Perry Groves on all things Arsenal, the Premier League and Colchester

“All the managers are not happy about the travelling, I’m sure Arsene [Wenger] was happy to get back. The competition in the Emirates Cup was strong but it’s difficult to gauge these games as foreign teams don’t take friendlies as seriously as we do.

“For me it was interesting to see how we’d set up and it’s clear that Arsene is continuing to adopt the 3-4-2-1 formation. I think this is the right formation for us moving forward. With the three centre halves, it gives you more solidity and balance. Oxlade-Chamberlain has proved that he can play either wing-back position and I was incredibly impressed with Sead Kolasinac, he’s strong but also versatile, he can play as a left centre-back as well.

“If you go on the performances of last season, Oxlade-Chamberlain should start over [Hector] Bellerin. The position switch has essentially increased his value as he’s got an added role. He’s devastating down the wing but also improving on his defensive duties.”

“He has a lot of natural talent and a great attitude but it’s taken him a while to find his best position. Now he sees himself as a first-team player, so there’s an expectation to start more games. He likes playing the wing-back role because he can run from deep, has fantastic stamina and when he’s in that final third, he has the quality of a winger. There are very few players in the Premier League who have his assets and ability.”

“Arsenal proved with their fourth, fifth or sixth choices in the FA Cup final they can deal with absences at the back. Per Mertesacker, Rob Holding and [Nacho] Monreal or Kolasinac can deal with the situation short-term but then [Shkodran] Mustafi and Koscielny will be back in the fold. I do think Arsenal need another centre-half and another top-quality midfielder to help defensively.”

“Wingers are notoriously inconsistent so it’s important he continues to add minutes and consistency to his game. He needs to continue to dominate in 1 v 1 situations but the most important thing he needs to work on is his final ball. As a former winger myself, you’re only as good as your final decision. If you look at Oxlade-Chamberlain, he’s matured and developed in that respect.

“He needs to move out on loan and get real game experience, not Under-21 games. Jack Wilshere was a great example of this when he went to Bolton. I would like to see Reiss go somewhere that plays a similar style to Arsenal, such as MK Dons – who have a nice reputation of playing a good brand of football. He could play as a wide forward in a 4-3-3 or more centrally in a 3-4-2-1 but it needs to be a natural position for him and not a forced one.”

“I think it’s been a successful transfer window. We’ve bought a proven goalscorer in [Alexandre] Lacazette who, with the team we have, should be getting at least 20-25 goals this season. He looks strong on the ball, with good link up play, but is most lethal inside the six-yard box, which we’ve missed for a long time. It will take him a while to settle in, with new team-mates, but he looks physically capable of succeeding. Kolasinac is a beast, very strong and creates a lot of chances as we saw in the Emirates Cup.

“There’s no doubt there’s still work to be done, we need another two players at least – both first-team players. I think the most under-rated signing this summer was adding Jens Lehmann to the coaching staff. He’s got a no-nonsense character, he’s a winner and will certainly give the team a kick if they need it.”

“I’ve been a massive fan of Steven N’Zonzi. I think he could do a real job in the centre of that midfield for us, adding the steel he did at Stoke and Blackburn. He’s a destroyer.

“I think the [Thomas] Lemar deal will get done, it’s coming down to how much. I’d like to think we’re in the position that if they want £45million, then we go and pay it and send the right message to the player that we want you. As mentioned, I still think we’re two or three players away from winning the title.”

“I think Calum Chambers, Kieran Gibbs and Mathieu Debuchy will all leave this window, they need first-team football. I think Jack Wilshere will stay at the club but it’s essential he gets himself 100% fit before he kicks a ball. He’s the one player we need to give a chance, even if he’s on the bench for a while and takes his chance when it appears. He needs to change his game and stop going into 50-50 challenges, take the 70-30/80-20 challenges. He needs to make sure he protects his body. He can play the holding midfield role as he has an excellent range of passing but I’m not convinced he’s still got the speed to take players on like he could. He needs to watch videos of Paul Scholes.

“Theo needs to work out what he wants. The question is whether he’s going to get first-team football. I would keep him because he’s versatile, he can play wide or centrally. Unless he comes and says he wants to leave, we need to keep him as he offers something in the final 20-30 minutes that very few players can offer – pace and finishing.”

“I think the problem in the past is that squad players are paid very well at Arsenal, who probably pay more for squad players than most. It’s ultimately down to the player, does he want first-team football or not. If he does, then he’ll take the lower wages, if he’s comfortable sitting on the bench and cashing in on the high wages, then he’ll do that – you can’t have it both ways. It’s important for players to understand that careers are short and you don’t get those half-seasons back, so you need to play as much as possible.”

