Arsenal's predicted Starting XI for 2015/16

With the 2015/16 Premier League season just around the corner, Arsenal have already been tipped to be challenging for the EPL title by none other than Jose Mourinho, the boss of the defending champions Chelsea. Although his observations may not be far off the mark, there are many who feel the North London club are still a couple of signings away from being worthy challengers. While the key factor that will determine the club’s success is Arsene Wenger’s long professed ‘consistency’, the French manager – now in his 20th year at the club – has a welcome headache with respect to making team selections from a pool of quality players. We take a look at the ideal starting XI with the current players at Wenger’s disposal.

#1 Goalkeeper

The signing of Petr Cech gives Arsenal a huge boost in terms of building a title-winning squad

Not since the Invincibles have the Gunners had a world class goalkeeper in their line-up; until they signed Petr Cech this summer. Ever since Jens Lehmann departed North London in 2008, Arsenal have tried Manuel Almunia, Lukasz Fabianski and Wojciech Szczesny in goal with varying degrees of both success and failure.

While David Ospina was a decent backup option who overcame his injuries and put in a good shift when Szczesny was dropped to the bench, he still isn’t world class. He may have made some stupendous saves and looked good between the sticks, but a closer look reveals that he wasn’t adept at clearing the immediate danger. A number of saves he made just parried the first shot away, acrobatically diving in the process – which significantly affected his recovery time to make another save from the rebound.

On the other hand, Cech has always been known to thwart any attack and leave it for dead – either by holding on to the ball or punching it well clear of the danger zone. He also has the ability to command the box much better and organize his defensive line. The difference of 5 inches in height also becomes a huge factor when it comes to claiming or punching the ball at set pieces – an area of struggle for Ospina in 2015.

While Szczesny was also very vocal in his organizational skills, his reflexes fluctuated between both ends of the spectrum – sometimes incredibly quick, other times frustratingly rooted to the spot.

There’s no question here with Szczesny on his way to AS Roma on loan. Ospina will always be second choice to the Czech international who has spent a decade in the Premier League.

Boss on @PetrCech: "He will still improve. He has the desire and the right attitude to improve." #AFCvCFC pic.twitter.com/2GFIiBfCGF

— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) July 28, 2015

#2 Defence

Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny will continue as the starting centre-backs

A cursory look at Arsenal’s past three seasons show that they had their best defence in the 2014/15 season with only 36 goals conceded (as opposed to more than 1 goal conceded per game in the seasons prior to that). While the return of Francis Coquelin steadied the ship in front of defence, it was also the rise of two full backs that helped the Gunners fix a leaky defence and ultimately finish third.

With no new signings in defence, Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny will continue to start as the centre-backs. The assured combination of positioning and organization with pace, tackling and aerial ability has matured over the past three seasons into a very successful partnership. But if one were to point a finger then it would have to be at Koscielny’s fitness.

The Frenchman has suffered injuries and niggles over the past couple of seasons at crucial junctures which has led to a swift promotion to the first team for young Calum Chambers. With Mertesacker returning after an exhausting World Cup campaign and Koscielny sidelined, Arsenal struggled in the early parts of the season which saw them drop to eighth spot after just four wins in 12 games. Wenger will be hopeful that a summer without international commitments will keep his defenders fit for an entire season.

Bellerin and Monreal started a majority of Arsenal’s matches in the full-back positions last season

With Mathieu Debuchy suffering two unlucky injuries in 2014/15 (injuries that required surgeries on his ankle and shoulder), young Hector Bellerin stepped up after Chambers failed to adapt to the right-back role. While the then 19-year-old showed good attacking intent and lightning pace on the flank, he was still raw and a bit wet behind the ears. But Wenger’s policy of promoting youth talent who are confident in their abilities will mean that both Bellerin (now more level-headed) and Debuchy will be rotated in equal measure.

Nacho Monreal was easily one of the most improved players last season and is currently ahead of Kieran Gibbs in the pecking order. The Englishman’s consistent injuries don’t help his cause while Monreal is less prone to leaving his flank unguarded and makes more meaningful forward runs to provide Arsenal with an extra man in attack - unlike Gibbs who bombs forward without hesitation.

