Richard Buxton: Emery gives Gunners a reason to feel optimistic

An empire did not fall when Arsenal's purgatory under Arsene Wenger finally ended.

The "Invincibles" era had long been reduced to wreck and ruin by the time its uncompromising architect chose to bow out on his own terms, more than several years past due.

Manchester United's lack of contingency in the wake of Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement left them at the mercy of an earthquake.

Over at the Emirates Stadium, precautions to avoid a disaster have been taken, allowing new boss Unai Emery to enjoy a near-perfect footing on which to begin his tenure.

Even before Wenger intimated his plans to step aside in late April, moves were already afoot on a clear succession plan with the arrivals of Sven Mislintat and Raul Sanllehi midway through last season, ensuring a belated devolution of power beyond the Gunners' dugout.

Mislintat's ability to unearth rising stars like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ousmane Dembele and Shinji Kagawa earned him the nickname of "Diamond Eye" at Borussia Dortmund, while Sanllehi held a role as Barcelona's director of football for the best part of a decade.

Perennial question marks have been met with answers in the transfer market.

Already, there has been a greater cohesion in Arsenal's business since the turn of the year, with key signings intertwining with the removal of deadwood from Wenger's era.

In midfield, Lucas Torreira is set to provide a competent barrier which has rarely been forthcoming in Granit Xhaka's perennial bouts of rashness over the previous two campaigns.

Bernd Leno, similarly, will offer a stiff challenge to Petr Cech, who had shown signs of decline.

A notoriously porous defence has been aided by formidable additions in the form of Sokratis Papastathopoulos and the experienced Stephan Lichtsteiner, the latter arriving on a free transfer.

The departure of Jack Wilshere, Santi Cazorla and Theo Walcott also ensures that Emery inherits not only a squad with modest expectations but also one with a promising future.

Aubameyang's flying start to life in the English Premier League, with 10 goals in his first 14 matches, augurs well, as does Emery's ability to manage domestic and Europa League commitments, following three successive triumphs with Sevilla from 2014 to 2016.

By the end, Wenger had completely lost his way, not even producing a top-four finish or an FA Cup triumph.

His side finished 12 points adrift of the Champions League qualification places, conceded 51 goals - a club record in the EPL era - and failed to win a solitary away game in 2018 until a last hurrah against Huddersfield Town on the final day of the previous season.

When faced with such statistics, Emery could be forgiven for being lulled into a false sense of security. But the challenge of improving on this low bar is still a daunting one.

An opening clash with champions Manchester City followed by successive London derbies, against Chelsea and West Ham, remains an intimidating start to their EPL campaign.

But Arsenal's post-Wenger existence is as experimental as it is experienced. The apathy and anger which Emery's predecessor withstood has given way to new-found optimism.

Now is the time to put those words into action.

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ARSENAL

Manager: Unai Emery

Last season's finish: 6th

Key player: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Transfers in: Bernd Leno (Bayer Leverkusen, £19.2m), Lucas Torriera (Sampdoria, £26.4m), Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Borussia Dortmund, £17.6m), Stephan Lichtsteiner (Juventus, free transfer), Matteo Guendouzi (Lorient, £8m)

Transfers out: Jack Wilshere (West Ham, free transfer), Santi Cazorla (Villarreal, free transfer), Per Mertesacker (retired)

SQUAD:

Goalkeepers: Bernd Leno, Petr Cech, David Ospina, Emiliano Martinez

Defenders: Hector Bellerin, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Laurent Koscielny, Rob Holding, Stephan Lichsteiner, Nacho Monreal, Shkodran Mustafi, Calum Chambers, Carl Jenkinson, Sead Kolasinac, Konstantinos Mavropanos

Midfielders: Mesut Oezil, Aaron Ramsey, Mohamed Elneny, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Lucas Torreira, Granit Xhaka, Matteo Guendouzi, Ainsley Maitland-Niles

Forwards: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Danny Welbeck, Alex Iwobi, Lucas Perez, Joel Campbell