Unai Emery has certainly surpassed expectations with Arsenal so far this season with the Spanish manager keeping the Gunners very much in contention to finish as high as 3rd this season. Midway through this season, if anyone would have said Arsenal could finish in the top 4, no one would have believed them.
However, given Emery's credentials and his record with his previous clubs, it comes as no surprise to see him exceed expectations at Arsenal especially considering the fact that Arsenal supposedly has the weakest squad amongst the top 6 clubs. Emery has overachieved with most of the clubs he has managed particularly during his time at Lorca, Almeria, Valencia and most notably with Sevilla.
With rumors doing the rounds that Emery will not have a huge transfer budget this summer, he will once again have to achieve more with than he can with the players he has and a few signings who are not considered top players.
While Arsenal will definitely make a few signings over the summer, it's highly expected that these signings won't be world class players. But the Gunners do have a few players in their squad right now who could really help improve the squad.
Here is a look at 4 Arsenal players who should be given a chance in the first team next season.
#4 Konstantinos Mavropanos
Konstantinos Mavropanos was renowned scout Sven Mislintat's first pick for Arsenal after he joined the Gunners from Borussia Dortmund. The Greek defender was initially supposed to be sent out on loan, but Arsene Wenger was so impressed with him that he decided to keep him at the club. He even played 3 games for Arsenal last season and his performance against Manchester United was particularly impressive.
A lot was expected from him this season, but a groin injury has kept him on the sidelines for most of this season. He did come off the bench in Arsenal's 3-1 loss against Manchester City and that has been his only appearance so far this season.
The Arsenal fans rate Mavropanos very highly and with Shkodran Mustafi constantly making mistakes every game, the young Greek needs to be given a chance sooner rather than later. Plus, with Laurent Koscielny's Arsenal career coming to an end soon and with Mavropanos' having his compatriot in Sokratis Papastathopoulos as Arsenal's other first-choice defender, the two Greek defenders could form a strong partnership and become the kind of defenders Arsenal have been crying out for for a really long time.
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#3 Calum Chambers
Most of the people would be surprised to see Calum Chambers on this list, but there is no denying that the 24-year-old can put in a shift whenever required. He can play at center back, right back and as a defensive midfielder and his versatility can be a huge help for Arsenal next season.
With Unai Emery having a very limited budget this summer, bringing back Chambers and integrating him into the first team will be the right decision. Despite his previous loan spell at Middlesbrough ending in relegation and with Fulham also set to be relegated at the end of this season, Chambers has a ton of experience in the Premier League and if given a chance he can definitely impress at Arsenal next season.
Let's not forget, Calum Chambers was regarded as a top prospect when Arsenal signed him from Southampton way back in 2014. With the Englishman still only 24, he can still achieve all that he wanted when he initially joined Arsenal and if Emery feels he cannot get anything out of him, Chambers needs to sold this summer so that Arsenal can generate more money to spend on transfers.
#2 Emiliano Martínez
Emiliano Martínez joined Arsenal way back in 2010 as a youth player and has been out on loan to clubs like Oxford United, Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham United, Wolves, Getafe and most recently Reading. Since being promoted to the Arsenal first team in 2012, he has been sent out on loan almost every year and despite not being able to nail down a regular spot in the Arsenal team even as a substitute, he has remained loyal to the club.
The Argentine has played a total of 14 games for the Arsenal first team and has kept 7 clean sheets in those games and in total has kept 20 clean sheets in 68 appearances in all the games he has played for every team so far. While his record is not that great, he is good enough to be Arsenal's back up keeper for next season.
With Petr Cech set to retire at the end of this season and with Bernd Leno finally proving himself, Arsenal should not waste their limited transfer budget on signing a new goalkeeper and should instead make Martinez their second choice goalkeeper for the 2019/20 season.
#1 Reiss Nelson
Reiss Nelson is regarded as one of the most talented young players in the world at the moment and sending him out on loan to Hoffenheim made perfect sense. The 19-year-old certainly impressed in the Bundesliga as he notched up a total of 6 goals and assisted 1.
While he was a regular starter before the winter break, Nelson has struggled to replicate his form in the second half of the season. The youngster cited that moving to another country and not having his family and friends to support him has made things difficult for him, but he remains focused on ending the season on a high. (Daily Mail)
Nelson has already made a total of 16 appearances for Arsenal and he needs to become a regular in the first team next season especially considering the fact that Emery is short on wingers. While Alex Iwobi has certainly improved leaps and bounds since Emery became the manager and with Henrik Mkhitaryan being very inconsistent, adding Nelson to the mix will certainly make Arsenal more of a threat from the wide positions.
There is no doubt that Reiss Nelson is very talented and if the 19-year-old is not integrated into the first team next season, it wouldn't come as a surprise to see him leave the come with this time being on a permanent basis. This would really infuriate the Arsenal fans as this would be the second time Arsenal have lost a top young winger with the first one being Serge Gnabry in 2016.