Arsenal Premier League Fixtures, Squad, Guide
It’s been all change at Arsenal this summer following Arsene Wenger’s departure after a remarkable 22 years in charge of the team – the longest and most successful period in the club’s history. In his place comes Spanish coach Unai Emery, fresh from two years at Paris Saint-Germain. He will work alongside sporting director Raul Sanllehi (ex Barcelona) and Sven Mislintat (ex Borussia Dortmund). New arrivals include defenders Stefan Lichtsteiner (Juventus) and Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Dortmund), keeper Bernd Leno (Leverkusen) and midfielder Lucas Torreira (Sampdoria).
Annual wage bill – £199m (2017)
Annual income – £427m (2017)
Stadium Emirates (60,355)
Odds – 20/1 to win Premier League
FAN’S VIEW
Kevin Whitcher, The Gooner (onlinegooner.com)
LAST SEASON WAS…
Predictably disappointing. The belief that Arsene Wenger could turn around the previous campaign’s decline was one not held by many. And so it proved, with some woeful displays, most notably away from home.
OUR BIGGEST HERO
CEO Ivan Gazidis, for finally winning his battle to force much needed change.
OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
Stan Kroenke, for not listening to Gazidis and his fellow board members and awarding Arsene Wenger a two-year deal.
YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
Of those not yet seen in the first team, Emile Smith-Rowe is an attacking midfielder who has attracted a lot of plaudits for his academy performances.
Nacho Monreal, the underrated defender (Getty Images)
MOST UNDERRATED PLAYER
Nacho Monreal makes a bigger contribution to the team than people are generally aware of.
HOPES & FEARS for 2018-19
Hopes: a more committed, organised team that can demonstrate the old-school values of defending competently.
Fears: some fans may not understand this is not going to be an overnight change. The wreckage left by the previous manager will take a couple of seasons to turn around completely.
Arsenal Premier League Squad
Name Age/d.o.b. Signed/prev club
GOALKEEPERS
Petr Cech (CzR) (36) 20.05.82 2015 / Chelsea
Bernd Leno (Ger) (26) 04.03.92 2018 / Bayer Leverkusen (Ger)
DEFENDERS
Hector Bellerin (Spa) (23) 19.03.95 2011 / Barcelona (Spa)
Rob Holding (22) 20.09.95 2016 / Bolton Wanderers
Carl Jenkinson (26) 08.02.92 2011 / Charlton Athletic
Sead Kolasinac (Bos) (25) 20.06.93 2017 / Schalke (Ger)
Laurent Koscielny (Fra) (32) 10.09.85 2010 / Lorient (Fra)
Stephan Lichtsteiner (Swi) (34) 16.01.84 2018 / Juventus (Ita)
Konstantinos Mavropanos (Gre) (20) 11.12.97 2018 / AS Giannina (Gre)
Nacho Monreal (Spa) (32) 26.02.86 2013 / Malaga (Spa)
Shkodran Mustafi (Ger) (26) 17.04.92 2016 / Valencia (Spa)
Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Gre) (30) 09.06.88 2018 / B Dortmund (Ger)
MIDFIELDERS
Mohamed Elneny (Egy) (26) 11.07.92 2016 / Basle (Swi)
Matteo Guendouzi (Fra) (19) 14.04.99 2018 / Lorient (Fra)
Alex Iwobi (Nga) (22) 03.05.96 2004 / youth
Ainsley Maitland-Niles (20) 29.08.97 2003 / youth
Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Arm) (29) 21.01.89 2018 / Manchester United
Mesut Ozil (Ger) (29) 15.10.88 2013 / Real Madrid (Spa)
Aaron Ramsey (Wal) (27) 26.12.90 2008 / Cardiff City
Lucas Torreira (Uru) (22) 11.02.96 2018 / Sampdoria (Ita)
Granit Xhaka (Swi) (25) 27.09.92 2016 / Bor M’gladbach (Ger)
FORWARDS
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gab) (29) 18.06.89 2018 / B Dortmund (Ger)
Alexandre Lacazette (Fra) (27) 28.05.91 2017 / Lyon (Fra)
Eddie Nketiah (19) 30.05.99 2015 / Chelsea
Danny Welbeck (27) 26.11.90 2014 / Manchester United
MANAGER
Unai Emery (Spa) (46) 03.11.71 2018 / PSG (Fra)
Unai Emery of Arsenal (Getty Images)
Arsenal Premier League Fixtures
Aug 12 Man City – lost 2-0
Aug 18 Chelsea (a) – lost 3-2
Aug 25 West Ham (h) – won 3-1
Sep 2 Cardiff City (a) – won 3-2
Sep 15 Newcastle (a) – won 2-1
Sep 23 Everton (h) – won 2-0
Sep 29 Watford (h) – won 2-0
Oct 6 Fulham (a) – won 5-1
Oct 20 Leicester City (h) – won 3-1
Oct 27 Crystal Palace (a) – drew 2-2
Nov 3 Liverpool (h) – drew 1-1
Nov 10 Wolves (h)
Nov 24 Bournemouth (a)
Dec 1 Tottenham (h)
Dec 4 Man United (a)
Dec 8 Huddersfield (h)
Dec 15 Southampton (a)
Dec 22 Burnley (h)
Dec 26 Brighton (a)
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Dec 29 Liverpool (a)
Jan 1 Fulham (h)
Jan 12 West Ham (a)
Jan 19 Chelsea (h)
Jan 29 Cardiff City (h)
Feb 2 Man City (a)
Feb 9 Huddersfield (a)
Feb 23 Southampton (h)
Feb 26 Bournemouth (h)
Mar 2 Tottenham (a)
Mar 9 Man United (h)
Mar 16 Wolves (a)
Mar 30 Newcastle (h)
Apr 6 Everton (a)
Apr 13 Watford (a)
Apr 20 Crystal Palace (h)
Apr 27 Leicester City (a)
May 4 Brighton (h)
May 12 Burnley (a)
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