Arsenal: What to expect from Stephan Lichtsteiner

Arsenal have found their man in Stephan Lichtsteiner, but what can we actually expect to see from him next season? Let’s explore.

Arsenal’s first signing of the summer was a free, sensible solution named Stephan Lichtsteiner. The Swiss National team captain and former Juventus man comes to the Gunners with a quite a pedigree of winning things, as well as enough experience to outdo the entire Gunners’ back line.

But as far as what to expect out of Lichtsteiner, it’s a bit less clear. Because most of what has been talked about is stuff that takes place off the pitch – for instance, challenging Hector Bellerin, providing veteran leadership, etc.

In terms of actual game play production, I think that we will be pleasantly surprised by what the 34-year-old still has left in the tank.

Let’s look at last year first. Playing for Juventus, Lichtsteiner was up again the likes of Howedes, Barzagli and De Sciglio for time at rightback, yet it was Lichtsteiner, in his aged wisdom, that emerged with the most consistent performances, as he played more than any of them.

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That amounted to a grand total of just about 1900 minutes in all competitions, but he also missed out on five games from injury directly, not to count any lingering affects he was dealing with in recovery.

It’s been a steady decline in minutes from Lichtsteiner, as he has been averaging between 1500 and 2000 minutes over the past three years. This is surely due to his increasing age and not because of any health problems, as he has only suffered three total injuries before last year.

In that limited time, Lichtstiner provided three total assists, but has reached as high as eight in the 2013/14 season, where he played just 2200 minutes – not much more than he is averaging now.

So what does this mean for his first – and potentially only – year at Arsenal? Well, to speculate wildly, it would be realistic to think that he can continue in the minutes department of 1500-2000. We may even expect him to get higher than that, as he has far less competition for minutes at the Emirates – it’s only Hector Bellerin.

On the ambitious side, I wouldn’t be surprised to see 2200, 2300 minutes. The opportunity will be there for him, barring any upcoming youngsters.

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For assists, it would be normal to expect him to crack into it with a few. Given the potential that our fullbacks have shown previously, an upside of five seems realistic enough.

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