In what’s now some kind of tradition, it’s time for the annual Arseblog squad assessment post. This time last year they were done in a kind of Twitter-ish style of around 140 characters, and I see no reason to change.
So, let’s get it underway, starting with:
Goalkeepers
Wojciech Szczesny: His season was tainted by the big scorelines away from home, but his overall improvement was overlooked by many. A season of progress. B+
Lukasz Fabianski: Enjoyed a successful and fruitful run in the FA Cup, will leave on a high with a medal and it’s great for him, but to me obviously the number 2. B
Emiliano Viviano: Adorned the bench well but probably won’t have enjoyed a season without any football. Still provided the comedy moment of the season – go to 19’20 here. N/G
Defenders
Bacary Sagna: I thought he might leave last summer, but had what’s likely to be a good final season with us, capped with a medal and trophy at long last. B
Carl Jenkinson: Didn’t play as much as he would have liked, but when he did was not found wanting. Got his first Gunners goal and he loved it. C
Per Mertesacker: His partnership with Laurent Koscielny is fantastic, and you can see from the way they celebrated at Wembley that they feel it too. Gets the club and the fans, now shares a place in my top 5 with puppies. B+
Laurent Koscielny: Still prone to the odd moment where things can go very wrong, but overall he’s just brilliant to watch and strikers must hate playing against him. B+
Thomas Vermaelen: Spent most of the season on the bench due to the form of the aforementioned and injuries. Did well when required though. C
Kieran Gibbs: A season of steady if unspectacular progress but really needs to fulfil an entire campaign without injury to really convince. B-
Nacho Monreal: Sometimes it’s hard to know how much of the left back’s struggles were down to a lack of protection ahead of him, but is now obviously second choice behind Gibbs. C
Midfielders
Mikel Arteta: While I understand people might want an upgrade in this area, I think the Spaniard has been somewhat scapegoated at times this season. Solid, reliable, and one of the manager’s most trusted lieutenants. B
Mathieu Flamini: Really added something to the squad after his arrival, that bite and aggression was invaluable at that time, but as the season went on became more and more a bit part player. C
Jack Wilshere: Another one who made progress, in my opinion. There was more end product in terms of goals and assists and 43 appearances for club and country in all competitions. Late season injury took the shine off, but after all his tribulations, he had a good year. B-
Aaron Ramsey: What you can you say? A player who made incredible progress to become one of the team’s most important players. So many goals, so much to admire, and a cup final winner on top of it all. #welshjesus A+
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: A season more or less ruined by injury but showed in that brief spell that if we can keep him fit, there’s the makings of a very good player there. C
Tomas Rosicky: Scored twice against Sp*rs, and two beautiful goals they were too. His role as a squad player is set in stone now, but an extension to his contract showed how much his experience and quality is appreciated. B-
Mesut Ozil: A lot was expected of the £42m man but it’s clear he found his first season in England a bit of a struggle at times. All the same topped the assist charts with 14 overall, created more chances than anyone else and weighed in with 7 goals. Will look to do better next time around though. B
Santi Cazorla: A man who has played a lot of football over the last 3-4 seasons without enough rest, and that showed at times, but 9 goals, 9 assists, a cup final belter made it a good season in the end. B
Forwards
Olivier Giroud: I think if you accept he’s a forward with limitations then it becomes easier to assess him. 22 goals and 11 assists is better than last season, but obviously came up short against the best opposition. I’d like another striker this summer, but I still see him as an important squad member next season. B
Lukas Podolski: His goals to minutes stats are off the charts practically, but there’s still the suspicion that games pass him by too easily. Could be a great weapon off the bench though. B-
Theo Walcott: Only made 18 appearances as his season was cut short just as he looked like he was about to get going. Hard to really judge his contribution, but got important goals away from home against Marseille and West Ham, and was interesting effective up front against Sp*rs in the game he got injured in. C+
Serge Gnabry: Had an interesting spell where he looked like he might be ready to really kick on, but failed to fully gain the trust of the manager before injury ruled him out. C-
Yaya Sanogo: As I said on the Arsecast, I don’t really understand what exactly it is he does, but certainly had an impact in the cup final. Yet to get off the mark, you feel he needs a loan somewhere next season. D
Nicklas Bendtner: It wasn’t an ideal situation for player or club, but that late winner against Cardiff was an important goal for us. He picked up an injury, tried to frot a taxi, and then spent the rest of the season on Instagram. D
Ryo Miyaichi: Sayonara. D-
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So there you go. Unlike previous seasons I don’t think there was anybody who really plumbed the depths in terms of their performances. A lot of solid Bs, but maybe a few more As sprinkled in there might have been the difference between a title challenge that faltered and one that went all the way. The job now is to add those As by getting more from the players we have, and using the transfer market to add the required quality and depth to do that too.
That’s obviously something we’ll hope to see the manager and his team work on during the summer, bearing in mind there’s a World Cup to kind of keep us going too. Anyway, no doubt there’ll be some discussion over these today, feel free to chip into the arses with your own assessment.
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Finally, if you didn’t see already the new book, ‘Together: the story of Arsenal’s unbeaten season‘, went on sale yesterday, and the response has been overwhelming. Thank you all so much for the support, it means a great deal.
You can order the limited edition hardback here, and it’s also available via iTunes, Kindle and I think it’s now live on the Google Play store (although it’s not ready for me – should be later today).
We’ll work on getting these packed and shipped as quickly as possible, but as it’s just me and Mrs Blogs of live blogging fame, it’s going to be hectic so please bear with us a bit. We’ll do our best to get them to you asap.
And a final reminder, if you’re in Dublin or close enough to make the trip, please feel free to join us in the Mercantile on Dame St this evening. It’s the home of the Dublin Arsenal Supporter’s Club who have been very kind to help arrange this, and the pub have said they’ll even provide a bit of finger food – so come along, get a book, have a pint and a snack, and shoot the Arsenal FA Cup winning breeze.
See you later, if not more here tomorrow as always.
ps – If you sent me an email over the weekend, I’m not ignoring them, just so busy I’m finding it hard to get to them! I’ll try and catch up as soon as things get a little less busy.
