Season preview

Arsenal will play their first league game there against Aston Villa on Saturday, although there is a danger of the occasion being overshadowed not only by Martin O’Neill’s return to English football but also by Ashley Cole’s expected departure for Chelsea and the England full back’s soon-to-be published autobiography. All of which may not bother Wenger as much as the catalogue of injuries to his defence. Gaë l Clichy, Lauren and Philippe Senderos have been ruled out until October, although the £20 million-plus Arsenal are likely to receive from the sale of Cole would at least allow the manager to bring in reinforcements, which are now required as a matter of urgency.

Wenger may have splashed out £8.1 million on Tomas Rosicky, the Czech Republic midfield player, from Borussia Dortmund, but his biggest coup of the summer was undoubtedly tying Thierry Henry to a new four-year deal amid sustained interest from Barcelona, who beat Arsenal in the Champions League final.

Henry’s importance to Arsenal cannot be underestimated, especially now that Dennis Bergkamp has retired, although Wenger will hope that Robin van Persie, impressive for Holland in the World Cup finals, and Emmanuel Adebayor, the Togo forward, can help to ease the France striker’s burden, if not José Antonio Reyes, who seems likely to leave the club.

It will also be interesting to see if and how Wenger uses Theo Walcott. It was apparently upon the recommendation of Wenger that Sven-Göran Eriksson opted to take the 17-year-old to Germany at the expense of Jermain Defoe or Darren Bent, even though he had yet to play for Arsenal. Having waited in vain for him to come off the substitutes’ bench in the World Cup, it will be fascinating to see how Walcott fares in the Premiership.

Henry is confident of challenging for honours, but while it is difficult to imagine them eclipsing Chelsea, or even Manchester United or Liverpool, as Paris proved, Arsenal have a habit of sticking around until the very end.

Manager Arsène Wenger became the 19th manager in Arsenal’s history in September 1996, and the 20th will not arrive until well beyond The Professor’s 10th anniversary in charge. Ultimately, vice-chairman David Dein envisages a place on the board for the man who ‘has transformed the club’

Player to watch Cesc Fabregas was a revelation in the centre of midfield last season when he stepped into the void left by Patrick Vieira’s departure to Juventus. The Spanish international dictates the pace and rhythm of Arsenal’s attacks. Even at 19 and with Thierry Henry in the team, he could be his side’s most influential player this season

In an ideal world A better Premiership position than last season’s fourth and another run to the final of the Champions League. Wenger’s youthful squad have considerable experience and could even show the consistency to challenge Chelsea

INJURIES AND SUSPENSIONS Gaël Clichy (metatarsal, two months), Abou Diaby (ankle, two months), Lauren (knee, two months), Fredrik Ljungberg (ankle, two weeks), Philippe Senderos (shoulder, two months)

PRE-SEASON

Almost flawless, an 8-1 victory over Schwadorf being one of the highlights, although injuries, especially to his defence, have dampened Arsène Wenger’s optimism somewhat



TICKET SALES

42,000 season tickets have been snapped up for their new Emirates Stadium at Ashburton Grove and the first game against Aston Villa is a 60,000 sell-out

If they were a historical figure they would be ... Maximilien Robespierre

In a state of French revolution. Likely to lose their heads at the first sign of pressure