2019/20 Premier League preview - Arsenal: Can Nicolas Pepe inspire return to top four?

Richard Jolly runs the rule over Arsenal ahead of the new season, including key player, new signing to watch and predicted league finish

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's goals will be vital to Arsenal's hopes of a successful season. EPA

Arsenal’s summer of discontent began with a shocking second-half performance in the Europa League final, condemning them to the second-tier continental competition again.

Since then, captain Laurent Koscielny has gone on strike, offers for Wilfried Zaha and Kieran Tierney have been laughed off and fans' groups have united to complain about Stan Kroenke's ownership.

Yet when Arsenal looked weaker, shorn of Aaron Ramsey, needing to bolster a defence that conceded 51 goals and with new signing William Saliba only arriving next summer, they then launched a club-record bid for the prolific Nicolas Pepe which proved successful on Thursday. It offers optimism, but the issue of Mesut Ozil remains for a club who aim to return to the top four but could drop out of the top six.

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Who finishes where in 2019-20?

20. Sheffield United. Chris Wilder, pictured, has achieved a great deal in getting the Blades up, but staying in the top flight could be a task too far. PA Photo

19. Brighton & Hove Albion. Graham Potter, pictured, faces a tough ask after taking over as manager from Chris Hughton. Getty

18. Newcastle United. A tough set of opening home fixtures could be difficult for Steve Bruce, pictured, and his side to recover from. Getty

17. Norwich City. They need to tighten up defensively but the goals of Teemu Pukki, pictured, can keep them up. Getty

16. Aston Villa. Jack Grealish, pictured, will have a key role to play in Villa's survival hopes. Getty

15. Burnley. Sean Dyche's, pictured, team to have a steadier time of things after last season's early struggles. Reuters

14. Bournemouth. Eddie Howe's side to maintain their attacking ethos though they will help Lloyd Kelly, pictured, can help shore things up at the other end. Getty

13. Crystal Palace. Once again will be dependent on the goals of Wilfried Zaha, pictured. Reuters

12. Watford. Concerns over a leaky defence but the quality of Gerard Deulofeu, pictured, should leave them in mid-table. AP Photo

11. Southampton. Stability should come the Saints way under manager Ralph Hasenhuttl, pictured. PA Photo

10. Wolverhampton Wanderers. Balancing Europa League with domestic games may prove tough. Will look to more fine form from captain Conor Coady, pictured. Getty

9. West Ham United. Should be another solid season with the hope Felipe Anderson, pictured, can kick on. Getty

8. Everton. Bringing in Moise Kean, pictured, is a coup and should help Marco Silva's side continue to progress. Getty

7. Leicester City. Signing Youri Tielemans, pictured, permanently will boost Leicester's hopes of a real push at the top six. Reuters

6. Arsenal. Unai Emery will hope the record signing of Nicolas Pepe and the goals of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, pictured, can push them closer to the top four. EPA

5. Chelsea. New manager Frank Lampard needs big things from Christian Pulisic, pictured, if they are to excel. Reuters

4. Manchester United. Signings such as Aaron Wan-Bissaka, pictured, will tighten things up and should get United back in top four. Getty

3. Tottenham Hotspur. Third place again for Spurs, though more is needed from Dele Alli, pictured. Getty

2. Liverpool. Mohamed Salah, pictured, will be pivotal again but Jurgen Klopp's men to finish behind City again. AFP

1. Manchester City. Hard to see beyond another title success for Pep Guardiola's, pictured, side. Getty

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Key player: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

It says something about Aubameyang’s standards that Alexandre Lacazette won Arsenal’s player-of-the-year award while he topped 30 goals for the fourth consecutive season. It is taken for granted. He is Arsenal’s trump card, an elite-level player in an undistinguished side, but if Emery uses him as a winger, as he has done in pre-season, will it make Aubameyang less potent?

