Arsenal's Potential Lineup for the 2012-13 Season

With the 2011-12 season having come to a close, and the transfer window waiting to open, this will be a very interesting period for Arsenal. The main priority for Arsenal right now is Robin van Persie's contract. Many offers are being prepared for the super Dutchman such as Manchester City, Juventus, Real Madrid and Anzhi Makhachkala.

Van Persie's decision to leave or stay could greatly impact Arsenal's season.

There are also quite a few other players suspected to take of their Arsenal jerseys over the transfer window. Some of these players include Denilson, Sebastian Squillaci and Niklas Bendtner.

But there are also a few players that could be putting on Arsenal jerseys next season. Lukas Podolski is already guaranteed to be playing in Arsenal colors, but other players such as Yann M'Villa or Junior Hoilett could be joining.

So with that in mind, I will present a prediction for next season's main lineup.

Goalkeeper: Wojciech Szczesny

There isn't any other goalkeeper who has managed to play as well as this Polish man right here. Wojciech Szczesny had a good 11-12 season, demonstrating some fantastic acrobatic saves, of which some were penalties. One of his great penalty saves was against Udinese in the Champions League qualifier early in the 11-12 season, the other in Arsenal's second meeting with Liverpool. Szczesny had a magnificent penalty save against Dirk Kuyts, and after the save, Kuyt had another shot, which Szczesny saved again.

No other keeper on Arsenal can do what Szczesny does. 

Right Back: Bacary Sagna

Bacary Sagna is one of Arsenal's solid defenders who can add an attacking edge to Arsenal's offense. He has had to guard some of the best wingers in the game.

One of the games that he did particularly well in was in Arsenal's second meeting against Tottenham this season. It was a thrilling 5-2 victory for the gunners in which Arsenal's attack flourished. In fact, Sagna scored one of the goals. It was a great cross from one of his teammates, and Sagna's powerful header couldn't be stopped by Friedel. This is just one example of Sagna's great abilities. 

He can also cross the ball on occasion. In fact, it was Sagna who assisted Robin van Persie's equalizing goal against Liverpool in the teams' second meeting. This is what one would want from an attacking defender.

Center Back: Laurent Koscielny

This was a tough decision because Per Mertesacker is also a contender for this position. They are both good defenders, but Per Mertesacker had an injury earlier in the season that kept him out until the end of the season. With Koscielny playing consistent football, it is less risky to have him playing immediately than have Mertesacker. With Mertesacker recovering from his injury, he won't be playing the way he usually would. Koscielny is playing well at the moment, so it would be logical to play him instead of Mertesacker.  

Center Back: Thomas Vermaelen

Thomas Vermaelen is an obvious pick for the other center back position. The choice for center back would have to be made between Mertesacker and Koscielny. Apart from Koscielny, Mertesacker and Vermaelen, no other defender is really suited to start at the center back position. It wouldn't be beneficial to Arsenal to start Djourou or Squillaci over Vermaelen, Koscielny or Mertesacker.

Despite all of this, Vermaelen is still a great defender, and he is a threat in the air (he scored a goal from the header above). He has proven to be key in matches time and again for Arsenal. He has made a few mistakes here and there, but he is still one of Arsenal's most important players.  

Left Back: Kieran Gibbs

This was another tough decision because Kieran Gibbs and Andre Santos are two very similar players. They both like to join the attack on the left flank; however, neither are great defenders. Santos has proven that he can score; he scored an equalizing goal against Chelsea in the 5-3 victory and an equalizing goal against Norwich. Kieran Gibbs hasn't scored as much as Santos, but Gibbs has been the better defender between the two of them. 

One is a slightly better attacker, the other is a better defender, but with this being a defensive position, Gibbs would be the more ideal choice.

Holding Midfielder: Alex Song

This was another obvious choice for next season's lineup. Alex Song is one of Arsenal's crucial players. He is a great defender, and sometimes he has even had to come back to play as a central defender. It is not his preferred position, but he can play it well. He is a physical guy, sometimes getting yellow cards, but, he is helpful no matter what.

He is arguably Arsenal's strongest player.

This season especially, Song's passing skills have been noticed. He assisted one of the goals of the season, Robin van Persie's volley against Everton. That was not the only goal that Song assisted. He also assisted van Persie's second goal against Liverpool and van Persie's first goal against Norwich.

Much more can be expected from Song in the coming season. 

