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Leno
Sagna Mertesacker Koscielny Monreal
Fabregas Cazorla
Ozil
Ramsey Van Persie Sanchez
The isolation boredom is here and reall and teams of the Emirates era have been doing the rounds. It’s sort of fun and light which is something we could all use right now.
Leno
Goalkeeper was a tough decesion. I really liked Szcesny and I thought we let him go for far too little. The Southampton incdent certainly damaged his reputation and despite being rather funny in hindsight, it really soured his exit. Cech was excellent at times but there was a sense that he wasn’t quite at the level he used to be. Leno has definetley been the busiest of the three keepers and oftens singlehandedly kept us in games. The double save against Spurs in particular stands out as an impressive highlight.
Sagna
The right back slot was essentially a battle between Hector Bellerin and Sagna. The Frenchman gets in the team for his reliability and consistency. Bonus points for his bullet header in the North London derby.
Mertesacker-Koscielny
I’ve gone for perhaps the only reliable center back partnership of the Emirates era. The slow but intelligent Mertesacker worked well alongside the more aggressive and pacy Koscielny. The manner of the latters exit was painful but hes arguably the best defender of the era.
Monreal
Left back was a relatively easy choice. Gibbs and Clichy were okay but neither mantained the level of consistancy that Monreal did. He played in his natural position for much of his time at Arsenal but also filled in at left wing back and centre back, most notably in the 2017 F.A Cup final victory against Chelsea. Him and Sagna were quite similar in terms of the fact that neither of them were paricualy flashy and never won many Man of the Match awards but they got the job done with minimum fuss.
Fabregas
He sort of picks himself. A superb player and arguably the best of the Emirates era. Even as a teen, he showed leadership beyond his years and is one of Wengers greatest success stories. His position at the base of midfield will probably require him to do more defensive work than he is used to, but then again, he’s probably used to carrying a pretty heavy load playing in an Arsenal midfield that contained Denilson.
Cazorla
The little Spaniard was always going to be in this team. His superb technical ability and two footedness made him a joy to watch. He scored some incredible goals, most notably in the FA cup final aginst Hull back in 2014. He even managed to make Francis Coquelin look quite good. The injury which ended his Arsenal career was tragic for both Arsenal and Santi himself. It was fantastic to see him back playing for Villereal.
Ozil
The German may not have won over the entire Arsenal fansbase through a lack of consistancy. Some also questioned his workrate and application. However, in the seven years hes been at Arsenal, I feel hes done enough to make the team. There is no question of his talent and he’s shown this at times throughout his Arsenal career.From almost breaking the record for assists in a single premier league season to that goal he scored against Ludogorets, Mesut Ozil has certainly paid back the 42.5 million pounds we paid for him. No, we probably shouldn’t have given him that massive new contract, but that doesn’t take away from his undeniable ability.
Ramsey.
Its hard not to include a player whose scored the winning goal in 2 out of the 3 major trophies we’ve won in the Emirates era. He fought back from an horrific injury sustained against Stoke all the way back in 2010 to become an important part of the Arsenal team. The 2013/14 season was something of purple patch for the Welshman and while he may not have quite reached those goalscoring feats again, his engery in the middle of the park and his attacking threat are something we’ve severly missed since his departure.
Van Persie
He may not be the most popular man on this list but nobodly can deny his ability and he pips Aubameyang partly due to lonegevity. His final year at Arsenal was perhaps the only one where his true talent was represented in the number of goals he scored, with injuries holding him back for much of his Arsenal career. Van Persie had as supreme level of technical ability to go along with that finishing touch and instinct in front of goal.
Sanchez
Arsene Wenger had a penchant for nurturing talented young players and moulding them into world class athletes. With Alexis Sanchez, it was more a case of getting the most out of superstar who was underappreciated at Barcelona.His exit was badly managed on all accounts but the 35 million pounds spent aquiring his services proved to be a bargain with the Chilean scoring 80 goals in 166 appearances for the Gunners, mainly from out wide.
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