“I wouldn’t sell either player. If Alexis wants £350k a week, then give it to him. I would keep them both until January and see where the club is then. If we’re challenging for the title, then risk keeping them. You don’t need to worry about Alexis’ attitude on pitch, he doesn’t know any other way than to fight. Arsene’s comments on players playing for new contracts is right in a way, as players will be thinking about making their respective national teams ahead of the World Cup next summer.

“I have a gut feeling Mesut is signing a new deal. He loves London, he likes being one of the main players and I don’t think he’ll be indulged as much at other clubs as he is at Arsenal. He needs to turn up in the big games more, like he did against Chelsea in the FA Cup final. When he’s on form, there is no more graceful player in the Premier League than Mesut Ozil.”

“I think it comes down to what other clubs are looking for. Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and Spurs probably don’t need Ozil as he doesn’t suit their style of play. It’s nothing to do with Ozil’s quality, it’s more to do with the other teams style of play. When Arsenal lose the ball, he doesn’t contribute as much as other players would.

“He’s not a luxury player if he’s providing assists, scoring goals and creating chances, especially in the big games. If you’re contributing and having an effect on the game, you’re not a luxury player. If you’re not, then you become a luxury player. Ozil has created more chances than any other player in Europe over the last five seasons but he needs to up his consistency. I draw comparisons with Anders Limpar, he was the x-factor that could turn a game on its head and then had an off season.”

“Alexis Sanchez. He works so hard that he’s not really a luxury player. The quality is very similar between the two players but the difference is that when Alexis has a bad game, he’s still fighting and trying to win possession back. When Ozil has a bad game, he can disappear completely. Alexis’ enthusiasm rubs off on every player, he transcends your team and makes other players fight harder.”

“It all depends on how the Premier League season pans out. At the beginning of last season, Jose Mourinho probably thought he had a chance at the league and then when their challenge petered out, because they drew too many games, he knew the focus would be on the Europa League.

“I think Arsene will rest of a few players in the early stages of the competition but won’t be taking a similar stance to the EFL Cup. Call me old school, I love a trophy – you should win everything you can. I don’t care what anyone says, I’d rather win the FA Cup three out of the last four years than finish third or fourth, we’re in this profession to win titles. Your club is built on the tradition that comes with winning titles and having success, not for almost challenging or finishing in the Champions League places.

“Yes, because you’re winning another cup competition and you’ll still be in the Champions League. Whereas if you challenge you could fall on the last game of the season and not win anything. We had a better season than Spurs last season because we won something. The main question for Spurs still lingers, can they get over the line and win a trophy? The fact they challenged last season has done nothing to eradicate that question. I’d rather win trophies than challenge. You can’t take that day away against Chelsea, the fans celebrated like they’d won the World Cup. Those days live long in the memory.

“The die-hard away fans will be going to different cities, playing different teams – it’s more exciting than going to the same places, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, only to get beat time and time again. I think the fans will embrace that competition.”

“It’s a testimonial game. I don’t take that much from it but it’s important not to get hammered as we did against Chelsea in China. I’d take losing against Chelsea and then winning against Leicester on the first day of the season.”

“We should be picking up at least seven [points], with six at a minimum. Pre-season matters for nothing if you lose your first game of the season. Stoke aren’t the strong physical side they once were so I’d be confident picking up six points from the first two games but the Liverpool game will be a big test.”

“It has to be Mauricio Pochettino, as much as he wouldn’t admit it publicly. They’ve kept their best players. If you’d have said to Daniel Levy and Poch at the end of last season that the only player they’d lose this season is a full-back for £50million, they’d have done the conga! To improve, they still need to keep adding and they haven’t done this. They need a centre-forward desperately because they can’t keep relying on Harry Kane. They need to replace Kyle Walker with the Champions League now beckoning. They still have to get themselves over the line and they had two great opportunities to do it. They may have missed their chance if they don’t improve their first team.

“If it was Arsene Wenger finishing second last season and then not signing anyone, he would be getting slated by the fans and media. Everyone loves Pochettino because, quite rightly, he’s done really well but if it was Arsene in that position, he’d be slaughtered.”

“I hope so but I don’t think so. However, if I was a Spurs fan, or Pochettino for that matter, I would have begged Daniel Levy to postpone the stadium move for one more year. If they were playing at White Hart Lane, they could win the title but at Wembley, they’re playing 19 cup finals. There will still be 70-80% of players in the Premier League who have never played at Wembley, it won’t be 19 home games, it will be 19 events.

“You saw the problems West Ham had moving into the new stadium. If they don’t win anything next year then Dele Alli and Harry Kane go to the World Cup with team-mates on far more money and having better seasons and thinking to themselves, why don’t we move for titles and more money.”

