How should Arsenal line up under Unai Emery?.Following the end of Arsene Wenger's reign at the Emirates, his successor in the dugout has a range of options available to him in every area of the pitch
Lucas Torreira has arrived to finally answer the demands of the club's critics who took aim at the lack of a proper defensive midfielder to add some grit to their quality in the middle of the park
There has a been an overhaul in defence too with three new faces at the back in Bernd Leno, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Stephan Lichtsteiner, with Wenger's experimentation with a back three and wing-backs still fresh in the memory
Over the course of his career at Valencia, Spartak Moscow, Sevilla, Paris Saint-Germain and his roles at other clubs, Emery has shown a tendency to play a 4-2-3-1 shape
At other times he has switched it up to add an extra midfielder to the mix.Arsenal have the players to line up in a number of ways this season, and there are arguments for and against the various combinations that can be put together at the tactics board
Here is how the football.london team would like to see the Gunners shape up under the Spaniard this season
1 Charles Watts - Arsenal correspondent.Formation: 4-2-3-1.Line up: Bernd Leno; Hector Bellerin, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Shkordran Mustafi, Nacho Monreal; Lucas Torreira, Aaron Ramsey; Alex Iwobi, Mesut Ozil, Henrikh Mkhitaryan; Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
The best I've seen Arsenal play this summer was the first half against Paris Saint-Germain when Unai Emery went with his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation
I'm far from Alex Iwobi's biggest fan, but unless Arsenal bring someone else in who can play on the left hand side of the attack, he is the best option they have right now which allows them to utilise Emery's favoured system
Against PSG, with Iwobi left, Ozil as No.10 and Mkhitaryan on the right, Arsenal's attack was incisive and fluent, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as the central striker constantly stretching the French side's defence with his pace and movement
There is an argument that Aubameyang could replace Iwobi in this formation, allowing Alexandre Lacazette to start up front - but I don't see how you can move one of Europe's most clinical penalty box strikers out wide just to accommodate someone else
In big games, against the top teams, the likes of Granit Xhaka or Matteo Guendouzi could come in at the expense of one of the forwards to add some more defensive cover to the backline, but on the whole I think Lucas Torreira and Aaron Ramsey can do a job as a pairing in front of the back four
2 Greg Johnson - Editor-in-chief.Formation: 4-4-2 diamond Line up: Petr Cech; Hector Bellerin, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Shkordran Mustafi, Sead Kolasinac; Lucas Torreira, Aaron Ramsey, Granit Xhaka, Mesut Ozil; Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Full-backs are always key when a team lines up in a diamond formation, and in Hector Bellerin and Sead Kolasinac, Arsenal have two powerful runners who can get up and down their respective flanks to attack and defend as needed, even if the Bosnian has struggled after a strong start to last season
Nacho Monreal is another option on the left but if the former Schalke defender can get himself back into form, he should replace the Spaniard in the starting line up - and there's always Ainsley Maitland-Niles too
Having seen what Henrikh Mkhitaryan can do to teams in the final third when he's at his best, especially for Borussia Dortmund, I'd like to see him unleashed alongside Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the striker who thrived on his service in the Bundesliga
The Gabonese forward's quality on the break is another reason why I've selected a four man midfield
Granit Xhaka and Mesut Ozil would finally be free to play the way many Arsenal fans have demanded in recent years, with the Swiss playmaker and the German covered by the tenacity of Lucas Torreira and energy of Aaron Ramsey
It would be on the Welshman to provide some drive as a box-to-box midfielder, knitting moves together and adding to the goal threat, while Petr Cech remains in charge at the other end of the pitch
Bernd Leno is yet to convince me. Laurent Koscielny would start too if he could guarantee his fitness, hence why Sokratis Papastathopoulos gets the nod as the stopper next to Shkodran Mustafi, another player with something to prove this season
