FIVE-POINT PLAN

1 DEVELOP YOUNG PLAYERS

Arsenal drafted Freddie Ljungberg into the first-team coaching setup with an eye on better integrating the club’s talented academy crop. Promoting under-23 players into squad positions is a smart way to build on a budget. The Gunners needn’t spend on utility players if an academy product or two can help occupy those roles.

2 REST THE FIRST TEAM DURING THE EUROPA LEAGUE GROUP STAGE

Arsenal collapsed at the business end of the Premier League season, and one can only speculate whether picking strong line-ups in the Europa League group stage contributed to that. Many first-team players are now 30 or over and Emery needs to develop his young stars at the Emirates. Leading scorer Aubameyang played a total of 2,733 minutes last term, which is too many.

3 SPREAD THE GOALS AROUND THE SIDE

There is too heavy a reliance on Lacazette and Aubameyang. The list of top scorers after the strike pair last season makes for pretty depressing reading – Mkhitaryan 6, Ozil 5, Ramsey 4, Iwobi 3 – and Ramsey has departed. Arsenal need to up their end product from other areas of the pitch. If Emery can tighten up the defence, he might be able to squeeze another attacking midfielder into the Gunners’ starting XI.

4 PANIC OPPONENTS

Arsenal will have more chance of spreading goals around if they take more shots. They averaged 12.3 per game last season – fewer than all of their top-six rivals plus Leicester, Crystal Palace, Everton, Wolves and Southampton. They were also 12th in the league last season for dribbles per game, with eight. Arsenal don’t do enough to stress opposing defences.

5 GET CHINA ON THE LINE

In order to reinvest and rejuvenate the squad, the Gunners will first have to shift several of the ageing, underperforming players from the wage bill. Manoeuvring them out of the north London club might prove tricky, given their generous salaries. Hello, Chinese Super League. Who would you like...?