Back 4: Bellerin – Mertesacker – Koscielny – Monreal

#3 Midfield

Santi Cazorla and Mesut Ozil will be pulling the strings in Arsenal’s midfield

This is one area where Arsene Wenger has a huge headache – one the fans will enjoy seeing over the course of the season. There’s no doubt that the Gunners have arguably the best-stocked midfield in the Premier League. With Wenger so far looking reluctant to sign a new central midfielder, it looks like he has the confidence in Francis Coquelin to continue anchoring the midfield and protecting the defence.

Although Mikel Arteta is currently the club’s first captain, it looks like the 33-year-old may not find a spot in the starting line-up unless Wenger plans to rotate his players. But with the Spaniard looking increasingly error-prone (as seen in the Emirates cup in pre-season) and subject to losing the ball to more physical players, Coquelin could get the nod in the big games while Arteta would be used in games where opponents are more likely to sit back and concede possession.

While Wenger experimented with the 4-1-4-1 with little success, Santi Cazorla’s role in the team was up for debate with the arrivals of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez. But the diminutive midfielder once again adapted to a new role in the middle of the park, putting in incredible shifts in both attack and when winning the ball back – something that was least expected of a barely 5’5” player who had just turned 30. If there was ever a cross breed between a regista and a media punta, Cazorla would be it.

Will Wenger experiment by playing both Ramsey and Wilshere together again?

That leaves one more spot in the 4-2-3-1 formation up for grabs which will be fought for by three players – Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere. While it would be scandalous to drop Ozil or Ramsey based on their form, Wenger may have to use Wilshere as a second choice playmaker or play him on the flank, as he suggested recently before the Emirates Cup.

But Wilshere will have to compete with Aaron Ramsey for a spot in the XI as both playing together in midfield is not the ideal solution. Ramsey, again, may not be happy with his role on the right instead of the centre. He, too, had suggested he prefers a box-to-box role in midfield where he is more involved. In this setup, it is tough to displace Ozil from the playmaker’s role after a stellar 2015 and a lively pre-season.

However, this is where the Arsenal midfield’s versatility comes to the fore. While the teamsheet may suggest predefined roles for the attacking midfielders, it is their ability to switch positions throughout the game to make runs into the final third (and even lose their marker) that will come to the forefront. But it is highly likely that Wenger will rotate between Ozil and Wilshere with the German automatically being the first-choice.

With regards to the left flank, nobody in the squad is going to replace the Chilean who scored 25 goals last season.

Alexis Sanchez would be the first name on Arsenal’s teamsheet

Midfield: Coquelin, Cazorla, Alexis, Ozil, Ramsey

#4 Striker

Olivier Giroud or Theo Walcott up front – maybe both?

While Karim Benzema is eternally linked to Arsenal every transfer window, it is highly unlikely the Frenchman would choose to leave Real Madrid for the Premier League. As calls for a new striker at the Emirates do the rounds every year, Olivier Giroud’s remarkable rise ever since he signed for the club is conveniently brushed under the carpet.

The French striker has finally acclimatized to the EPL and improved his numbers. Giroud has scored 17, 22 and 18 goals in the past three seasons respectively – a clear rise every season when you consider he was sidelined for almost four months at the start of last season.

By contrast, his emergency replacement Danny Welbeck finished with only 8 goals in 2014/15. While the Frenchman did look jaded towards the end of the season, it was more due to the increased playing time in the absence of Welbeck (injured) and Theo Walcott (who didn’t become a regular starter until May).

Thierry Henry said Giroud was not a striker who would help you win the league. That may well be the case to a certain extent, but the Gunners are not going to break the bank to land a striker when there are so few readily available in the market – no matter how much money they claim they have in the bank.

While Walcott takes ages to put pen to paper on a new contract, the difference in an Arsenal team with Giroud up front and Walcott leading the line are clearly apparent. Giroud is more adept at bringing midfielders into play while Walcott is more often than not the final end product. Though both players have fine tuned their first touch and finishing, Giroud’s aerial prowess and link-up play makes him the automatic choice to start games.

This is one major reason why Walcott has not extended his contract yet as he seeks assurances of playing time instead of competing with Ramsey on the right. But Wenger has played his cards right by starting him in the FA Cup final where Walcott even opened the scoring in a 4-0 rout of Aston Villa.

Ultimately, it will be down to the formation Wenger adopts and which midfielder is sacrificed if Walcott and Giroud are to be played together.

Arsenal's Starting XI and second choice players for each position in 2015/16