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The best summer transfers so far

Alex Iwobi was one of the late movers on transfer deadline day in the Premier League as he joined Everton from Arsenal. EPA

Romelu Lukaku has completed his move from Manchester United to Inter Milan, signing a five-year contract with the Italian club. AP Photo

Harry Maguire - Manchester United paid a record £80 million for a defender when they signed him from Leicester City on Monday. EPA

Ryan Sessegnon has joined Tottenham from Fulham on a five-year deal. EPA

Kieran Tierney has joined Arsenal from Scottish champions Celtic. Press Association

Arsenal have broken their transfer record to sign Nicolas Pepe for £72 million (Dh320.1m) from Lille. AP Photo

Moise Kean - Juventus striker is set for a move to the Premier League with Everton for a reported £30 million. Getty Images

Patrick Cutrone - AC Milan striker has joined Premier League side Wolves for a fee of around £16 million. Getty Images

Idrissa Gueye - Senegalese midfielder left Everton to join French champions Paris Saint-Germain for a fee in the region of €32 million. EPA

Nicolas Pepe - Ivorian forward is set to complete a move to Arsenal from Lille for a club record €80 million. AFP

Mats Hummels - German World Cup winner rejoined Bourissa Dortmund for ₤33 million after three years at Bayern Munich. AFP

Harvey Elliott - the England youth international is the youngest debutant in Premier League history after playing for Fulham against Wolves in May at the age of 16 years and 30 days. Signed for Liverpool for an undisclosed fee. Reuters

Thomas Vermaelen - Belgian defender joined the growing band of ex-Barcelona players to sign for J-League club Vissel Kobe. AFP

William Saliba - French defender, 18, has joined Arsenal from Saint Etienne for £27 million. He will spend the 2019/20 season back on loan at the French club. AFP

Filipe Luis - left-back ended a nine-year stay at Atletico Madrid across two spells when he signed for Brazlian club Flamengo. EPA

Daniele De Rossi - Roma midfielder declined the offer to retire a one-club man by joining Argentine giants Boca Juniors as a free agent. AFP

Joao Felix - after a breakout season at Benfica, the Portuguese striker, 19, joined Atletico Madrid for a club record €120m. AFP

Merih Demiral - Turkish defender, right, joined Juventus from Serie A side Sassuolo for €18 million. AFP

Ravel Morrison - troubled former England Uner 21 international joined the promoted Sheffield United on a free transfer from Swedish club Ostersund. AFP

Joelinton - Brazilian became Steve Bruce's first signing as Newcastle manager, joining from German club Hoffenhem for £40 million. Reuters

Vincent Janssen - Dutch striker ended a miserable three year spell at Tottenham Hotspur by signing for Mexico's Monterrey for £6.3 million. AFP

Marcos Llorente - Spanish midfielder moved across town to join Atletico Madrid from rivals Real for a fee of €30 million. EPA

Nabil Fekir - France international joined Spanish club Real Betis for £17.7 million from Lyon. AFP

Trezeguet - seen here to Mohamed Salah's right, will join his fellow Egyptian in the Premier League after moving to Aston Villa from Turkish side Kasimpasa for a reported £8.75 million. EPA

Felipe Almeida - Brazilian centre-back, 30, has considerable shoes to fill replacing Atletico Madrid legend Diego Godin at Atletico Madrid. EPA

Antoine Griezmann - French forward angered Atletico Madrid by, they claim, agreeing a move to Barcelona in March while also allowing his buyout clause to reduce in value. AFP

Eden Hazard - Became Real Madrid's record transfer after moving from Chelsea for £130 million. USA Today

Hiroki Abe - Japanese forward, 20, transferred from Kashima Antlers to Barcelona for reported fee of €2 million. EPA

Aaron Wan-Bissaka - England Under 21 defender joined Manchester United from Crystal Palace for a fee that could rise to £50 million. AP Photo

