Returning to the Arsenal fold after the Copa America perhaps sooner than would’ve been imagined given the Gunners’ initial struggles so far this campaign, just getting Sanchez’s name back on the teamsheet is enough to scare opposition full backs.
Scoring over 20 goals in his first season in English football, Sanchez took to the Premier League like a duck to water and must be a dream to manage for Arsene Wenger with the player boasting all of the talent and skill in the world, yet combining this with a fantastic hard work ethic.
Scoring an absolute screamer in the FA Cup Final against Aston Villa, that one goal was Sanchez in a nutshell in respect of the Chilean being able to come up with that little bit of magic right when it’s required.
Edinson Cavani
Now to remain at Paris Saint-Germain potentially up until January at the very earliest, Edinson Cavani was the calibre of striker Arsenal really needed to sign this summer.
Given the news that Danny Welbeck will be out with injury until Christmas yesterday, this has only heightened the criticism levelled at Arsene Wenger for not acting efficiently enough in the window to secure additional striking reinforcements.
If the truth be told, even if Welbeck was fit, neither he, Olivier Giroud or Theo Walcott are considered good enough to fire close to 30 individual goals in a season that would haul the Gunners into the Premier League title winning reckoning anyway.
This point makes it all the more harder for Arsenal fans to swallow that yet again, they’ll be heavily reliant on Giroud to tuck away all the opportunities he gets which as we know isn’t always the case with the Frenchman despite being a good Premier League striker.
And imagine if he got injured? Wenger might need to be taking up a recall option on Chuka Akpom from Hull City if that were to prove to be the case.
