Arsenal Boss Arsene Wenger’s Key Decisions Ahead of 2016-17 Season

As Arsenal begin the 2016/17 season, there are still big question marks over how the team will be constructed. That’s partly because the club have yet to finish their transfer activity—as yet, it is still difficult to complete an assessment of the squad’s strength. 

When manager Arsene Wenger sits at his desk at Arsenal’s London Colney training ground, there will be three major questions reverberating around his mind.

In this piece, we look at the key issues facing the Gunners boss on the eve of the new campaign. 

1. What’s his best central-defensive partnership?

The foundation of any great team is a secure defence. Arsenal’s problem is that they start 2016/17 with real doubts over the reliability of their back line. 

Injuries have not helped. Wenger knew he was most likely going to have to do without Laurent Koscielny for the start of the season due to his participation in Euro 2016. However, he did not expect to be without both Per Mertesacker and Gabriel Paulista.

Mertesacker in particular was lined up to play a key role in the campaign’s opening fixtures. Having retired from international football with Germany two years ago, he ought to have been primed and ready to go at 2016/17’s kick-off.

Instead, both Mertesacker and Gabriel have picked up relatively serious injuries in innocuous incidents in pre-season friendlies. The former Werder Bremen man is anticipated to miss the first half of the season. The Brazilian’s problem is less serious, but he could still be absent for between six to eight weeks. 

Arsenal’s defensive problems have forced Wenger into the transfer market. It seems he has made Germany international Shkodran Mustafi his top target.

However, according to David Hytner of the Guardian, no deal is imminent: 

Arsenal remain in negotiations with Valencia over their No. 1 central defensive target, Shkodran Mustafi, but there was no sign of an imminent breakthrough on Thursday night.

The temperature had been turned up earlier in the day when Ali Bulut, who has a connection to Mustafi, said that the 24-year-old Germany international had agreed terms with Arsenal and all that remained to be done was for the clubs to resolve the transfer fee.

There is a quiet confidence at Arsenal that they will be able to get the deal for Mustafi over the line but it will not be in time for their Premier League season-opener at home to Liverpool on Sunday, in which Arsène Wenger faces a selection dilemma in central defence.

If Mustafi is signed, he will surely be installed as Koscielny’s regular partner for most of the season.

In some respects, it …

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