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There’s a big shake-up coming in north London, with the rebuild under Unai Emery set to continue at pace at Arsenal in the summer.

Five new arrivals came through the door last year, with former head of recruitment Sven Mislintat leading the process with mixed success.

Gems such as Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira were brought in for a combined fee of just £30 million, while Sokratis has been a hit at centre-back.

The jury remains out on goalkeeper Bernd Leno, however, while Stephan Lichtsteiner has failed to make the grade following his free transfer move from Juventus.

Mislintat has now left the club just over a year from joining from Borussia Dortmund, with Arsenal hoping to close out a deal for a new technical director to help shape the club’s direction over the next few years.

Monchi, who worked with Emery at Sevilla, is the leading candidate and there is a belief within the Emirates that an agreement can be reached for Roma’s sporting director.

Should he come in, then he and Emery will look to repeat the success they enjoyed together at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium which saw the Andalusian outfit build a squad that won three successive Europa League titles.

And what this season has shown is that there is still a lot of work to do at Arsenal when it comes to reshaping a squad that is clearly well behind it’s rivals in the Premier League.

A number of new faces will arrive, with Ever Banega a possibility from Sevilla and the likes of Christopher Nkunku, Nicolas Pepe and Cristian Pavon targets. Denis Suarez could also complete a permanent move from Barcelona, should he impress during his loan spell.

Bringing in a new left-back is seen as a priority at the Emirates, with a new centre back and back-up goalkeeper also on the agenda.

But given the strict self-sustaining model that Arsenal work to and the limited transfer funds that will be available to them, the club will need to bring in extra cash to spend by moving players on.

We’ve seen a number of big names leave north London in the past couple of years such as Alexis Sanchez, Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, with that trend set to continue this summer.

There is an acceptance behind the scenes the things need freshening up, especially with talented youngsters like Reiss Nelson, Eddie Nketiah, Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka now knocking on the door.

So who is certain of their place in Emery's side come the opening day of the 2019/20 campaign? We take a look.

Goalkeepers

Bernd Leno hasn’t exactly taken the Premier League by storm during his first season in north London, but he will still be Arsenal’s first choice next season.

With Petr Cech retiring and David Ospina set for a permanent Napoli switch, a new keeper could well come in, with Burnley’s Nick Pope and Legia Warsaw’s Radoslaw Majeck potential targets - but it will be as back-up for Leno, rather than as his replacement.

It could even be that Emiliano Martinez, currently impressing on loan at Reading, returns in the summer and makes the step up to No.2.

Defenders

This is an area we could see a big shake-up this summer, with a new left-back and centre-back very much on the agenda.

Arsenal will look to move Shkodran Mustafi on to raise funds and although Laurent Koscielny has impressed following his return from injury, his age means that a replacement is required.

Sokratis is expected to keep his place next season but it could be that he has a two new faces alongside him in the back four.

Nacho Monreal has had his contract extended by another year but a return to Spain in the summer is not out of the equation while Sead Kolasinac is seen as a player who could bring in funds, despite his importance in terms of an attacking threat down the left.

Hector Bellerin, once he returns from injury, will continue at right-back while Rob Holding - also out injured - remains part of Arsenal’s long-terms plans.

Calum Chambers is due to return in the summer following his loan spell with Fulham but Arsenal will be open to cashing in on the English defender, should the right offer arrive.

Midfielders

In terms of central midfield, this could be the one area where we see little change for the 2019/20 season.

Despite reported interest from PSG, Matteo Guendouzi is seen as the future of this Arsenal team, as is the impressive Lucas Torreira.

Grant Xhaka’s long-term future is not so clear, especially after the emergence of both Guendouzi and Torreira, but the Switzerland international will more than likely remain for at least another season.

The attacking midfield positions are not so clear, however, with no-one currently in the Arsenal squad guaranteed a place in the XI next year.

Arsenal want to move Mesut Ozil on in the summer and bring in a new playmaker, with Banega or Nkunku a possibility, while bringing in at least one new wide player is seen as key to Emery in terms of how he wants to set his team up.

Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan currently occupy the two wide areas and while both are expected to remain at the Emirates, they may find themselves being used more as back-up options in the future - depending on who arrives.

There is an option to make Denis Suarez’s loan move from Barcelona permanent, but as it stands a decision on that remains far from clear.

Forwards

As popular a player as Alexandre Lacazette is, the French striker is another who could be moved on in the summer, depending on what offers may arrive.

Emery is not overly keen on pairing Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang together and the former has found himself either on the bench at times this season or being replaced during the second half.

At 27, Lacazette’s transfer value is high and it’s far more likely that he would be the man sold, should Arsenal decide to cash in on one of their two star strikers.

The loan players

Arsenal have a couple of youngsters out on loan who will certainly return to bolster the squad next season, but whether they can become regular starters remains to be seen.

Reiss Nelson could have a chance on the right of the attack, depending on who else might arrive in the summer, while Emile Smith Rowe is certainly part of Emery’s long term plans.

Conclusion

If everyone is full fit, only Leno, Sokratis, Bellerin, Guendouzi, Torreira and Aubameyang are the only guaranteed starters for Arsenal right now in 2019/20.

As for the rest of the current squad, it will depend on who comes in during the summer and what decisions Emery and the new sporting director make in terms of the direction they want to take things.

It’s been a dramatic period of change at the Emirates in the past year or so and that is only going to continue over the next 12 months.

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