Arsenal fans will be desperate to put 2020 behind them.

The Gunners may have won the FA Cup under Mikel Arteta at the end of the 2019/20 campaign, but the Spaniard's first full season in charge has been an unmitigated disaster.

At the time of writing, Arsenal are 15th in the Premier League table, losing eight of their 14 games and with a goal difference of -6.

Arteta's side were also knocked out of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday evening, the north London side losing 4-1 to Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium.

Right now, things are really bleak at the club and the only positive to take from the loss to City was the return of Gabriel Martinelli.

Martinelli in action

The Brazilian teenager assisted Alexandre Lacazette's goal and was comfortably Arsenal's best player before he was taken off early in the second-half through injury.

Martinelli is not expected to be out for long and that's great news for Gunners fans, as he has a big role to play in saving the club's season.

The 19-year-old is undoubtedly part of Arsenal's best starting XI and his return last night got us thinking; what team should Arteta field in 2021 to get the north London side moving in the right direction?

Well, we've given our best shot at answering that very question, providing what we believe is the Gunners' best starting XI once key players have returned and are fit to play.

Arsenal's best starting XI for 2021

The Arsenal XI

Formation: 4-2-3-1

XI: Bernd Leno, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Calum Chambers, Gabriel Magalhaes, Kieran Tierney, Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka, Nicolas Pepe, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Rob Holding, Hector Bellerin, Dani Ceballos, Mohamed Elneny, Willian and Lacazette are simply not worthy of a spot in Arsenal's best XI.

Holding's omission is the harshest of the bunch, but Chambers, prior to his serious knee injury, was excelling as a right-sided centre-back under Arteta.

The former Southampton man always appears more comfortable on the ball than Holding and he's also a solid defender.

Chambers in action

Xhaka's inclusion in midfield will spark some debate, but at this moment in time, the left-footed Swiss international is the best partner for Partey once the Ghanian returns from injury.

Up top, we've been realistic and omitted Mesut Ozil from the central attacking midfield role in favour of Saka, the man who's been Arsenal's most creative player in 2020/21.

Like Xhaka, Pepe's inclusion is a slightly controversial one. However, the £72m signing from Lille is a goal threat and on his day, he's unplayable.

It's not an XI that's going set the world alight, but we feel confident that were Arteta to field our chosen team on a consistent basis in 2021, Arsenal would at least finish in the top half of the Premier League table.