5 Players Arsenal must hold onto next summer

Sat in the Clock-End on a bitterly cold Wednesday night in North London, I oversaw my beloved Arsenal tear Huddersfield Town limb-from-limb. It was by no means the most spectacular drubbing from start-to-finish, nor was it against the best the Premier League has to offer, but nonetheless, the 5-0 victory proved thought-provoking.

Throughout the ninety minutes, the Gunners controlled possession, soaked up pressure and, albeit some way into the second half, proved clinical in front of goal. Looking on at the team fielded by Wenger that night, I thought to myself that the Frenchman may have finally cultivated a first eleven genuinely capable of challenging for the title.

Nacho Monreal has improved massively in defence this season, whilst Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey have developed a sound understanding of one-another in midfield. The frontline is simply formidable and, if it were not for the slightly too frequent displays of complacency, this team could achieve remarkable things.

With this vein of thought though came a sense of cynicism; how many of these players would be here next season? Each week that we draw closer to the January transfer window, more rumours of Arsenal stars departing emerge and Wenger will likely have a job on his hand attempting to persuade his contingent to stay put, if the club don't qualify for the Champions League this campaign.

Here is a look at five players in particular who Arsenal must hold onto next summer...

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1# Alexis Sanchez

Will Sanchez be an Arsenal player come February 1st?

Where better to start than with the man who almost became the latest in a long line of former-Arsenal players to switch red for blue and join Manchester City. The Chilean's expected £60 million deadline-day move to the Citizens never materialised and Arsene Wenger has since claimed, according to SkySports News, that Sanchez (and Özil for that matter) will stay put until the end of the season.

The Frenchman responded to the question of whether Sanchez would be an Arsenal player on February 1st by saying, "Yes, of course. That is what we said many times." Wenger continued, "at the moment I think, as long as they are here, they have to give their best for the team and for the club... in my head, they stay until the end of the season."

Since signing for the Gunners from Barcelona in 2014, Sanchez has scored 57 goals in 114 games for the club and is arguably the stand-out star in the team at present.

The statistics do not lie; Sanchez gives Arsenal a real fear-factor they would arguably otherwise not have without him in their ranks. The Chilean is world-class pedigree with experience at the very top level with Barcelona and the Gunners. Few players are more industrious or more determined off the ball and even fewer are as creative and dynamic on it.

As challenging as it will likely be to keep hold of the key forward, to allow Sanchez to depart would symbolise a step-back. He's one of the only world-class figures in the Arsenal contingent and replacing him would not be an easy task.

#2 Mesut Özil

Mesut Özil was in formidable form against Huddersfield

Whilst Alexis Sanchez is often dispatching the scoring chances, Özil is the one creating them. The German maestro was named 'Man of the Match' in the fixture against Huddersfield and sits joint fourth in the assist rankings this season, having set up five goals this campaign.

That statistic adds to the impressive tally of 47 Premier League assists in 137 appearances for the 29-year-old. After having come under fire for questions surrounding his work-rate and adaptability during his early Arsenal tenure, Özil has since grown into one of the most beloved players in the current Gunners team.

With a string of excellent displays this term and back-to-back MOTM awards in his last two outings, Özil has all but put to bed claims that he is inconsistent. After the Huddersfield game, Olivier Giroud came out to say how vital the former-Real Madrid midfielder is to Arsenal's set-up, claiming, "he is a top player and we need him. He makes the best choice most of the time. He knows when he has to pass the ball or to shoot and when you are in a good position you always think he thinks assist before scoring".

Özil is certainly one of the more unselfish players within the Arsenal team and has also upped his defensive contribution in the 2017/18 season.

Losing Özil would mean Arsenal losing their most potent creative outlet; there's no other player quite like the German in the team so getting him to put pen to paper before the close of the season could be the most important business the club has engaged in in a very long time.

#3 Olivier Giroud

Will Giroud be scoring Arsenal goals like this for years to come?

There seems to be a somewhat attacking-orientated theme to this list of players so far and it's no coincidence. The Gunners are saturated with exceptional quality in their midfield and attack and, given that this is where the team's strengths currently lay, these are also the players attracting the most interest.

Oliver Giroud has a 'Marmite' quality about him - on one side of the stadium his name is being belted out jovially, on the other he is being lambasted and reduced to the title of the worst striker to grace the Arsenal - there are a host of forwards who would have a thing or two to say about that.

Ultimately though, Giroud is imperative to Arsenal FC. The former-Montpellier striker netted 16 goals in 17 appearances last season and dispatched his 100th goal for the club this September from the spot against BATE Borisov. The Frenchman has scored some remarkable goals in his Arsenal career but it is the economic quality (not an aesthetic one) of his game which renders him so important.

Alexandre Lacazette has been fantastic since joining from Lyon in the summer and as a result his compatriot Giroud has been demoted to the bench. In a sense though, this is where Giroud is most dangerous. Against Huddersfield the centre-forward came off the bench to bag a brace and finish the game off. He stuck the ball in the back of the net from close range as all great goalscorers do and the simplicity of his game is where he shines.

He may have adapted into a somewhat more dynamic forward able to make intelligent runs since moving to North London but his core principle still remains - he is a target-man forward with height and strength on his side. This option from the bench enables Wenger to give Lacazette a rest but simultaneously introduce a new kind of player to shake-up opposition defences.

#4 Aaron Ramsey

Ramsey has been hailed as a potential future captain for the Gunners

As much as Granit Xhaka, Francis Coquelin and Mohammed Elneny can all be great players on their day, Welshman Aaron Ramsey has become the real stabilising force in the Arsenal midfield in recent seasons.

Wenger has favoured a 3-4-3 or 5-2-3 formation this term (depending on how you want to view it) and with three players up top and the team operating with wing-backs, it is crucial to have an anchor in the midfield to dictate the pace of the game. This is especially important for a club like Arsenal who will most likely dominate possession against their opposition.

Ramsey has scored the third most goals for Arsenal this season (3) and is in the same position in terms of his number of chances created (16). Meanwhile, the former-Cardiff player is joint leader with Mesut Özil for number of assists (5).

'Rambo' has been tipped to take the captain's armband at Arsenal one day and this brings about another of the many reasons why it is paramount he remains at the Emirates. Currently playing in what is his tenth season with the club, Ramsey has become somewhat of a poster boy for Arsenal and it's difficult to envisage him at another outfit - he is Arsenal through and through.

#5 Sead Kolašinac

Kolašinac was arguably the bargain buy of the summer

Along with the attacking excellence of Özil and company, one of the stand-out performances in Arsenal's game with Huddersfield was that of former-Schalke left-back Sead Kolašinac. The Bosnian was remarkable in finding space on the flank, running with the ball and nullifying the threat of Huddersfield's wide-men.

The 24-year-old may have only signed for the club this summer but do not let that fool you into thinking that he could not be pried away at the end of the season. At least for Premier League fans, Kolašinac was relatively unknown before his move to the Emirates which has rendered his barnstorming displays on the flank all the more impressive.

According to Squawka statistics, Kolašinac ranks among the top six in the team for both his chances created this season (12) and his average number of defensive actions per game (3), rendering him an important all-round performer for the team.

With Monreal now installed at centre-back in the new system, Kolašinac is essentially first-choice left-back and is arguably the strongest player Arsenal have had in the position in years, hence the desperate need to keep hold of the Bosnian.