Arsenal: Season review and grades

Story of the Season: Arsenal finished in 4th place once again to secure a 16th consecutive Champions League participation and the prestige and money that comes with doing so. They did so not with the sumptuous football we are used to seeing from them, but with an added grit and determination matched with defensive security. They occasionally sparkled in to attacking life and gave out a few heavy beatings, but by and large it was this recently un-Arsenal like tenacity which saw them in to fourth. They made a decent start and finished strongly but their form in the middle of the season in the depths of winter cost them any involvement in the title race. It was a disappointing season in the domestic cups, going out of both competitions to lower league opponents despite fielding relatively strong teams. In the Champions League, they got out of the group before running in to the Bayern Munich buzz-saw in the last 16.

Major Signings

Santi Cazorla (Malaga, £15m) – Cazorla has been an outstanding signing and made my Team of the Season. He came in and started to fill the creative void left behind by Nasri and Fabregas in 2011 and also added goals. He didn’t take any time to settle in and in fact his debut season in England was better than Juan Mata or David Silvam, who both had outstanding second campaigns.

Grade: A+ Outstanding first season.

Lukas Podolski (Koln, £8m) – A mixed season for Podolski who found himself being substituted after 60-70 minutes of most games. He didn’t really make a position his own, struggling to impose himself up front and only occasionally flickering in to life on the left.

Grade: C Some encouraging signs but looks a decent squad player

Olivier Giroud (Montpellier, £12m) – Giroud was never going to be a like for like replacement for the departed Van Persie but he did offer a new physical dimension to Arsenal’s play. He tried hard for the team and threw himself in to chances in the box but his goals tally wasn’t great. An OK first season after a big step up in class.

Grade: B- He did what he does but isn’t going to win Arsenal the league.

Overall: Grade B- Aside from Cazorla most of the stellar performances came from established players.

The Good

Arsenal had a vastly improved defensive record this season. Only Manchester City conceded fewer goals than Arsenal and no team conceded fewer away goals, just 14. The key to this was the blossoming partnership of Mertesacker and Koscielny. Both have had their critics individually, but as a pairing they compliment each other so perfectly. The brawn and intelligence of Mertesacker and the physicality and fearlessness of Koscielny means they have the bases covered. Bacary Sagna had the odd dodgy moment but by and large was back to his solid best and the Gibbs/Monreal platoon on the left played well. The vastly improved Aaron Ramsey looks like a genuine defensive midfielder now and his tackling and intercepting stats compare with the best in that position. The performance of the defence is all the more surprising considering they still haven’t settled the goalkeeping issue, but it was a giant step forward.

The Bad

Lack of depth cost Arsenal in both cups and also meant that certain players were running on empty around Christmas when Arsenal flailed. The first eleven is strong and there are a few decent back ups but the likes of Gervinho, Arshavin, Chamakh, Denilson, Bendtner, Squillaci, Diaby, and even now Vermaelen, couldn’t be trusted to offer anything and were either farmed out or ignored. It meant that Arsenal had a core of about 15 players that in some iteration played every game. These were mostly signed for big money and have offered nothing, or not much in return. It explains why Arsenal can’t challenge for titles. They can’t rest key players even when they have nothing left. It is telling that Arsenal’s best form came after elimination from all the Cups because it went Wenger could play his best team every game as they were only playing once a week. He needs to sign starting calibre players to build the squad, not sign back ups.

Key Moment: Bayern Munich 0-2 Arsenal was the key moment. An away win at the Allianz, the only team to do so this year, against a full strength Bayern side was the first time that the Koscielny and Mertesacker partnership had been committed to. There was something different about Arsenal that night, a visible desire and willingness to fight that very nearly saw them put out the team that seem poised to take over the competition in years to come. It got them believing in themselves and no doubt in Wenger’s methods once more, coming just a few days after the loss away Tottenham that seemed to doom them to 5th. The belief surged back through the team and they overhauled a 7 point gap to overtake their rivals.

Star Man

Theo Walcott had by far his most productive season for Arsenal, returning 21 goals and 18 assists in all competitions. He achieved this playing either up front or on the right and seemed equally productive in either position. Even more impressively, he did this despite not starting a league game until the 10th of November. He then went on a tear for the remainder of the season, earning a new contract in process. He is showing signs of being able to consistently deliver for Arsenal and considering the circus that comes with him, he actually managed to go under the radar despite having by far his best year. Although not as subtle or probing as Cazorla, Walcott gives Arsenal a destructive and clinical edge.

What needs to be done in the summer: Arsenal apparently have up to £70m available for transfers this summer and it is a good one to have money because they will be facing competition from around Europe for a small group of players. Arsenal aren’t that far away from being able to compete for the title but they do have a few glaring weaknesses. They badly need to address the goalkeeping spot because none of the incumbents can win a league. There are plenty of keepers they can look at that would be an upgrade. They also need a world class striker. If they could get involved on the likes of Falcao, Cavani or even Rooney, it would help them a great deal. The wild card is the uncertain future of Cesc Fabregas. If Arsenal can persuade him to rejoin them, they have to sign the cheque.

Season Grade: B

It’s not all doom and gloom at Arsenal. Yes, they didn’t win anything and the manner of the cup exits was awful. However, given the minute squad and the lack of a world class player, they did well to overcome Spurs’ challenge and nearly finished ahead of Chelsea. The defensive improvement was really impressive, as was the general attitude of the team in the first and last couple of months of the year. It was just the horrible few months in winter that cost them. Plenty to build on but it has to be done correctly.