4 reasons why Arsenal are the Premier League's dark horses

Manchester City under Pep Guardiola have been lauded as the favourites to retain their Premier League crown and following recent signings, Liverpool have been touted as the closest challengers. Chelsea have strengthened too, with new boss Maurizio Sarri alongside Jorginho, Kepa Arrizabalaga replacing Thibaut Courtois and Real Madrid midfielder Mateo Kovacic on a season-long loan deal.

Tottenham broke records by not making one single signing this summer while Manchester United, despite Jose Mourinho's moaning, could continue to improve this season - provided they are consistent.

However, no-one is discussing Arsenal, who are the Premier League's dark horses for the 2018/19 campaign. Here are four reasons why:

#4 A blistering attack

Aubameyang in pre-season action earlier this month

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Mesut Özil, Aaron Ramsey, Henrikh Mkhitaryan with Alex Iwobi and Danny Welbeck as back-up will be the Gunners' frontline this term.

Aubameyang is one of the fastest players across world football, while Lacazette is arguably one of the best finishers across the Premier League - other than Harry Kane and Sergio Aguero.

Provided he stays injury-free this term, he and Aubameyang will form a lethal combination. Özil's presence behind them will ensure there is no shortage of chances created, while Mkhitaryan and Ramsey are both equally attack-minded so it will be interesting to see just how Unai Emery accommodates all of these players.

#3 Defensive midfield improving

The tenacious Uruguay international, (no. 11) in pre-season action against Lazio earlier this month

After many years, Arsenal have finally addressed their Achilles heel. This position has been tormenting them for years - ever since Patrick Vieira left, Arsenal have always been left shorthanded in this department.

Alex Song was superb during his final season at the club, but his defensive contributions were not good enough on a consistent basis to be relied upon. Francis Coquelin patrolled the midfield with ferocity, bossing midfield with Santi Cazorla alongside him - though he felt obliged to be more attack-minded when Santi was sidelined.

This ruined his playing style completely, he struggled for form and was unsurprisingly sold to La Liga side Valencia. Granit Xhaka has tried his best, but the Switzerland international is not the type of tough-tackling midfielder that Arsenal long for. Instead, he flourishes in a deep-lying role, so Emery finally signed his man in the form of Lucas Torreira this summer.

At just 5 foot 6 inches, the Uruguay international was brilliant at the World Cup and is just 22-years-old. A no-nonsense midfielder who can play as the deep-lying pivot, he has the attributes needed to thrive at Arsenal and excel in the Premier League for years to come.

#2 A solid backline, unlike previous years

Leno in Champions League action against Atletico Madrid last season

On their books now, Arsenal have a young, talented and dynamic shot-stopper following Bernd Leno's switch from Bayer Leverkusen this summer. The Germany international had already made more than 200 appearances for the Bundesliga side and has matured immensely in recent seasons. At 6 foot 3 inches, he is aerially dominant, has very strong reflexes and will look to usurp the inconsistent Petr Cech as the Gunners' first-choice this term.

Sokratis Papastathopoulos adds maturity and bite to their backline, while he'll be a good mentor for youngsters Konstantinos Mavropanos and Rob Holding. Shkodran Mustafi's focus will also improve with another experienced figure alongside him in Laurent Koscielny's absence, while we can expect some consistent defensive displays from the German.

Stephan Lichsteiner will provide fierce competition for Hector Bellerín - although the left-back spot is a doubt as Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolasinac being injury-prone. However, this is the best back five the club have seen in recent seasons this term.

#1 New man in charge: Unai Emery

Wenger's successor, Emery, will be expecting plenty from his new squad

After 22 years in charge, Arsene Wenger has finally left Arsenal and it's certainly time for new blood to take over the reigns - who better than Unai Emery? The ex-Sevilla and Paris Saint-Germain manager has won plenty of plaudits from his tenure in Spain, not least having won three successive UEFA Europa League titles.

He has since been heralded as a cup specialist and it'll be intriguing to see his approach towards those competitions over the coming seasons - the FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Europa League will be important in allowing him to blend youthful quality with experience, as they look to achieve success.

In the league, Emery has always managed to perform even with sides like Valencia and Sevilla where he had to utilise small budgets in a league dominated by Barcelona and Real Madrid. The only blotch on his record came during his first campaign in France where Monaco over-performed and broke PSG's title-winning streak - though he made up for it with a league and cup double last season.