Arsenal’s late foray into the transfer market has been a huge success as the club have been able to add striker Lucas Perez and defender Shkodran Mustafi in the last few days. The arrival of these two players takes the club’s spending close to £100 million, which would be a new milestone. More importantly, it strengthens the Arsenal line-up significantly. Here’s how Wenger could potentially lineup (4-4-2) his team in the coming weeks:
Petr Cech – goalkeeper
The Czech Republic shot-stopper is an automatic pick and it is likely to continue this way for the next few seasons.
Hector Bellerin – right back
One of the big positives for Arsene Wenger in recent years has been the development of Hector Bellerin, who continues to hold on to the right-back spot as his own.
Shkodran Mustafi – centre back
The new acquisition from Valencia has immense experience of winning trophies even though he is only 24. A World Cup winner with Germany, Mustafi has the potential to complement Laurent Koscielny extremely well. His partnership with the Frenchman could become one of the best in the Premier League.
Laurent Koscielny – centre back
A highly dependent centre back, Koscielny was susceptible to the odd mistake early on in his Arsenal career but these seem to have been eradicated from his game.
Nacho Monreal – left back
Just like Bellerin, Nacho Monreal has also been a great buy for the club. After coming for a relatively low transfer fee, Monreal has managed to successfully become the first choice ahead of Kieran Gibbs.
Alexis Sanchez – right midfield
Sanchez may be a great goal scorer but his form has dipped in recent years. One aspect that has not gone away from his game is the work rate, which will be highly useful in this position.
Francis Coquelin – Midfielder
As a holding midfielder, Coquelin has been quietly doing his usual job of stopping opponents’ attacks.
Granit Xhaka – Midfielder
The summer signing is technically gifted and capable of being the deep-lying playmaker with ease.
Mesut Ozil – right midfield
Ozil has hit form once again and he is one of those players who are capable of doing damage from anywhere on the pitch.
Olivier Giroud – striker
The Frenchman is still the best forward option at the disposal of Arsene Wenger and dropping him would be unthinkable.
Lucas Perez – striker
Perez’ availability could enable Wenger to play the 4-4-2 formation for the first time since the Invincibles era.