Premier League 2018/19: SWOT Analysis of Arsenal

ARSENAL - OPPORTUNITIES

Unai Emery's appointment

Unai Emery was appointed Arsenal boss in Wenger's stead

46-year-old Unai Emery was appointed as Arsene Wenger's successor, with the Frenchman having stepped down at the end of last season after 22 years in charge of Arsenal.

The Spaniard has had a successful managerial career thus far, achieving success as coach of Sevilla and PSG, but will begin the most arduous test of his managerial career yet.

Wenger left very huge boots to fill, and Emery might find it difficult to fill those boots, however, the stagnation the club suffered under Wenger in the last few years means that the appointment of Emery represents an opportunity for the club to take the next step under the guidance of a new manager.

Whether Emery can step up to the plate remains to be seen, but what cannot be denied is that if he succeeds, the club would be better off for it.

Bernd Leno's arrival

Bernd Leno is one of the fastest rising goalkeepers in Europe

Petr Cech signed for Arsenal from Chelsea in the summer of 2015 for £10m, and his arrival was widely cheered by Arsenal fans, as the then 33-year-old was still considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world, owing to his impressive performances in Chelsea's colors for over a decade since his 2004 arrival in the Premier League.

However, the story did not go according to plan for all involved. Petr Cech has been on a steady decline at the Emirates in each of the last three seasons he has spent between the sticks.

He led the way for errors committed last season leading to goals for goalkeepers across Europe's top five leagues with 6, and went three years without saving a penalty at Arsenal until he saved one from Troy Deeney in a 3-0 victory (in what happened to be his 200th Premier League clean sheet, and 16th penalty faced).

At 36, the former Czech international is beyond doubt past his prime, despite goalkeepers' famous longevity, and that is where Bernd Leno's signing could prove to be a masterstroke.

At 26, the German international has a lot of years of top-level goalkeeping left in him, and he comes highly recommended with one of the most burgeoning reputations, as a rising German goalkeeper.

He boosted his stock in the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen, becoming the third goalkeeper in Bundesliga history to keep a clean sheet in his first three appearances, and a month later became the youngest German goalkeeper to feature in the Champions League when he made his UCL debut against Chelsea aged 19 years and 103 days.

He made a total of 233 league appearances for Leverkusen, and was a part of the Confederations Cup winning team in 2017. He would have undoubtedly had more than his 6 international caps but for the reputations of those ahead of him (Manuel Neuer and Andre Ter Stegen).

Most great teams are built on a solid goalkeeper, and Leno's signing could prove to be an act of genius from Arsenal, as the German could be key in helping the Gunners achieve their season's goals.

Mkhitaryan and Aubameyang partnership

Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan have a rapport

Signed together by Jurgen Klopp in 2013 for Dortmund, Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan struck up a real chord at the Signal Iduna Park.

In their last season together, they contributed a whopping 90 goals for Dortmund, with the pair assisting each other 64 times, and were one of the most telepathic partnerships in Europe.

They had an innate ability to understand each other's runs and movements, with Mkhitaryan the chief supplier for Aubameyang's goals. They showed glimpses of their partnership last season, particularly on Aubameyang's debut where Mkhitaryan assisted him to open his Arsenal account, in what was an eventual hat-trick of assists for the Armenian in a 5-1 rout of Everton.

Arsenal fans have every right to be optimistic about the partnership of Mkhi and Auba on evidence of what they have done in the past, and if the two can gel together, then The Gunners can look forward to good times again.