It’s going to be a long while, June at the earliest (and that’s the most optimistic timeline), until we have a match to make a starting XI prediction for again. In the meantime, we have plenty of transfer talk. We even made an all-transfer rumors Arsenal FC starting XI (which can be viewed at this link) The thing about transfer rumors is that they can get extremely tedious quite quickly, so these are rather dull times for sports fanatics and sports reporters.
Of course, if you’re bored right now that’s a luxury- it’s where you want to be during a pandemic. That’s because a lot of people right now have such serious concerns, of matters way beyond sports that there’s no time for the much lesser evil of boredom.
Be very thankful if you’re bored right now, because being so allows you the availability of taking a trip to fantasy land. Let’s pretend, in this fantasy reality, Arsenal signed everyone they wanted, and no one of great importance leaves.
That’s a lot of ifs, I know, but let’s say all these hypotheticals come to fruition, and the whole team is healthy.
We give you the optimal Arsenal Starting XI
Aubameyang
Aouar Ozil Coutinho
Aouar Guendouzi
Tierney Mari Stones Bellerin
Leno
What could set the tone of the summer transfer window is whether or not Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang stays or goes. A lot of dominoes would fall from there as he’s a forward who will be in high demand.
Another forward who will be in high demand, despite being a flop at his current destination is Philippe Coutinho. The ex-Liverpool man will have no shortage of potential suitors and will no doubt command a sky high transfer fee.
Speaking of men in demand, Arsenal have been linked to Chelsea winger Willian, but they’ll face competition from Tottenham Hotspur, FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, among others.
Overall, this is quite a formidable, and very high salaried attacking midfield.
Yet, he doesn’t crack the starting lineup here, due to the plethora of wings and attacking midfielders. Meanwhile Valencia defensive midfielder Carlos Soler is reportedly an Arsenal target as is Manchester City central defender John Stones.
He has reportedly fallen out of favor with manager Pep Guardiola and if so, and if that leads to his moving on, then Arsenal could be a destination. Stones would provide an upgrade in central defense, and you would have a team here that would certainly score a lot of goals and win a lot of games.
All Transfer Rumor Starting XI Series
Optimal Starting XI Series
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
You can follow Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com on Twitter here and his cat on Instagram at this link