Arsenal Player of the Year: 5 candidates ranked

Unai Emery has revived Arsenal, who were stagnant for so long under Arsene Wenger and has implemented his own fresh and unique take on how football should be played. The Emirates has become a much more positive place because of this.

However, the Gunners sit fourth in the Premier League table right now, a position associated with Wenger's Arsenal; but if Emery can help the club win the remaining games, they could settle for a third-place finish, ahead of their arch-rivals Spurs, who are currently just a single point ahead.

But the truth is, a new generation has entered the fray at Arsenal and injected some life into the club. As a result, there will be many players who could potentially claim Arsenal's Player of the Year award at the end of this season, but the main five candidates will be included in this list.

#5 Sokratis

Arsenal FC v Newcastle United - Premier League

Arsenal's defence was in desperate need of improvements when Emery took charge last summer, so one of the first things he did was sign a world-class centre-back in Sokratis. Due to his age, Dortmund accepted just £14m for the Greek international but looking in hindsight, they are certain to regret letting him go for so less as he has been superb for the Gunners.

In the 21 games the 30-year-old has played for Arsenal this season, he has helped the club keep 5 clean sheets. This may not sound like much but given the generally low standard of Arsenal's defence, he has been seen by many as a diamond in the rough.

Throughout this campaign, Sokratis has been one of the most consistent players at the back for Arsenal, which is why he's well-deserving of a fifth-placed slot on this list.

#4 Lucas Torreira

Arsenal FC v Huddersfield Town - Premier League

Torreira seems to never run out of energy when out on the pitch, he just keeps going and going, right up until the final whistle. That's something Arsenal have lacked in the past, or if they had it ( Jack Wilshere, for instance), they were never consistent enough. Torreira is pretty consistent with his performances, though.

He primarily plays as a defensive midfielder but has also been used sporadically in the central midfield role, and has proven that he's more than capable of handling both positions. Torreira seems to be much more impactful as a central midfielder as he is then able to push reasonably far up and help the attack move forward.

Torreira has played 29 matches out of 33 in the Premier League and has been a real rock in the midfield. It may come across as a surprise that he is only 23 years old as he plays like someone in their prime with bags of experience, but that seems to be down to his natural ability on the ball.

Bought for £27m from Sampdoria last summer, Torreira has done enough to warrant a place in this list.

#3 Granit Xhaka

Arsenal v Manchester United - Premier League

In the past, Granit Xhaka's performances have always caused the fans to have mixed feelings about him. In one game, he might be splendid, but then in the next, he would put in a below par performance. As a result, it has been very difficult to accurately assess whether or not Xhaka is truly a good player.

But this season has provided the answer - he is indeed a good player. Xhaka's form throughout this campaign has been great and he hasn't shown any signs of losing his grip on the defensive midfielder role. Apart from the odd injuries here and there, Xhaka has played in virtually every game when he's been available, which says a lot about how the club depends on him.

In 25 matches in the league, Xhaka has scored 4 goals and assisted one, thereby proving that he's as adept at attacking as he is while defending from deep in the midfield.

#2 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Arsenal FC v Tottenham Hotspur - Premier League

Aubameyang's stats are doing the talking for him this season. He is currently on 17 Premier League goals for the season, just two behind the division's current top scorer Sergio Aguero. He has also bagged five assists in the process.

Aubameyang has been exactly the sort of player that Arsenal were searching for all this time. They have lacked a clinical striker who could score 20+ goals per season since the departure of Robin Van Persie in 2012. But they have finally found that man in the Gabonese goalscorer.

Many people questioned Arsenal's logic in signing Aubameyang for almost £60m in January 2018 as he had only really excelled in the Bundesliga with Dortmund and had failed at Saint Etienne and AC Milan before. But his performances in an Arsenal shirt have justified his hefty price-tag.

The 29-year-old has also performed well in the Europa League for the Gunners, finding the back of the net four times and setting up two assists in seven games.

#1 Alexandre Lacazette

Aubameyang might be the out-and-out goalscorer for Arsenal right now, but he's nowhere near as well-rounded as his striker partner Alexandre Lacazette. The Frenchman has scored an impressive 13 times in the Premier League this season and has also notched up nine assists in the process, which indicates that he shares a strong chemistry with the players around him.

Another indication of how important he is to the team is the fact that he has played in 30 games out of the 33 for the Gunners in the league this season. Clearly, he's relied upon by Emery not just to score but to set up chances for his teammates too. He has a big role to play in the Arsenal side and he does it well.

Lacazette's pace has been the main source of his goals as opposing defenders can't catch up with him to save their lives. Often times, he leaves the defenders for dead which allows him to go one-on-one with the keeper and more often than not, wheel away in celebration shortly after.

Edited by Samya Majumdar