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With the end of the Arsene Wenger era, Unai Emery has taken over and has a lot of decisions to make.
He has already addressed Arsenal's key deficiencies with some shrewd purchases. With the signing of Lichsteiner, Leno, Torreira and Sokratis, he has addressed Arsenal's defensive troubles.
It looks like he is going to make a couple of signings more but before doing that, he will need to clear shop. To do that, he has to sort out the following players' futures.
1. Petr Cech
At 36 years of age, he has been Arsenal’s starting goalkeeper for the last couple of seasons. And although he has saved the team many times, he just isn’t at the top of his game anymore.
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Cech's reactions are slow and his penalty saving record is abysmal. With the signing of Leno, who reminds you of the Sczcesny of old, Arsenal will need him to step in as an alternate.
Unfortunately, he’s too good to be their second keeper but not good enough to be their starting keeper. It will be interesting to see how Emery deals with him.
Verdict: KEEP
2. David Ospina
Colombia’s number 1 goalkeeper has been at Arsenal for four years now. He has had a mixed spell, with some good performances especially in the FA Cup, but he was never going to usurp Cech.
With the signing of Leno, Ospina has been relegated to the third position on the pecking order. To be honest, he’s too good for that. He will likely be sold before the start of the season.
Verdict: SELL
3. Mohammed Elneny
He has just signed a new deal keeping him at the club at least for one more season. He is no Kante, nor is he a Sergio Busquets, but what he does is add stability.
Like most defensive midfielders, Elneny is underappreciated because he does the dirty work. He covers ground, presses the opposition quickly, passes the ball about - albeit not defense-splitting passes, but simple passes to keep possession.
Elneny also has the odd long range goal in him. He will not be a starter but he will add the squad depth that Arsenal desperately need.
Verdict: KEEP
4. Alex Iwobi
Iwobi may be just 22, but he has been playing regularly for Arsenal in the last two seasons with 65 appearances - many of them in the starting line-up. But even though he has played so many times, it’s still an enigma how to get the best out of him.
He has the skill set to make it up there at the top level, but his decision making is poor. Any Arsenal fan who has been watching their games in the last season would know what I am talking about.
Iwobi needs to improve on his decision-making and finishing at a slightly lower level, so sending him out on loan would not be a bad idea.
Verdict: LOAN
5. Rob Holding
Holding is the future of the Arsenal defense along with Chambers. He likes to play the ball out of the back and is also tough as nails dealing, with the likes of Costa superbly.
But he tends to make mistakes by complicating things in tight situations. Chambers is the exact opposite as he hoofs the ball anywhere when in a tight spot. That may give up possession but leads to lesser goals due to mistakes at the back.
Chambers improved tremendously during his loan spell at Middlesbrough, and Holding can do the same.
Verdict: LOAN
6. Danny Welbeck
Mockingly called the “English Pele”, Welbeck often looks like a deer caught in the headlights while running on ice. His only positives are his work-rate and pressing of the defence.
With 27 goals in 112 appearances, he just isn’t close to good enough. It’s a wonder how Wenger decided to sell Olivier Giroud and keep Welbeck.
Verdict: SELL
7. Carl Jenkinson
Jenkinson never looked like Arsenal quality but there was this perennial hope that he would make the step up.
He never quite did.
Jenkinson's skills aren’t up to the mark, nor are his physical attributes. His injury record certainly doesn’t help either.
With Lichsteiner, Bellerin and even Chambers ahead of him, its time he moved on to newer pastures.
Verdict: SELL
8. Emiliano Martinez
At 25 years of age, he has been at the club since 2010, but he has made only 6 appearances and hasn’t really shown anything new at his 5 loan spells.
Martinez isn’t good enough and Matt Macey is already above him in the pecking order. His development has been stagnant for a long time.
Verdict: SELL
9. Joel Campbell
Campbell joined the club in 2011 and has been sent out on loan 6 times. He is a very good player though and at times you wonder why he was not used much by Wenger.
He got his work permit only in 2013 and was with Arsenal for two seasons. In those two seasons, he made 40 appearances and scored 4 goals - a decent return.
That said, he still doesn’t look good enough to make Arsenal champions, and should be sold.
Verdict: SELL
10. Lucas Perez
This is one decision by Wenger that has baffled most fans. Signed for 17.1 million euros, Perez actually played well most of the times, especially in the cup games. He isn’t a flashy player but he always got the job done.
With 7 goals in 21 appearances, he linked up well with the other forwards. He should definitely be given a chance this season.
Verdict: KEEP
