Five reasons for Arsenal to be optimistic heading into next season

5. The Arsenal squad is a united group

Last season was a nightmare in terms of who was in and who was out. At times it seemed like the team was filled with movable parts.

Arsenal began the campaign with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kieran Gibbs, Olivier Giroud, Mathieu Debuchy, Francis Coquelin, Theo Walcott and Alexis Sanchez all on the roster. By May all of them were gone.

Sanchez was the biggest loss in terms of what he brought to the squad. The Chilean had gone from the club’s most valuable player to its biggest problem. He refused to sign a new contract and had become a divisive force in the locker room. In the end he forced through a move to rivals Manchester United in the January transfer window.

While the Sanchez saga played out, Mesut Ozil was also holding off on signing a new contract. He eventually re-upped after the new year, but the uncertainty leading up to it caused a lot of worry inside the club.

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While the others were heading out the door, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan arrived in North London from Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United, respectively.

In their short time with Arsenal the pair impressed and gave disgruntled fans hope for the future.

The only major question hanging over the club heading in to this season concerns Aaron Ramsey. The midfielder has less than twelve months remaining on his current deal and negotiations are ongoing. The overall sentiment is that the Welshman will remain with the Gunners.

Arsenal head in to the season with a greater sense of team unity than they have had in quite a long time.

How do you think Arsenal will fare this season?