Goalkeepers.
Petr Cech has had a very good year and he will be back as Arsenal’s number one. David Ospina has been good most of the time (except against Olympiakos), but he will want to play fulltime somewhere else. Expect him to be sold this summer.
Wojciech Szczesny has had a decent season at Roma, but there are still tales of his smoking cigarettes and having a falling out with some Roma coaches. He can either come back as the backup or Arsenal will sell him as well.
Emiliano Martinez was on loan at Wolves and he was having a good season until he got hurt. Once he recovered he was unable to resume his place in the side. Some see him as the future keeper, but I’d be surprised to see him become the main backup next season. Perhaps he’ll go out on loan again.
Matt Macey and Ryan Huddart are young keepers who both need to go out on loan to get experience.
Right Backs.
Hector Bellerin has had an excellent season and has claimed the position as his own. He will be back next season.
Matthieu Debuchy had a poor season, lost the starting job and was sent on loan to Bordeaux, where he has spent most of the time injured. Look for Arsenal to sell him this summer.
Callum Chambers played a number of times as well, although the coaches see his future as a centre back. While useful to keep around, Arsenal should be in the market to buy another, although there are no youth players worth promoting.
Carl Jenkinson has acquired lots of experience for the past two seasons at West Ham, but he lost his starting place and has now picked up a nasty injury that will keep him out until October at the earliest. Arsenal may keep him on the squad when he recovers because they cannot loan him out right now.
Left Backs.
Nacho Monreal has been excellent this past season and has claimed this position as his own. He’ll be back next year.
Kieran Gibbs has lost this position and his form has been up and down. Lately, he has played quite well, but there have been rumours that Arsenal will sell him this summer. We’ve been linked with a young Leicester left back and with a Portuguese player, so it’s possible we might sell, but I suspect he may be back.
Centre Backs.
Laurent Koscielny has become one of the top defenders in the world, although he is still prone to making mistakes and lapses in concentration. He will be back.
Per Mertesacker appears to be on the way out. Maybe not out of the squad entirely, but out of the starting squad. He still reads the game well and his positional play is good, but his lack of pace is increasingly worrying. However, he is a positive force around the locker room and the team still needs backups.
Gabriel Paulista is a player who worries me. He is quick and strong, but is too aggressive and too emotional sometimes. There have been stories about his problems communicating as well. He could inherit Per’s position, but it is likely that Arsenal may buy a new centre back.
Callum Chambers can also play in the middle, but he had a couple of scary outings (and a couple of good ones too) and needs more time to improve.
Krystian Bielik and Julio Pleguezuelo are on the reserve team and may merit a look. Isaac Hayden spent the season at Hull and played well, but couldn’t hold down a regular starting position there. Hull were interested in buying him.
Holding Midfielders.
Francis Coquelin is the key player here, having taken over the job more than a year ago. He still makes poor decisions, such as his red card against Spurs, and his offensive play could be better.
Mikel Arteta should be released. He picked up three calf injuries and in the spring time he he has had a number of setbacks. He will probably retire and pursue a coaching career.
Matthieu Flamini probably never expected to play as much this season. Injuries to Coquelin and Arteta meant he was needed, but his best days are behind him. Expect Arsenal not to renew his contract this summer.
Arsenal will need to finally buy another holding midfielder, but this has been a priority for the last three seasons and they’ve never filled this need.
Midfielders.
Mesut Ozil has finally had the kind of season fans were envisioning when he first arrived. The priority with him needs to be a new contract.
Santi Cazorla was sensational for the first third of a season and his injury probably had the greatest effect on the team’s stability. He should be back, although every year the whispers and rumours from Spain grow louder.
Aaron Ramsey has not been happy out on the right, although Arsenal play better when he’s out there. Replacing Cazorla was not ideal as our midfield did not look efficient with him playing alongside Coquelin. Aaron is also becoming a liability injury wise as he has missed significant time from the squad the past three seasons with thigh and hamstring problems.
Jack Wilshere is becoming the new Abou Diaby. He has terrible luck with injuries and just needs to try and stay healthy. He’ll be back, but for how long.