Takefusa Kubo - midfielder, 18, dubbed the "Japanese Messi", joined Real Madrid Castilla in June on a five-year deal. AFP

Rodri - Spanish midfielder became Manchester City's record signing after joining from Atletico Madrid for £63 million. AFP

Matthijs De Ligt - widely regarded as one of the best young defenders in world football. Juventus saw off stiff competition for the 19-year-old Netherlands international's signature, securing him from Ajax for £67.5million. AFP

Fabian Delph - England midfielder, left, joined Premier League rivals Everton for an initial £8.5 million. Reuters

Ayoze Perez - Spanish forward left Newcastle United to join fellow Premier League club Leicester City for £30 million. Reuters

Jack Clarke - winger signed for Tottenham Hotspur for £8.5 million but was immediately loaned back to Leeds United. PA

Youri Tielemans - after a hugely successful loan spell for the second half of the 2018/19 campaign, the Belgium midfielder, 22, made the move from Monaco permanent this summer, with the Foxes shelling out a reported £40 million. Reuters

Andre Gomes - Portuguese switched permanently to Everton for the 2019/20 season after the Toffees paid Barcelona £22 million for the midfielder. EPA

Frenkie de Jong - the Dutch playmaker signed a pre-contract agreement in January to move to Barcelona for €75 million on July 1. AFP

Gianluigi Buffon - Italian goalkeeper rejoined Juventus, the club where he had previously spent 17 years, on a free transfer at the age of 41 having spent one season at Paris Saint-Germain. AFP

Aaron Ramsey - joined Italian champions Juventus on a free transfer after 10 years at Arsenal. AFP

Tanguy Ndombele - Tottenham broke their transfer record to sign the French midfielder, 22, from Lyon for £63 million. EPA

Kieran Trippier - England right-back was part of the Tottenham team that reached the 2019 Champions League final. Joined Atletico Madrid for £20 million. AFP

Rodrygo - Brazilian winger has likened himself to Ronaldo and Robinho. Joined Real Madrid for £40m from Santos after two clubs agreed he would stay with the Brazilian club for an extra season. USA Today

Daniel James - Welsh winger, 21, became Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's first signing at Manchester United since being appointed full-time manager. Scored six goals in 39 appearances for Swansea City in 2018/19. PA

Eder Militao - Brazil defender was part of the influx of new Real Madrid signings this summer, joining from Porto for £45 million. AFP

Luka Jovic - Serbian striker was one of the most prolific marksmen in Europe in 2018/19, banging in 27 goals in 48 appearances in all competitions. Moved to the Bernabeu from Eintracht Frankfurt for fee in the region of €60 million. AFP

Ander Herrera - Spanish midfielder joined French champions Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer after contract with Manchester United expired. AFP

Adrien Rabiot - another high-profile free recruit. French midfielder, 24, fell out with former club Paris Saint-Germain. AFP

Joao Cancelo has made the move to Manchester City from Juventus, with Danilo going the other way. EPA

David Luiz has left Chelsea for Arsenal in a £8m deal. EPA

Ismaila Sarr has left Rennes for Watford. Reuters

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Signing to watch: Dani Ceballos

Borrowing the Real Madrid midfielder brought a boost in a frustrating summer in the transfer market. A regular for Spain, he brings quality, especially as a passer, and could complement Lucas Torreira and Granit Xhaka, though he is unlikely to replicate the goalscoring return of the departed Ramsey.

Talking point: Can Emery fix Arsenal’s away form?

It appeared he had early on last season. Yet seven defeats on their travels after the middle of December revived suggestions that Arsenal can be a soft touch, and the reality they kept a solitary clean sheet, against a Watford team who played 79 minutes with 10 men, highlights concerns they do not possess the combination of organisation and resolve required to pass the tougher tests.

Arsenal have ranked in the top three for home form in each of the last three seasons. It is their record on the road that keeps costing them Uefa Champions League football.

Prediction: 6th