Holding Midfielder: Yann M'Vila

Yann M'Vila is one of the players who has been linked to Arsenal. The midfielder at Rennes is a highly rated one. Bacary Sagna has been reported to have said, on the Mirror, that the midfielder could greatly impact Arsenal and that the gunners could be title contenders in the coming season. He mentioned that with Podolski already coming in, another player with quality would do nothing but good for Arsenal. 

He has been one of Rennes' key players, and if he moved to Arsenal, he would have a similar effect.

With Wilshere in the process of recovering from his injury, he won't be playing to the best of his ability, so Yann would be the right starting choice if he comes to Arsenal.

He is only 21 at the moment, so he has a big future ahead of him. 

Right Wing: Theo Walcott

The 2011-12 season might have been Walcott's best season yet. He has been able to score on quite a few occasions, and he has managed to assist teammates in many games as well.

Theo is a fast winger with a lot of pace who can breeze past defenders with the snap of one's fingers. Once he sees the green grass ahead of him, no one can stop him. As a result of this, many goals have been scored by him, and by others.

One of the players Theo has assisted the most this season is Robin van Persie. In Arsenal's first meeting with Norwich, Theo assisted van Persie with one of his goals, speeding past a defender and sending in a low cross. In Arsenal's 7-1 thrashing of Blackburn, Theo assisted van Persie twice.

Theo can only be expected to play even better in the coming season—and with more consistency as well.

Left Wing: Lukas Podolski

Lukas Podolski has already confirmed that he will be leaving Cologne to come to Arsenal, so he is a done deal. Lukas has played in quite a few positions over the course of his career: He has played in a central attacking role and on the left wing as well. 

But, at Arsenal, there are already a great deal of midfielders who could fit in the central attacking role, such as Arteta, Rosicky or Ramsey. For the wing however, there is Walcott for the right side, Gervinho who can play on both sides and Chamberlain who can play on both sides as well. 

With this, Podolski will probably be left with the left wing. 

Lukas Podolski should do fine in this position in the coming season.

Center Attacking Midfielder: Mikel Arteta

Mikel Arteta was one of Arsenal's key players last season, scoring pivotal goals and making some great passes. One of the great goals he scored in the past season was a winner against Manchester City in the 87th minute. It was from a distance that Joe Hart just couldn't reach. 

He is also a good free kick taker, scoring a nice free kick against Aston Villa in Arsenal's 3-0 victory. Apart from him, Robin van Persie is the only other player who can whip in good free kicks.

With this, Arteta is the right guy to start in this position in the coming season.

Striker: Robin Van Persie

There have been many clubs linked with Arsenal's star Dutchman: Manchester City, Anzhi Machachkala, Real Madrid and Juventus. They are all willing to offer Arsenal a lot of money for the forward. 

Despite all of hype surrounding a move for van Persie, I believe he will stay at Arsenal. Arsène Wenger reportedly told FoxSoccer that he is confident van Persie will play in the Premiere League, and that he is very confident van Persie will be playing in red and white. 

However, this does not mean that van Persie's future at Arsenal is 100%. But, if the club's manager hints at his confidence of van Persie's future, then the chance of van Persie staying could be better. 

Now, one just has to wait and see what happens; if van Persie stays, then this forward position will be filled. If he leaves, Podolski might be moved to striker, or Arsenal will have to look into the transfer market for a replacement.

Substitutes

The substitutes would consist of players such as Tomas Roskciy, Gervinho, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Andre Santos, Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere(due to injury), Per Mertesacker(due to injury), Fabianski, Francis Coquelin, Carl Jenksinson and a few more. 

There are some players, though, who's future at Arsenal isn't certain: Niklas Bendtner, Denilson, Sebastian Squillaci and Marouane Chamack. Arsenal might be seeing some new faces as a result of a possible cleanup of the closet.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the lineup predicted for the coming season is quite similar to the lineup of the past season. The players on the starting lineup are the ones who have played consistently well for a big part of the season. 

However, this starting lineup could change if a player's performance suddenly stoops, or if an injury occurs. Over the course of the past season, players like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain or Tomas Rosicky got to start matches because they excelled their performances while others didn't step up to the task as well. There were also the injuries of Gervinho and Arteta in the later part of the season which forced Wenger to play them. 

In addition, players like Lukas Podolski and Yann M'Vila might not be the only new ones to appear in the Arsenal lineup. M'Vila's position at Arsenal isn't confirmed yet, so this lineup could change based on that as well. 

There are many factors that could come into place in deciding next seasons' lineup for Arsenal, but based on last season and some transfer news, this is the lineup that could be expected for the coming season.