.jpg)
To say that Arsenal are not an underperforming side would mean making a complete fool of yourself or simply not facing reality. A side that once offered unparallel hostility to the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea in the Premier League’s title race have found their contentment as top four finishers. Now that the veil of working with a shoestring budget no longer stands applicable as a reason of breakdown, the Gunners need to deliver and deliver this season only. They have fallen in their stature and it is high time to get back to where they belong, for they should avoid being the next Liverpool in the Premier League.
Yes, they look wonderful to watch when they are in a flow in their fluidic attacking play with jaw-dropping passes and precision but their mid-season collapse eradicates every sort of hope known to the human race and the fans are left with nothing much to celebrate about apart from St. Totteringham’s Day. Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’ were the last side to lift the lucrative league silverware (2003-04) and it has been more than a decade of drought in terms of league triumph. The fresh 2016-17 campaign isn’t very far away and here are three Arsenal players to look out for next season who are going to have a substantial say in their title pursuits.
Granit Xhaka
A central midfielder was the cry of the hour at Arsenal, and how well was the demand met. It was a sheer masterstroke by Arsène Wenger as he signed Borussia Mönchengladbach’s gladiator Granit Xhaka for a whooping fee of around £30 million as their first incoming figure of the summer. Arsenal have silhouetted a formidable side and a lot of expectations will be burdened on Xhaka for transforming the yardsticks into actual performance.
The midfield commander had a stellar Euro 2016 campaign and has made the Arsenal fans rub their palms in excitement with a grin on their faces. Having seemingly been around for a long time but still only 23 years old, Xhaka was the heartbeat of the Mönchengladbach side and no wonder he will be thrown under the microscope next season.
Aaron Ramsey
The news of Portugal edging past Wales didn’t come as much of a surprise, for their star player was ruled out of the game. This was the kind of enigma a certain Aaron Ramsey was for his national side. The agility, pace, creativity and accurate passing were on his tray throughout the Euros and the Arsenal faithful are already pining for him to take his stupendous form into the next season.Ramsey was only a shadow of his former self in the last season and was barely an average player who struggled for a major chunk of the season. If Monsieur Wenger doesn’t get hold of a lethal striker, Ramsey will be relied upon heavily to bolster their attack.
Laurent Koscielny
Let’s rewind our clocks to 2011: Arsenal’s League Cup final defeat to Birmingham City. The bitterness of trophy drought was
already at the worst state and it was Laurent Koscielny’s error in judgment that gave Obafemi Martins the chance needed to keep the red half of north London devoid of silverware.
People called for the Frenchman’s head and then scenes weren’t very nice. While most other defenders would have been devastated, Koscielny used the catastrophe as an impetus and it has only been upward movement ever since. The experienced campaigner has established himself as arguably the best central defender in the Premier League amidst the lack of a strong partnership as aging Per Mertesacker and unstable Gabriel haven’t helped the Frenchman very much.
It is believed that Arsenal are very much in the market for a centre-back and irrespective of whether a new face jogs in or not, Koscielny’s command, leadership, sound defensive abilities, and resilience will be holding paramount importance in the coming season.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment