Arsenal have become the perennial paradox for football writers. At one and the same moment they are eminently predictable but inevitably spend a lot of the time seemingly undermining all of those who espouse their predictability.

I also suspect that Arsenal are a god-send to a writer leaving their season preview to the last moment, as one could almost definitely copy/paste a preview written in any of the last 5 or so years and it would stand the test of time today.

Another off-season has passed and still the question mark remains over the ‘spine’ of the team – in both metaphorical senses of the word.

Central defence and midfield remain the biggest weaknesses, with the only remedy there an 18 year old who won’t even be playing for them next season and a departing Laurent Koscielny seems to take with him the last, most recent hope of a convincing solution.

It must be a complicated business to one’s thoughts as an Arsenal fan, as for so long the critique of the club was the perceived lack of ambition in the Transfer window. But going back to the signing of Ozil, through to Xhaka, Lacazette, Aubameyang and now Pepe, it is impossible to deny the backing that has gone into the attacking contingent.

But yet it feels that we are destined to conduct an end-of-season review where we will praise patches of great promise, extoll moments that throwback to when Arsenal were the kings of entertainment but ultimately reflect on a season of ‘what could have been’.

Ceiling – 2nd

Floor – 8th