Uncertain future for new-look Arsenal

LONDON, Aug 10 (Reuters) Arsenal begin their new era at the Emirates Stadium against Aston Villa next week with a reshuffled side that has everything to prove in the Premier league this season.

Just two years after Arsenal became the first team since the 1880s to have an unbeaten league campaign, the 2004 champions were lucky to snatch fourth place from arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur on the final day of last season.

Eleven defeats, twice as many as Liverpool, Manchester United and champions Chelsea above them, underlined the difficulties faced by Arsene Wenger in managing a season of transition on and off the pitch.

They have since lost three more members of the 2004 'Invincibles' -- with Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires and Sol Campbell leaving north London for retirement, Villarreal and Portsmouth respectively.

England defender Ashley Cole could be the next to go after Jose Mourinho's Chelsea made clear their interest in signing the talented left back after off-loading Asier Del Horno.

Despite the haggling over a fee, such interest has to be taken seriously after Cole, Mourinho and Chelsea were fined by the Premier League last year over an illegal approach for the player.

Unsettled Spanish forward Jose Antonio Reyes, in whom Arsenal have invested some 17 million pounds (32.43 million dollars) and a great deal of hope since his January 2004 move, could also be on the way out after Real Madrid's overtures.

MIXED PROSPECTS With only one signing so far, Czech attacking midfielder Tomas Rosicky, Arsenal's prospects clearly look mixed.

They do not look bleak, however.

Aside from the lift of the 60,000 crowds they can now expect at their new home, the four-year contract signed by Thierry Henry means the club's most prolific scorer will be staying on.

Henry, the Premier League's top marksman in four of the last five seasons, will again be the focal point of an Arsenal attack that could still do with another top quality striker.

Central midfielder Cesc Fabregas, this season with the number 4 shirt once worn by Patrick Vieira, is the new fulcrum of the team with his superb passing and eye for goal.

The Spaniard's double strike in this week's 3-0 Champions League qualifying win at Dinamo Zagreb suggests he will get forward more this season -- to deadly effect.

At the back, Johan Djourou looked very promising as one of a trio of Ivory Coast-born defenders in Zagreb alongside Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue.

With Robin van Persie also looking sharp, scoring one and making another in Croatia, Arsenal have grounds for cautious optimism. Last season was hardly a write-off, notably with their run to the Champions League final against Barcelona.

But it will take all of Wenger's experience, and probably a helping hand from the transfer market, for them to be in the trophy hunt at the business end of the season.

REUTERS MQA BS0822