Premier League Preview 2019-20: Arsenal FC

Arsenal Football Club

Credit: Arsenal FC

2018-19 Premier League Finish: 5th Place

2019-20 Premier League Prediction: 5th Place

Transfers In:

No notable additions at this point

Transfers Out:

Petr Cech GK - Retired

David Ospina GK - Napoli £5,000,000

Aaron Ramsey MF - Juventus Free Agent

Stephan Lichsteiner DF - Free Agent

Danny Welbeck FW - Free Agent

Arsenal will be entering their second season under new head coach Unai Emery. I would say that this could be a make or break year for Emery as coach but then again we are talking about the team that kept Arsene Wenger around till the end of time. Granted under Wenger you could about guarantee a Champions League spot and a good FA Cup run. Had a 2-3 games went Arsenal’s way last season though, you could say that Arsenal had a successful campaign in their first year under Emery. But those games didn’t and last season is chalked up as a failure. Arsenal finished 5th place and just a single point behind Tottenham for that last Champions League spot. To make matters even worse, Arsenal lost 4 out of their last 7 games to end the year. If they’re failure to make Champions League via the Premier League wasn’t enough, they still had a route to get a Champions League spot and blew that golden opportunity in the Europa League final by getting trounced 4-1 by Chelsea. So for the 3rd consecutive and upcoming season, Arsenal will be competing in Europa League.

As things stand, I don’t see this coming season ending up much differently than the last. I have Arsenal finishing 5th place again in the Premier League table. Arsenal have done nothing to address their issues in midfield and defense, and this line-up is just filled with way too many inconsistent players. Best case scenario for Arsenal I could see a 3rd place finish, and that’s if the defense plays relatively well and Mesut Ozil finds a spark. Worst case I could see a 6th or 7th place finish, as they just have too much in attacking to fall below that. But in the end as I said, I’m going with 5th as it looks like Arsenal are destined for another season of not quite good enough.

Strength:

Lacazette & Aubameyang

Credit: Evening Standard

This comes as a no-brainer, Arsenal’s attack is far above the rest of the team. The combo of Lacazaette and Aubameyang combined for 35 premier league goals last season and I would expect much of the same. Arsenal scored 73 goals last season as a team, which was good for 3rd best in the league, and of course that’s only behind the attacking powerhouses of Liverpool and Man City. Outside of Aaron Ramsey, Arsenal is headed into this season with relatively the same squad. So with maybe an addition or two before the end of the window and the squad having another year under the same coach, that can definitely be a strength going into this season.

Weakness: 

Laurent Koscielny

Credit: Metro

Defense and aging players. While Arsenal scored the 3rd most goals in the league last season, their defense was only the 9th best(out of 20) in the league as far as goals allowed.  There was a lot of alternating going on in the back line for Arsenal last season and that’s due to the subpar play from many players. Arsenal only had 1 defender start more than 22 of the 38 PL games and that was Mustafi. Arsenal definitely needs to bring in a world class CB and then revert back to 4 at the back instead of 3 with the 2 wing backs. Outside of figuring out their mess of a defense, Arsenal is going to need to hope their young players can step up to the plate or go buy some more players. Ozil is on the wrong side of 30 and while he should be in his peak, he’s aleady shown signs of slowing or at least inconsistency. Laurent Kocielny will soon be 34 and their back-up goalie from last season, Petr Cech, officially retired. So Arsenal is definitely going to need guys like Maitland-Niles, Holding, Iwobi, Guendozi and Torreira to take a step to the next level.

Top Goalscorers Predictions

Aubameyang: 18

Lacazette: 14

Ramsey: LOL probably shouldn’t have let him go to Juventus, but in all seriousness I’ll go on a limb with Iwobi having 7 goals.

Home Kit: I think the home jersey looks great. It has a retro look to it and it looks miles better than all the Puma jerseys that Arsenal have had over the years

Credit: FootyHeadlines

Away Kit: The away kit is okay. I’m a fan of the yellow and navy blue combo just not a big fan of the zig zag lines on the jersey.

Credit: JD Sport

Thanny