Page 2 - Premier League: Opinion - Arsenal's predicted starting XI for the 2019/20 season

Premier League: Opinion - Arsenal's predicted starting XI for the 2019/20 season

Modified Aug 08, 2019 06:25 GMT

Unai Emery will be hoping for a better second season at the Emirates

Center Back - Rob Holding

Rob Holding should see a lot more action this season

After Shkodran Mustafi's horror show last season, it is safe to assume that the German international is no longer the first choice center back at Arsenal. Instead, Unai Emery could consider Rob Holding as the front runner for the position. He will turn 24 in September, and the Englishman has impressed in the handful of games he appeared in last season.

Holding is a defensively strong center back who likes tackling and intercepting the play. He is decent in the air and is also a good passer of the ball. One can expect to see a lot of the Englishman in the upcoming season.

There are also reports suggesting that David Luiz is close to joining Arsenal before the end of the Transfer window. If that happens, one can expect the Brazilian to start at the heart of the defense. New signing William Saliba is another contender for the role.

Center Back - Sokratis

Sokratis Papastathopoulos is Arsenal's leader at the back

The Greek international bring experience into this young Arsenal side and is the defensive rock that Unai Emery requires at the back. Sokratis joined the Gunners last summer from Borussia Dortmund and immediately became a fan-favorite. The Greek international is a no-nonsense defender who likes tackles and is also a great reader of the game. He is rarely bullied off the ball and is solid in the air as well. And last season, he even picked up 2 assists and 1 goal from 25 appearances in the Premier League.

Sokratis is the leader at the back that keeps this Arsenal defense together and last season, he suffered due to the very poor Mustafi by his side. This time, he has a young partner by his side and those two could very well define Arsenal's season.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over six years at Sportskeeda. He has written over 8500 articles for the website, and has garnered over 19.5Million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

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Edited by Zaid Khan