Arsenal: Next season’s predicted starting XI

Centre-Backs

You would be forgiven for doubting Arsenal’s centre-back options. They are distinctively average. None are especially terrible, and yet there is not one starting solution among them. And so, I expect the club to spend at the position and bring back their signing from last transfer window after a year-long loan.

The first of that pair is William Saliba, who was acquired for £26 million last summer. The Frenchman has since spent the season on loan at Saint-Etienne and impressed, despite struggling with injuries. At only 19, it is a little risky to usher him straight into the starting XI, but that he is a world-leading talent who is a starter in Ligue 1. He should be able to handle the step up.

Next to him, the new signing. Many will want Dayot Upamecano, for good reason, but with the price rocketing with every passing week, that deal seems increasingly unlikely. So, I have predicted the cheaper version, Even Ndicka, also from the Bundesliga. Only 20, it would comprise an extremely youthful centre-back pairing, so don’t be surprised if David Luiz starts the year alongside Saliba, but by the end of the year, Ndicka will have earned his stripes.