David Luiz dropped but wonderkid starts – How Arsenal could line-up with new signings Gabriel, William Saliba, and Willian
Arsenal are well on their way to finishing their summer rebuild.
We’re less than two weeks out from the start of the new Premier League campaign and they’ve got three new stars ready to impress and more possibly on the way.
There is room for optimism at Arsenal as Mikel Arteta puts his footprint on the side
Joining the Gunners is Lille sensation Gabriel after they beat Napoli, Everton, and Manchester United to his signature.
Adding him puts manager Mikel Arteta well on the way to signing a whole new spine for the FA Cup winners.
Such an overhaul was needed given some of the club’s struggles last term that almost saw them miss out on European football, which could have had dire consequences.
Instead, a new deal for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is in the offing, Willian has arrived on a free transfer, and wonderkid William Saliba has joined up with his new teammates.
Willian has signed a three-year contract with Arsenal
Gabriel wants to leave Lille this summer
Outgoings are inevitable, a bloated defence is set to lose Sokratis Papastathopoulos at the very least with another exit likely too.
Matteo Guendouzi will be sold having been cast aside by Arteta following several moments of ill-discipline, culminating in him throttling Brighton ace Neal Maupay after a 2-1 loss to the Seagulls.
This sale should also allow another signing with Dani Ceballos possibly returning to the club after a successful loan spell.
But how will the Gunners look now they have managed to get Gabriel, who Total Football Analysis have compared to Kalidou Koulibaly? talkSPORT.com takes a look.
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How Arsenal could look with Gabriel, William Saliba and Willian
4-2-3-1
It seems Arteta is incredibly keen on using new signing Willian as a No.10, leaving us to assume this formation is the most likely for the Gunners.
That means just two centre-back slots available. Gabriel should take one, although given Arsenal will be competing in four competitions he will rotate with the likes of David Luiz, and William Saliba, while reports suggest Sokratis and Shkodran Mustafi could be sold to balance the books.
In this XI Saliba starts but there is a good chance he will be given time to adapt and may be first choice for cup competitions alone.
Mohamed Elneny, for the time being, would partner Granit Xhaka but Dani Ceballos could return, while Thomas Partey is still a target.
3-4-3
If we take the Gunners’ final formation of the season into consideration, along with the signing of Willian, we’ve got a pretty good idea of how they might look.
Gabriel would slot into a back-three alongside David Luiz and fellow newcomer Saliba.
Willian and Pepe would operate as wider No.10s behind Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who would move to a line-leading role.
Xhaka and Torreira are the steel to allow wing-backs Kieran Tierney and Hector Bellerin to get forward and support in wide areas.
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