3 Andy Ha - Social media editor.Formation: 4-3-3.Line up: Bernd Leno; Hector Bellerin, Shkodran Mustafi, Calum Chambers, Nacho Monreal; Granit Xhaka, Aaron Ramsey, Lucas Torreira; Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Bernd Leno deserves the chance to establish himself as first choice, with Petr Cech's best days firmly behind him
In defence, Sokratis Papastathopoulos should take one of the starting centre back slots with one of Calum Chambers and Shkodran Mustafi battling to partner him given the injury concerns over Laurent Koscielny
Nacho Monreal pips Sead Kolasinac at left-back after his excellent 2017/18 season which culminated in a World Cup call-up for Spain
In midfield, the arrival of Lucas Torreira looks like a smart piece of business, and the Uruguayan provides Arsenal with a much-needed screen for the back four, allowing Aaron Ramsey to play his box-to-box role with far greater freedom
Despite both preferring to play centrally at number 10, Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan will occupy the flanks, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang spearheading the attack in his first full season in north London
4 Tashan Deniran-Alleyane - Trends writer.Formation: 4-3-3.Line up: Bernd Leno; Hector Bellerin, Shkodran Mustafi, Calum Chambers, Nacho Monreal; Granit Xhaka, Aaron Ramsey, Lucas Torreira; Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette
The goalkeeping has been a massive problem for Arsenal since the days of the Invincibles
Petr Cech made a number of mistakes last season and doesn't really carry the same aura he had whilst at Chelsea, for that reason I'd go for Bernd Leno
Despite being very poor in the Europa League semi-final second leg against Atletico Madrid, I'll stick with Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal
The latter mainly because he's a better defender than Sead Kolasinac. There's a decision to be made at centre-half and I'm not so certain Sokratis Papastathopoulos is an upgrade on Shkodran Mustafi
He looks vulnerable to pace and the Premier League can be very brutal learning experience
Mustafi alongside Calum Chambers isn't that much better, but it's probably the best combination at the moment
Lucas Torreira's performances for Sampdoria last season and at the World Cup makes him an automatic starter in my eyes
His energy and ability to win the ball back will help Xhaka come into his own, while Aaron Ramsey will flourish when given license to roam
Arsenal desperately need a winger, but for now Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang must operate from the left with Alexandre Lacazette down the middle and Mesut Ozil drifting in from the right flank
5 Avinash Bhunjun - Trainee trends writer.Formation: 4-4-2 diamond.Line up: Bernd Leno; Hector Bellerin, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Shkodran Mustafi, Nacho Monreal; Lucas Torreira, Aaron Ramsey, Granit Xhaka, Mesut Ozil; Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette
I would love to see Unai Emery play a diamond formation to get the best out of the Gunners in midfield and attack
Some may cite the lack of natural width as a problem within this set-up but the benefits are clear
Lucas Torreira is more than capable of filling a gap in midfield with his 'La Garra Charrua' energy, freeing up Granit Xhaka to focus on his qualities as a deep-lying playmaker
Aaron Ramsey would also have license to make his trademark late runs into the box without leaving the team exposed
The system would get the best out of Mesut Ozil too in his favoured No.10 role behind Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who have already shown promise as a strike parnetship
In goal, I would like to see Bernd Leno start ahead of Petr Cech. Nacho Monreal has been Arsenal's Mr Consistent and keeps his place on the left
Hector Bellerin's pace remains a weapon down the right. As for the centre-backs, it will be interesting to see if Emery can eradicate the errors that marked Shkodran Mustafi's game last season
I have partnered him with Sokratis Papastathopoulos, a player who has spoken of his love for old-fashioned defending
That mindset could complement Mustafi's ability to carry and distribute the ball and from the back
What's your best Arsenal XI?.The football.london team have had their say over how Arsenal could and should line up, now we're throwing the question over to you
Formation and team selection is up for grabs when it comes to the sixth way of organising the Gunners on the pitch this season under Emery
Select your best XI from the options above and share your Arsenal team on social media or in the comments below
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