“The Invincibles” feels like a lifetime ago now. This could be mainly due to the fact the current squad wouldn’t be fit to lace the boots of most of the players in that fabled lineup.

The harsh reality is that Arsene Wenger quite possibly stayed 1-2 seasons too long thereby hindering the rebuild project which it was clear for everyone to see was desperately needed. Unai Emery has done an admiral job in his first full season as Arsenal boss, especially with a team lacking in overall star quality and depth.

Some shrewd signings have helped the team perform better on the field, Lucas Torreira the pick of the bunch especially as this is a position that needed strengthening since the days of Patrick Viera and GiIberto Silva left and to a lesser degree Flamini.

Lacazette and Aubameyang have also been the stand out signings, a true strike partnership that is frightening for most defences to face.,however will they both stay? Aside from the success of the front line the team still ultimately failed to secure Champions league football for yet another year, the result of this is that the budget is said to be only £40 million.

£40 million is an absolute tiny amount especially for a team that has just lost one of their best midfielders for absolutely nothing to the kings of free agents, Juventus. (Aaron Ramsey) Along with the fact that Mustafi is one of their starting centre half’s the team is ultimately lacking a solid backbone.

Mezut Ozil’s £350,000 a week salary is now looked upon by many as an absolute waste of resource and a mad decisions by those at the club to hand such a lucrative contract to a player that has very rarely shown value for money. Offloading a player with such a high wage is also proving to be an issue as the only clubs that can afford Ozil simply don’t need what is seen as a luxury player, Manchester United already have one of them on £500,000 a week in ex-arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez.

WIlfried Zaha, Crystal Palaces talisman and savior for the last few years is now on Arsenals wish-list and have tabled a £40 million opening bid only half the rumored value that Crystal Palace have placed on him. The main questions is, why? Is the type of player that Zaha is really needed as a priority, I would argue that the same old argument with Arsenal is that they lack a true quality centre half along with a partner for Lucas Torreira in midfield, especially with Ramsey’s departure.

The main worry I would have as an Arsenal fan is that the starting 11 is good enough to challenge for a top 4 finish albeit only just, what is seriously lacking is the strength in depth. Past the starting 11 there is no real quality that would be able to come on and change the course of a game.

Some movements I would look to try and engineer, if possible would be the following:

Although the names above are not quite what many would envisage as an Arsenal signing, times change and realistically with no champions league football on offer and a small transfer budget the options are quite limited.

Shipping out: Xhaka, Mustafi and Ozil are relatively obvious moves to make, the only issue is finding a willing buyer for any of them. Xhaka has not lived up to the expectations set back when first signed, along with a poor disciplinary record, he is a player that cant be trusted to deliver. Mustafi – quite how this man is an international defender highlights more how good those around him must have been for Germany, too slow and far too many mistakes from a centre half that is simply not Premier league quality. Mr Mezut Ozil the man that can win a game all on his own and then disappear completely for 2-3 games. As mentioned before, in their current plight Arsenal cannot afford to keep him.

Players in: Mohamed Diamé a powerful box-to-box midfielder who should be relatively cheap, especially with Newcastle in their current state of decline. Nathaniel Chalobah a young English midfielder with an abundance of energy would provide some physicality and genuine quality on the ball. John Stones, a player who is currently out of favour at current champions Man City. Stones would be a good move for both the player and Arsenal, rather than a bit-part player at City, Stones would become an integral part of the Arsenal rebuild, too costly for Arsenal? Perhaps. Gary Cahill, a seasoned pro who has been around the top level for numerous years would offer 1-2 years of cover as well as help nurture the future of Rob Holding.

The next few weeks are bound to be very entertaining as movement is all but certain. The real question, no matter who leaves/ joins the club, is where are Arsenal going now?

The only way is up? OR What goes up must come down?

We shall sit back, wait and see.