It could end up being more than the four Arsenal players who went furthest in the Euro 2016 tournament that Arsene Wenger will have to do without when the Gunners kick off the next Premier League title challenge against Liverpool at the Emirates stadium on August 14th.
There is still a question over the ankle problem picked up by Alexis Sanchez in the Copa America final and Arsenal fans know only too well that injury problems can rear their ugly head at any time between now and then. I also think that there is a good chance that Aaron Ramsey could be ready for that first EPL game but going on the assumption that he will not play and nor will Mesut Ozil, Kosielny and Giroud then the boss has four very big gaps to fill.
Hopefully Arsenal will have signed a top quality striker by then and so the Giroud position will be filled but if not, or if the player we sign is also not ready then we have to look at the current options. Is Walcott the obvious choice in what is likely to be an open game where his pace and movement will be be a huge advantage?
Perhaps Wenger will turn to one of the fringe players like Campbell or even Chuba Akpom, depending on how they perform in pre-season. There is even an outside chance that Yaya Sanogo will get the chance to resurrect his career as he is the forward we have that is most like Giroud.
The defensive pick is fairly easy as I expect Mertesacker and Gabrioel to start as they have done quite a few times in the past but the midfield is the big problem. Both Ozil and Ramsey out means that the midfield will be much changed and I expect Liverpool to come out flying in their first full season under Klopp so energy is very important.
Arsenal are also losing a lot of guile and creativity and will need to find a way to replace that if we are to take all three points so it is a balancing act for the boss. How do you think Arsenal should line up without the four Euro 2016 stars?
Bob.