Gael Clichy is gone and while a good player he offered no more than an extra passing option to keep possesion when attacking and made frequent mistakes at the back most of which cost us points. There might be a new signing or Arsene may promote Gibbs to first choice. Many fans don’t think Gibbs is ready and that’s fair enough he hasn’t yet shown if he is but we know he is

We have a philosophy at Arsenal that young players are developed here and given a chance it’s not perfect and sometimes new signings are needed to supplement the youth. Every season at Arsenal one of our squad steps it up a gear and simply reaches a different level in recent seasons Song,Vermealen and just last season both Nasri and Wilshere did it. There will be at least one next season but who will it be? A number of factors are involved most importantly close season and pre season work followed by playing time and luck we cant forget luck. Nasri was already a starter last season so his playing time was expected, he put in serious work last summer to improve himself and it paid off as he enjoyed a great end to 2010. Jack Wilshere fresh from his loan spell at Bolton took his opportunity when Diaby was injured and Denilson was being Denilson to become first choice.There are many players in our squad that might step up hopefully they all will and we will pack the trophy room next May. Maybe this time it isn’t just about becoming better footballers we need more leaders in this squad.

Gael Clichy is gone and while a good player he offered no more than an extra passing option to keep possesion when attacking and made frequent mistakes at the back most of which cost us points. There might be a new signing or Arsene may promote Gibbs to first choice. Many fans don’t think Gibbs is ready and that’s fair enough he hasn’t yet shown if he is but we know he is a great athlete; 90min stamina recovery pace and deceptively strong for his frame.He can cross much better than Clichy and can gets more involved in attacks, if Gibbs improves his defending by our first game August 13th I think? then he should be an improvment on Clichy, he will need to stay relatively injury free of course which isn’t a guarentee.

I wanted to put Bartley here but I feel even if he stays in the first team squad he will 4th or 5th choice at centre back he wont start enough to have a huge impact. Koscielney had a lot of bad moments last year got sent off a few times gave away a few penalties many think he simply isn’t up to it however the performance against Barca was amazing he showed his tackling ability and how well he reads the game. He has a big future and with a full season at Arsenal under his belt he will hopefully have improved his faults which which he seemed to be doing throughout the season as his lapses were fewer, he became accustomed to the pace of the english game and he was physically stronger. He showed promise last season and has a long way to go before he reaches the top but he could make huge strides next season.Wont be first choice but will play a lot of games and will be crucial to how well Arsenal do next season.

This is the one I am most optimistic about the one which was meant to happen last season. Jack Wilshere is now a standout performer in our midfield he is important to our system now and it is his second season so by the Law of Arsenal he will suffer a long term injury in Aug/Sept/Oct. Wilshere offers technical ability, vision, bite and drive in midfield but a physical presence he is not. The team lacks height and strength which is often exposed against the likes of Stoke and Blackburn, Abou Diaby is a terrific athlete with bags of skill but he is very inconsistent even within the same game. He could be the perfect partner for Song if he steps up, we have seen Diaby make crunching tackles pick the ball up go past a couple of players and play a great ball,make powerful off the ball runs into the box and finish but we haven’t seen it often enough. He has had his injury problems and that needs to improve as a consistent run of games could lead to a consistent run of performances. We have an excellent holding midfielder in Song an exceptional playmaker in Fabregas we need a top class box to box to complete the set. So many crosses just flew across the box last season now imagine Diaby bursting into the box to get his head on those crosses. Diaby is now 25 he isn’t that young anymore he should be entering his prime Wilshere should be his back up not the other way around It’s time for Diaby to grow a pair,kick some ass and make us stop pining for Vieira because this is most likely his last chance.

I haven’t bought into the crisis talk I still think this current squad is just a COUPLE of signings away from being a great team if the above players step up. Our midfield with Diaby could be better defensively as Song wont have to make driving runs up the pitch as Diaby will be doing that and if he does Diaby can slot into his position This will also cover for Gibbs defensive frailties as Diaby has played on the left and can defend.Fabregas feints a pass to Nasri coming in from the right then turns and lasy it off to Diaby who is driving into the box will hopefully be a regular sight next season.

GK:Fabianski/Szczesny

RB:Sagna

LB:Gibbs

CB:Djourou & Vermealen

CM:Song & Diaby

CAM:Fabregas

RF:Nasri

LF:Gervinho

CF:Van Persie

That’s a balanced first XI that with the right tactics is defensively strong and offensively devastating,isn’t vulnerable to dirty teams,is tall…ish and doesn’t sacrifice the qualities that make Arsenal one of the best teams in the world and the second most entertaining. And now I wait to be called a fool for having the cheek to put some faith in the players and club I support.

Mean Lean’s Response

The great thing about having a young squad is that you can expect those who get regular playing time to keep on improving. While some do not give a monkey’s about that side of the game, I genuinely get excited at the prospect of our talented players getting stronger and showing a new side to their game every season until they hit peak, obviously this is not always the case, some players stagnate, some suffer bad injuries and never get back to their best but more often than not, a young player will be on an upward curve.

Wenger seems to have put all his faith in Kieran Gibbs at the moment and it is quite easy to write him off as not ready just yet. In some ways I tend to agree but I am sure he can get to a very good level very soon. He comes across very well when being interviewed and is a local lad. If we can mould a group of talented local kids, all with the technical ability required to play for the team, then that would be great for the future and give us a solid foundation to continue building and improving.

I think you hit the nail on the head when talking about Jack Wilshere and Abou Diaby. If, and it is obviously a big if, Diaby was fit from the beginning of last season and had taken part in a full pre season then Jack Wilshere wouldn’t have been the player we see today. He is that Jack Wilshere because he has been allowed to grow into his role. Wilshere is one of my favourite Arsenal players at the moment because of the fight and commitment he gives to the team but physically you can see the glaring gap when we come up against physical teams.Set pieces have been our undoing on many occasions last season and I wonder if the percentages would have gone in our favour a little more had Diaby contributed to more games.

Abou Diaby is very much judged on the player we see ambling about the pitch, lacking fitness, lacking games. Giving away possession and holding onto the ball for too long. That image is imprinted in fans minds without a second thought about the lack of games he has had. If the argument is that he is never fit then that is a valid argument but to say that he is not good enough is personally unfair.

Not last season but the season before, he managed a run of games without injury. He partnered Alex Song and had dropped a little deeper to support his defensive team mate. Perhaps that was Arsene’s first tweaks from 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1. Diaby was wonderful during that period. Strong in the tackle, drove forward when needed and won balls in the air. It was during the time when we demolished Porto at the Emirates.

He, like Kieran Gibbs need to win their battles with injury. Once they do that then they can be one of the best in their position, not only in the Premier League but in Europe.