Mohamed Elneny has done very well late in the season and maybe he can stake a claim for the starting role next season. He has good energy and is very efficient.
Tomas Rosicky will no longer be a Gunner next season. He has endured a miserable season and Arsenal have missed his energy and drive.
Arsenal will need to add at least one new player to the midfield next season. Perhaps one of them may emerge from their young players. Gedion Zezalem has had a decent loan spell at Rangers, although he hasn’t played as much lately and physically is still not that robust.
Jon Toral has had a good loan at Birmingham and looks to be a late bloomer. Dan Crowley was seen as a can’t miss prospect, but his loan spell at Barnsley ended mysteriously and he hasn’t been as prominent since.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles is young and robust and should get a look. The real interesting youngster to watch out for is the Nigerian youngster Kelechi Nwakali, who the Gunners signed in January. He has the reputation of being a formidable talent.
Wingers.
Alexis Sanchez is a key member of the Arsenal squad and the main task ahead is getting him to sign a contract extension. When he was injured and then lost form was the time Arsenal collapsed as a squad.
The real battle will be to see who lines up on the opposite flank to Sanchez. Wenger has tons of options right now.
Alex Iwobi has emerged from the youth ranks to add flair and creativity to the Arsenal squad at the end of the season. Iwobi can play several different positions and is looking as a possible starter next season.
Theo Walcott’s best position may be out on the wing, but there is intense competition and his defensive laziness is a liability.
Aaron Ramsey has been playing on the wing as well and he adds defensive stability, but is not a threat out wide, preferring to drift inside.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is also fast becoming a regular on the training room bench. Every time he looks set to establish himself as a starter, he gets hurt. Twice this last season it has happened to him. Rumours have been floating around that he might be leaving.
Joel Campbell has had a good season. He was not expected to feature much, but has been helped by injuries to many of the players listed above. I still have doubts that Wenger wants to keep him in the long run, so he could leave at the end of the year.
Jeff Reine-Adelaide has great potential we’re told. He’s featured for the reserves and has spent most of the year training with the first team. Perhaps he’ll be as good as Iwobi.
Serge Gnabry two seasons ago was a revelation. Now he’s becoming the player that time forgot. Serious injuries, a terrible loan at West Brom, and now he’s playing again for the reserves. Does Wenger still believe in him?
Wellington Silva spent the year on loan at Bolton where he gave glimpses of his trickery, but he’ll need more than that to make the first team squad.
Wenger thinks highly of Chris Willock, but he needs to put on some weight to have a chance. Samuel Chukwueze, another young Nigerian prodigy, was apparently signed and could also be a star of the future.
Strikers.
Olivier Giroud had an excellent first half of the season, but struggled to find regular form in the second half. His lack of mobility and problem of not being as clinical as he should are concerns. Will he be back? Probably, but if Arsenal bring in a big name he might be moved.
Theo Walcott has given glimpses of being able to play in the middle, but that’s not enough. One of his big problems is he’s too frail to play in the middle day in and day out. His future could be up for discussion.
Danny Welbeck has Theo’s speed and Olivier’s size. He was excellent after he returned from his injury and he might go into next season as the starter.
Chuba Akpom went out on loan with big hopes, but he was a big disappointment. He has an attitude problem and I can’t see him breaking into the squad right now.
Yaya Sanogo had a disastrous time on loan at Ajax. Then he was moved to Charlton, where he showed some promise until a nasty red card incident. Sanogo has potential, but I cannot see him breaking into the squad next season.
Verdict.
There could be a large turnover of players this summer. Rosicky, Arteta, and Flamini’s contracts expire and they should be gone. Ospina and Debuchy will be sold. Then we have the futures of Mertesacker, Gibbs, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Szczesny, and Campbell to consider.
What about Walcott? What about Giroud? If we bring in a big name up front, what becomes of them?
And the youngsters? Akpom, Gnabry, Crowley, Zelalem, Toral, Hayden, Sanogo, and Maitland-Niles cannot hang around forever. Some need to be cut loose, but some need to be promoted.
The big question is the future of Arsene Wenger. His presence at the club will effect the future of most of the squad mentioned. Anyone new would have a major impact on the future of the squad. It should be an interesting summer.