Arsenal's biggest summer arrival this year will be one player - Jack Wilshere.
The diminutive Arsenal playmaker had a nightmare season last year, after being ruled out for the entire campaign due to an ankle problem. The stress fracture on his ankle took longer than expected to heal, something that Arsenal players in the past seem to suffer a lot from; Thomas Vermaelen's mysterious injury which kept him out for much of the 2010-11 season being the perfect example.
Wilshere at his best and fittest will be the best player on the pitch in most games and against most opponents. The fact that the 20-year-old was able to make such an impact in his first full season in the Arsenal first team shows just how highly talented he is. Wilshere's return to the Arsenal team, will almost feel like a new signing.
The loan move to Bolton helped the midfielder immensely to learn about the nitty-gritty's of the English Premier League. What Arsenal lacked immensely last season was a player to complement the excellent Mikel Arteta. While Thomas Rosicky and Aaron Ramsey showed good form, in patches, there was just no consistency in the Gunners' offense; forcing the Arsenal side to rely too much on Robin Van Persie to provide them with the goals.
While Wilshere is a player that is similar in style to Arteta, the Arsenal youth product can form a perfect partnership with his much more experienced Spanish team-mate.
Imagine a fluid system where Arteta and Wilshere can change places at will. While one sits back and sprays the passes around, the other makes the forward runs to get on the end of the quality service. Arsene Wenger can also rotate the two players in the starting XI, given the amount of games Arsenal play every season.
Be it a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1, Wilshere will be the one that makes or breaks Arsenal's season. Putting pressure on a 20-year-old, who is just coming from a long-term injury layoff, might seem a bit unfair. However, given Arsenal's record in the last seven years, what they have been lacking is a true passionate leader on and off the field; both of which Wilshere is duly capable of achieving.
In most likelihood, barring a Wayne Rooney-esque U-turn, Van Persie will leave the Emirates. That will put the onus on experienced players like Vermaelen, Arteta and Rosicky to lead the charge.
However, Arsenal and their fans might be more prone to be inspired by their British core. The likes of Manchester United and Chelsea have enjoyed much success over the past few years, by putting their faith in the local players.
Frank Lampard, John Terry and Ashley Cole - even though his education started at Arsenal - for Chelsea and Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney for Manchester United have shown their club the way forward.
So putting trust in the likes of Wilshere, Ramsey, Kieran Gibbs, and Theo Walcott might be what Wenger needs to do, as they try to banish seven years of pain.
All that hinges on one player though. If Wilshere comes back to his best form, right from the off, Arsenal will have little to worry. An experienced strikeforce ahead of him and, preferably another defensive midfielder to reduce the burden for Alex Song, behind him coupled with the ever-encouraging defensive partnership of Vermaelen and Lauren Koscielny, Arsenal might just have a redeeming season ahead of them.
