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Arsenal's new manager Unai Emery Etxegoien will soon be facing the music of monumental expectations of Arsenal fans - from both the divided camps of supporters who either wanted the previous manager Arsène Wenger to stay or leave and will have to be the perfect choir master if he has to keep both camps united.
Needless to say, the camp that was pro-Wenger will analyze everything about him in greater detail and not soften their stance that easily. He will also have to stay on the right side of the English media who will only offer him scrutiny and contempt at the slightest of slips.
Thankfully, no has asked, "Unai who?" that his predecessor had to hear and live with initially when Evening Standard put up a billboard poster stating, "Arsène who?" back in October 1996.
He will be scrutinized further by ex-Arsenal players and David Seaman has already questioned his decision to let Jack Wilshere leave and join West Ham but then Unai is not new at the managerial job and should be aware of-of all that will be coming in his way.
Unai Emery opted for the 4-2-3-1 system while managing Sevilla where he chose to give priority to the defence considering Sevilla's financial status among the other La Liga clubs - a system that brought him enormous success in the UEFA Europa League winning it consecutively for three years.
At Paris Saint-Germain however, he could pick from Edinson Cavani, Kylian Mbappé, Angel Di Maria and Neymar in attack and chose the 4-3-3 at PSG where he preferred flair over defensive responsibility.
No matter what some Arsenal fans expect Arsenal's style of play to be, Unai will be under no illusion that the current Arsenal team is a Barcelona Lite and that he should go with the 4-3-3. He will most certainly go for the 4-2-3-1 at the Emirates and has bought a quality CDM in Torreira which shows his intentions.
Arsenal have been quietly rebuilding since the appointment of their new coach and the business done so far has been methodical even if it reeks of frugality. Arsenal signed 34-year-old Stephan Lichtsteiner from Juventus on a free transfer after the right-back's contract with the Turin club ended with the 2017-18 season.
He is seen as a quick fix but he showed why he won the Serie A with Juventus for 7 consecutive years with the Swiss national team at the recently concluded World Cup. He can not only double as a right wing-back but can find himself in inward positions so as to receive a ball from a CAM and cross with quality into the box.
In any case, Arsenal fans will be heaving a sigh of relief that Hector Bellerin will now have competition for a starting position and might just improve himself and get back to his best.
German goalkeeper Bernd Leno was signed next for £19 million from Bayer Leverkusen and being 26 years of age he could be the answer for Arsenal's quest for a quality goalkeeper under the tutelage of Peter Cech with whom he will be competing for the number one jersey.
Unai Emery's third signing came with the buying of Sokratis Papastathopoulos from Borussia Dortmund who has been the mainstay of the German club's defence for some time now. He was bought for £17.7 million as Emery rates him highly and considers the Greek national as an essential cog in the Arsenal defensive machine.
The Gunners made their fourth signing in Uruguayan Lucas Torreira as a young but solid CDM from Serie A club Sampdoria for a speculated £25 million and Arsenal fans are probably the most excited about him having seen him take the ball off Ronaldo with his face while lying prostrate on the ground at the edge of the penalty box while defending a 2-1 lead over Portugal in their round of 16 clash at this World Cup.
He is probably far off from Vieira in stature but after seeing Granit Xhaka make clumsy tackles and picking up unnecessary cards in his defensive role all throughout his Arsenal career, the tenacity in Torreira could be a welcome change in the middle of the park.
Upon being asked as to what "Garra Charrua" is by the English media, Torreira replied, "It is a way of living football. It is the way all Uruguayans grow up. It is the way we play football in our neighbourhoods."
He was, of course, referring to the invincible warrior spirit of the native Charrua tribe who ruled the South American grasslands before the arrival of the Spanish settlers.
Emery's fifth and last signing has been French teen sensation Matteo Guendouzi from French club Lorient for a deal which is in the range of £7 million. He will probably not be played right away having turned 19 in April this year but is Emery's wild card for sure.
He must have his plans and back up plans in place and if they all fail in the dynamic changes of the English Premier League as the season progresses, Guendouzi just might make an appearance. Either that or he is one with the future kept in mind and if it is the latter, Unai Emery does share something with Wenger, if nothing in style.
And how will the new Arsenal line up ?
Unai Emery has already expressed his desire of wanting more from each player in every match (Are you listening Ozil?) and expects them to press the opposition when they don't have possession even higher up on the pitch. This would require the otherwise fragile underbelly of the Arsenal midfield to have a paradigm shift in mindset and actually go hunting for the ball. Balls supplied under pressure can be blocked out in their line of supply further down and if executed properly it would release Torreira to excel at something he already does further down the pitch.
While attacking, he would prefer the wings either flat out or have inverted wingers as he did in PSG. Either way, Stephan Lichtsteiner on the right and Nacho Monreal or Sead Kolasinac on the left will be asked to increase their work rate and overlap with the right and left wings respectively. Laurent Koscielny will join Sokratis in partnership for the CB roles once he returns from injury and till then Sokratis could line up with fellow countryman Konstantinos Mavropanos or Rob Holding. Skhodran Mustafi is also expected to compete for this position.
Torreira, Xhaka, Ramsey and Elneny should rotate for the 2 CDM roles in the 4-2-3-1 role with one sitting deeper than the other whenever play builds up via the other.
Mesuit Ozil is expected to take the central role in the 3 attacking midfielders having already acquired the number ten jersey after the departure of Jack Wilshere to West Ham. He will be flanked by any combination of Henrikh Mkhitariyan, Alex Iwobi, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Lucas with Alexandre Lacazette up top. The striker is also expected to rotate roles fluidly with the wingers with Lacazette drifting to the wing and Aubameyang or Lucas or Iwobi moving into that spot. Free flowing and creative football as instilled by Wenger is Emery's inheritance and he shouldn't wash it off and try to impose his own tactics in offense. It would do him good if he rather built on it and let Arsène Wenger's legacy live on in this very "special group of players."
