A new era at Arsenal: Ins and outs under Unai Emery, who fits the Spaniard's 4-2-3-1 and who are the Gunners' transfer targets
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Unai Emery is already deep into the Arsenal rebuild after the Gunners replaced Arsene Wenger with the Spaniard this summer.
The former Paris Saint-Germain boss beat off competition from Mikel Arteta and Patrick Vieria to land the job with talks already underway on how best he can transform a squad that was incapable of making the top four last term.
Emery will work closely with Sven Mislintat to ensure Arsenal can bounce back from two disappointing finishes in fifth and sixth over the past two seasons.
The ambition will be to return Arsenal to the top table of European football, with the fans surely willing to settle for a top four finish - something that once left fans underwhelmed. The transfer budget of £70 million, plus additional income from player sales, leaves Emery with it all to do.
A large part of his success will depend on how much more he can bring out of the current group of players he already has at his disposal at the Emirates.
But does Emery have the players within his squad that are suited to his preferred 4-2-3-1 system that served him so well in Spain with Valencia and Sevilla? Football.London take a look at all the possibilities:
(Image: Arsenal FC/Getty)
Goalkeeper
Emery likes his teams to build from the back and that often starts with the goalkeeper.
Arsenal have some big decisions to make when it comes to the goalkeeper situation at the Emirates this summer. Petr Cech has just taken the No.1 shirt but, at the age of 36, he is clearly now past his best.
Cech made more errors that led to goals than any other keeper in the Premier League last season and he is also pretty uncomfortable with the ball at his feet.
There is a strong argument that David Ospina is the better of the current senior keepers at Arsenal, but the Columbia international is likely to leave this summer in a bid to get regular first-team football.
So it could be that Arsenal have to bring in a new keeper to get themselves playing in the way Emery wants.
(Image: AFP)
The defence
Again, this is an area where Arsenal look certain to dip into the transfer market, with deals already close to being done
Emery usually puts a lot of emphasis on his full-backs to attack and in Hector Bellerin he has the perfect right-back to do that, he is also a player you would expect to flourish under the new head coach.
Bellerin’s progress flatlined under in the past two seasons, but he has immense potential and is a player who should improve drastically with some expect coaching.
On the opposite side of the defence, Emery has Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolasinac to work with - two more than capable defenders who will provide him with plenty of options.
But it’s at centre-back where there is work to be done, especially with Laurent Koscielny sidelined until December at the earliest.
Ivan Gazidis has stated that a big part of Emery’s remit will be to work with and improve the young players at the club and Arsenal have plenty of up and coming central defenders with ability.
Calum Chambers, Rob Holding and Konstantinos Mavrapanos all have huge potential and you would hope under Emery they could go on to be major players.
But the lack of experience right now is worrying, with Skhodran Mustafi yet to show any real sign of being a player you can trust to lead the defence. This could even be the summer that Arsenal cut their losses on the German international.
So while there is potential for Emery and his coaching staff to work with at the back, you would expect to see at least one senior star to be brought in before the start of next season - with Borussia Dortmund’s Sokratis looking a certainty to arrive.
Freiburg's young defender Caglar Soyuncu is also on the agenda while experienced right-back Stephan Lichtsteiner is close to agreeing a free transfer after leaving Juventus.
(Image: Emilio Andreoli)
The midfield
Emery’s 4-2-3-1 formation revolves around having two holding midfielders sitting in front of the defence, allowing the front four the freedom they need to express themselves going forward.
But it’s been clear at Arsenal for some time now they don’t have the players in the squad who can perform that role at the very top level
Granit Xhaka has been used as the defensive midfielder in the past two seasons but has struggled to really deal with the demands of the Premier League.
He had a good end to the season, but it feels like he would be far more suited to playing in the two with an out and out defensive midfielder alongside him. That would allow him to concentrate on what he is good at, splitting lines with his fine passing ability and setting Arsenal off on attacks.
But if that were to happen, then it begs the question as to where Aaron Ramsey would play, as the Wales international has been the player operating in that more advanced midfield role for the past few seasons.
Obviously Ramsey’s contract situation could see him leave the club this summer, but the whispers coming out of Arsenal suggest Emery sees the Wales international as a player he wants to build a side around.
So again, you feel that Arsenal need to bring in one out and out defensive midfielder for Emery to really be able to get the team playing the way he wants them. The question would then be, where does that leave Xhaka or Jack Wilshere, should he sign a new deal?
(Image: Action Images via Reuters)
The frontline
This is where things could get interesting. Emery’s side have been built around width from the flanks in attacking areas, but that is something Arsenal are far from blessed with.
Theo Walcott was able to offer that from the right, but he is now at Everton - and Arsenal have tended to have either Mesut Ozil or Henrikh Mkhitaryan on the flanks since the end of January, neither are players who bring any natural width to the team.
Alex Iwobi is another option, as is Danny Welbeck, but again both of them would prefer to cut inside into a more central area. Welbeck could be set for an exit anyway, if he doesn't agree a new deal
Lucas Perez is a possible wildcard and is comfortable drifting out wide on his left foot, but his future is far from clear having spent last season on loan at Deportivo.
Looking ahead to the new campaign under Emery, you feel Ozil will certainly be deployed in the No.10 role behind the central striker and Mkhitaryan will probably line up on the right.
But if Emery really wants to get the team playing the way he wants, then a wide attacker needs to be brought in to play on the left hand side.
(Image: Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
The central striker
With Emery tending to play with just one striker, you feel the signs are fairly ominous for Alexandre Lacazette.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could move to the left to accommodate Lacazette, as we saw towards the end of last season at times, but Arsenal didn’t shell out a club record fee on the Gabon international in January to play him on the wing.
So you feel Aubameyang will certainly start the season as the central striker, with Lacazette having to make do with a place on the bench.
(Image: Clive Mason)
The outcome
It’s tough not to look at the options available to Emery and not come to the conclusion that the current make-up of the Arsenal squad is not suited to the way the Spaniard wants to play.
The midfield and the wide areas in attack look to be the main issue, with at least one defensive midfielder needed, although it will be interesting to see how much more he is able to bring out of Ainsley Maitland-Niles next season.
Arsenal do have a genuine interest in Jean-Micheal Seri at Nice, but he is seen as more of a replacement for Ramsey, not a player who will provide the defence with much protection. Adrien Rabiot at PSG could be a possibility.
A left side attacker, someone like Julian Draxler perhaps, could bring more balance to the 4-2-3-1 formation and give Emery the width that he likes to see in his teams. Mislintat is believed to be keen on landing Ousmane Dembele on loan from Barcelona.
The new head coach has good options in attack and at full-back, but a centre-back and a goalkeeper must surely be on the agenda, with Bayer Leverkusen keeper Bernd Leno a target as a replacement for Cech.
So it's clear there is major work to be done on the squad and that coaching on the training ground will not be the answer to everything. Arsenal will have to dip into the transfer market and it could be a couple of windows before we see Emery's plans start to really take shape in north London.