So, yesterday I looked at the keepers and defence and sent them home to get their report cards signed by their parents otherwise they’d get 100 lines (I must not do that thing I do which makes us concede goals”).
Today it’s time to look at the middle and top end of the pitch and see how they got on. Starting with:
Midfielders
Mikel Arteta: A signing we should have made a couple of seasons ago, in my opinion, but one we had to make last summer. Comparisons with Fabregas were understandable but off the mark. He had more creative freedom at Everton but modified his game with us. He was metronomic in midfield, he made us tick and until West Brom on Sunday we didn’t win a league game without him. Chipped in with some important goals and made himself a crucial part of our midfield from his first game. I think I love him. A
Alex Song: After the Norwich game there was much discussion in the pub about him and I think it was Gunnerblog who nailed it – he’s not a defensive midfielder, he’s just our most defensive midfielder. Some of his passing this season was sublime, the assists for van Persie, the one for Henry against Leeds and others highlighted the creative part of his game and his talent there. But in other areas he frustrates as we’ve discussed in recent weeks. Still, the positives outweighed the negatives but I wish he’d stop trying to cuddle the opposition in the tunnel before games. B
Aaron Ramsey: When Cesc left it was Ramsey to whom the manager turned to fill the very large gap the former skipper left, and I’m not sure it was one of Arsene’s best decisions. His first full season after being Shawcrossed and the pressure on him to perform in a struggling team seemed to weigh him down as the season went on. That said, I saw enough from him to be encouraged for next season. I know he doesn’t convince everyone but I just have a feeling this will be a campaign which will stand him in good stead and I think he’ll be better next year. D
Tomas Rosicky: Looked to be having another average season until something sparked in February and we saw the Rosicky we always thought we were getting. Energetic, sparky and a big, big part of that seven game winning streak. His pressing and non-stop movement played a huge role in those wins and he finally looked like a player who was enjoying his football. Provided one of the quotes of the season with his ‘In football years I’m 29’ and should be a valuable squad member, if not an automatic starter, next season. B-
Yossi Benayoun: It clearly took some time for him to convince the manager that he was right for the team and strangely sat on the bench most of the time when we went through that poor run in January and the cup defeats in Milan and Sunderland. But in big games, particularly against Sp*rs and Man City at home, was picked to do a job and did it well. Enjoyed a fine end to the season, scoring goals which turned out to be very important, and all in all added something to the team. I don’t see us trying to make it permanent, but as loan signings go this was very effective. B-
Francis Coquelin: Mr Versatile. Not out of choice but because he had to be. Right back, left back, midfield, he did it, and I think showed that he’s got a bright future ahead of him if he continues to work hard. Notable that it was 3-1 at Old Trafford when Arsene pulled our Coq off and we all know what happened after that. Encouraging. C+
Emmanuel Frimpong: I was going to say he didn’t play enough for us to get a mark but checked and he made 14 appearances before going on loan to Wolves where he picked up another serious knee injury. There’s something about him, for sure, which may have more to do with his character than his footballing ability, but it’s up to him to prove it’s the other way around. You don’t want to curb somebody’s natural enthusiasm for the game (and it’s clear he loves the club and thinks like a fan which endears him to many, me included), but you suspect somebody needs to have a word to ensure his focus remains fully on his footballing career. Everything else should wait until afterwards. D
Abou Diaby: Definitely didn’t play enough to warrant a mark for his performances, but ignoring him for that seems a bit silly. I have huge sympathy for him because of his injuries. His ankle is in very bad shape and doesn’t seem to be improving despite countless rests and surgeries. We may have to make a difficult decision this summer, especially in the era of the 25 man squad rule, and whatever you might say about a player picking up £X thousand a week, it’s sad to see one of our players kicked and fouled to the point where he can barely play a few minutes of football in an entire season. But that should be the basis on which his future is decided, not sympathy.
Forwards:
Robin van Persie: What more can you say? His goalscoring record was phenomenal and he did it game after game after game. Deservedly the winner of all the individual awards on offer this season, yet he’ll be only too aware – like us – that this is a team game and his team were nowhere near winning anything. Finishing third gives us a good platform to keep him and keep him we must. Whatever he wants, give it to him. A+
Theo Walcott: Provider of the other quote of the season where he talked about having consistency ‘in patches’. There’s no doubt he’s got a connection with Robin and on his day is exciting, direct and effective. Which is what makes the other days, when he’s quite the opposite, so frustrating. His stats look good, but our eyes tell us he can do better. The posturing over a new contract seems a little off to me as well, but I guess that’s the nature of the modern game. Like others, can and should do better. C
Gervinho: One of the big summer signing and he started quite brightly, scoring some goals, making some important assists (the one for van Persie in Udinese for example), but as the season went on his effectiveness dwindled and he looked more and more lightweight. Still has a lot to prove, in my opinion, and was ultimately a disappointment. D-
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: The other big summer signing showed exactly why Arsene paid all that money for him but also why he eased him into the team. He’s got so much to learn about the game and you can’t help but love the way he plays, the way he’ll shoot from distance, take people on and so forth. I think frustration with other players saw people demand more from him than he was able to give at this early stage of his career and I’m not sure it was helpful. However, he’s going away with England for the Euros and can only benefit from that (once he stays away from John Terry). C+
Marouane Chamakh and Ju Young Park: If the injury many of us feared had robbed us of Robin van Persie for a few weeks or months, I shudder to think where this season would have ended up. Both of them look utterly pointless as Arsenal players and I just cannot see a future for either of them. Chamakh’s career started so well but since Robin started scoring has responded to that challenge by almost giving up, while the whole Park situation will surely go down as one of our most bizarre transfer deals of all time. Time to say goodbye to both. F
Andrei Arshavin: I have to say I questioned the loan deal to Zenit at the time, simply because it was unprecedented to lose a ‘name’ player at that stage of the season (we had just lost at San Siro and the Stadium of Light). But sadly all Arshavin was at that stage was a name. The mercurial talent was long lost beneath a pudgy belly and an unwillingness to work for the team. He should have been a star, he ended up a black hole from which nothing good could escape. E
Thierry Henry: I don’t want to grade Thierry because what he did and what happened is just something we should enjoy without analysis. Shame the idiots at the Dubious Goals Committee took the Blackburn goal away from him, but it was a cameo to be savoured, not rated.
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And that’s about that then. Overall I think there are plenty of encouraging signs and things we can be positive about, without ignoring certain areas of the team should definitely be improved this summer. We can see that efforts are already being made, bringing in Podolski already gives us a better option that Chamakh, Park and Gervinho but if we really want to challenge next season we have to do more.
It means plenty of work this summer for Arsene, Ivan and Dick Law and Order, but that’s why they get paid the big bucks. Over to you chaps.
And I’ll be back tomorrow with an Arsecast of some kind. Till then.
