5 Arsenal players with a point to prove

The Gunners are on a roll with 9 wins in a row

After chastening defeats at the hands of Manchester City and Chelsea in the first two games of the season, many expected the Gunners would struggle as they did in the last two seasons under Arsene Wenger. However, the Gunners have been undefeated since notching up 9 straight wins in all competitions.

Unai Emery has revamped the Gunners’ style of play with the emphasis on playing out from the back. Although early days, Arsenal has found its mojo and are firmly in contention to finish in the top 4 after missing out on Champions League qualification for two seasons in a row.

The Gunners currently sit in the fourth place in the table and will be looking to secure a top-4 finish this season. The attacking players are brimming with confidence and scoring goals for fun while the usually leaky defence has been performing well of late.

With Unai Emery so close to finding out his best XI, here are the four players who need to step up and push for a starting berth.

#5. Sead Kolasinac

The big Bosnian left-back was signed as a free agent last summer after being voted in the Bundesliga team of the year owing to his scintillating displays for Schalke. He became a fan favourite after scoring the equalizer on his competitive debut for the Gunners in the Community Shield game vs Chelsea, which the Gunners went onto win on penalties.

After a positive start to the season, the Bosnian’s form tailed off due to injuries and the emergence of Ainsley Maitland-Niles. While the left-back is good at contributing to the attack with his overlapping runs, he is susceptible to making mistakes while playing in a back four. It was no surprise when Wenger decided to give Maitland-Niles a start instead of Kolasinac when sticking with four at the back.

The Bosnian has started just a single game so far against Qarabag and looked shaky defensively. With Monreal’s contract coming to an end and Maitland-Niles returning from injury, the ‘Tank’, as he popularly called, needs to step up and make the left-back role his own or else risk being shipped out.