Arsenal: How Nicolas Pepe, Dani Ceballos provide what was lacking

This week, Arsenal will sign Dani Ceballos and Nicolas Pepe. The two players perfectly provide what was lacking last season: pressure-releasing play in the midfield; directness and dribbling ability out wide.

Arsenal had a few very gaping elements of their team. A lack of commanding organisation in defence, a proper left-back who knew how to defend and have the athleticism to bound up and down the pitch, a ground-gobbling, defence-shielding defensive midfielder.

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But over the past two seasons, there are two major processes that the team consistently failed to execute: releasing pressure in the midfield, playing through the press with composure, creativity and progression; dribbling past defenders with pace and directness, especially in wide areas of the pitch.

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Without any players with the ability to perform these duties, the team repeatedly suffered, struggling to evade high-pressing opponents, continually playing back to the goalkeeper, unable to move the ball into and through the midfield, and failing to break down stubborn defences by beating defenders in one-on-ones. Thankfully, Unai Emery, Raul Sanllehi and now new technical director Edu have seemingly recognised these shortcomings and signed two players who directly address them.

The first is Real Madrid central midfielder Dani Ceballos, who arrived on a year-long loan last week after winning the European under-21 championships with Spain. Ceballos has many similarities to Santi Cazorla, the last great Spanish midfielder at the Emirates. He is very comfortable with the ball at his feet, is an excellent dribbler, meaning he can spin away from pressure, and is continually looking to play forwards, breaking the high-press rather than inviting it onto his teammates.

Contrast that to Granit Xhaka. The Swiss international is slow, cumbersome, overly-reliant on his left foot, which makes him predictable, and a very poor dribbler, meaning that he cannot beat players to evade pressure. Both Cazorla and Ceballos do not require time on the ball before they receive it. Xhaka, on the other hand, does, and it makes him painfully susceptible to the high press.

But Arsenal did not stop there. This week, they are expected to announce the signing of Lille winger Nicolas Pepe with a £72 million deal agreed over the weekend. Pepe is known for his goal and assist production from wide areas, one of only two players in the top-five European leagues to total more than 20 goals and 10 assists (Lionel Messi is the other). But he is also an excellent dribbler.

Pepe completed 2.7 dribbles per game last season in Ligue 1, the third-most in the league. He was also fouled the second-most, at 2.8 times per game. He is blessed with terrific speed and explosiveness to burst past defenders. He has good close control, is skilled with the ball at his feet, and drives forward with purpose and pace. That is precisely what Arsenal need.

In fact, both Ceballos and Pepe provide Arsenal with exactly what they have lacked in recent seasons. Releasing pressure in the midfield and driving runs on the outside, this could be a very exciting year for the Gunners indeed.