“I’ve previously asked whether the terminology can be changed from best coaches in the world to best ‘buyers-of-players’ in the world. I think there are two scenarios. Jose Mourinho proved he was an excellent coach at Porto and built on that reputation with Inter Milan and Chelsea – he is a very astute tactician. The jury is out for Guardiola. At Barcelona he had 7/8 of the best players in the world, including a once-in-a-generation-type player. He had the same at Bayern Munich. This is the first time in his career where he doesn’t have the best players in the world and he has to coach them to be better.

“In the Bundesliga and LaLiga, his teams could play at 60-70% and still walk games. He cannot do this in the Premier League. He is so focused on possession and using his keeper and defenders as ball players but in the Premier League they don’t get time to dictate like they do in the other leagues.

“I think he bought Ederson because the kid has an anvil in his boot. He can launch the ball 60-70 yards if needed. I’m not convinced with City at the back, they need another centre-back. There’s no point having flying wing-backs who leave centre-backs, who are suspect, exposed.

“This is the most important season in Pep Guardiola’s career. He has to adapt more. If you look at the Monaco game in the Champions League, he could have gone into the second leg and drawn 0-0 and gone through but he played five attackers and they got picked off. If Arsene Wenger had done that he would have been slated. He could have a legacy that is crushed to the ground is he fails to perform this season.”

“If you compare Pochettino to Guardiola, he’s made the team better and the players he has better. Guardiola doesn’t make them better, he tries to get them to do things they can’t do and then replaces them with big-money buys who can.”

“I think those names mentioned will score 20+ goals this season but if I had to pick, I think United got the best deal. Lukaku is only 24, he gets better with every season he plays and has proven Premier League experience compared to the other two. He’s playing with better players and will have more goalscoring opportunities.

“The knock against him has been that he can’t do it in the big games but to be honest, with no disrespect to Everton, in the big games they had less of the ball and less opportunities for Lukaku. Now he’s playing for a big club, he’ll score in more big games because United will win more big games. If United win the league, £75m is nothing.”

“I think it’s going to be Everton. They have improved under Ronald Koeman and they’re a threat to break into the top four. There’s a mentality shift at Everton now. They’ve brought in [Davy] Klaassen, [Jordan] Pickford, [Wayne] Rooney, Sandro [Ramirez], [Michael] Keane – it’s a complete overhaul to join the likes of exciting young players such as Tom Davies, [Ademola] Lookman and Idrissa Gueye, who was one of the most under-rated players last season in midfield – it’s a good team.”

“I’d absolutely love him at Arsenal. I’m a massive Ross Barkley fan and think he could be perfect for us. He’s got something that other players don’t have. If you can get Barkley for £25million, that’s a no-brainer. He could play behind Lacazette or alongside [Granit] Xhaka – I’d love to have him.

“At this stage of his career, the money should not be the driving force. He wants to test himself and needs to do so at a club like Arsenal to earn the right to demand such money. I think he’ll end up at Spurs or Chelsea, which would be a real shame as he’s entering the peak stage of his career. Too many people look at the negative aspects to Ross’ game rather than what he can do.”

“I think it’s between Chelsea and Manchester United for the Premier League this season. I have no idea why Chelsea have let [Nemanja] Matic go to United as it will strengthen their spine. Chelsea have made excellent signings – a midfield duo of [Tiemoue] Bakayoko and [N’Golo] Kante could be exceptional.

“Because of Wembley, I think Spurs will be the ones who suffer and drop out of the top four.”

“There’s a bit of transition at Colchester at the moment. The loss of Chris Porter up top will have a massive effect. They’ve taken a young lad, Mikael Mandron, from Wigan who is a big, imposing centre-forward so I’m excited to see what he can do. Robbie Cowling places a lot of emphasis on the youth set-up and they have a state-of-the-art facility at Florence Park. Ryan Jackson is at right-back. They had horrendous injuries last season. In John McGreal, they’ve got a good manager and they should get into the play-offs next season.

“Luke Prosser was vitally missed last season. It’s a young team that needs some experienced heads to compete and the return of Prosser will help bring that experience back in, he’ll be a new signing. You’ve also got Tom Eastman who has come up through the ranks and Sam Walker, who is one of the best goalkeepers in League Two.

“I have no idea how he’s not been poached by a bigger club. The fans who I speak to love seeing players from the academy come through and push on in the first team. As long as the team gives its all, the fans will take some technical deficiencies – they want 100% commitment and heart in every game.”

“There were rumours of Dexter Blackstock coming to the club, which were dismissed by Robbie Cowling as ‘fake news’, and he’d do great, but I know the club has a strict wage structure and I’m not sure he’d fit in that with the pay package he’d like. Robbie is very honest but to dismiss it means that it’s not happening.”