Arsenal: Season so far - The Midfield

In my last article, I talked at length about Arsenal’s defence this season. In this piece, I’ll review the midfield and rate the Arsenal players plying their trade in the middle of the park.

In my opinion, reviewing the midfield performance is a tougher nut to crack compared to the defensive performance. One can always come up with stats for the number of clean sheets and goals conceded to make one’s point for the latter. Analyzing the former comes down to stats for possession, assists, crosses and ball retention , which are not entirely conclusive.

Arteta, Wilshere and Cazorla has been the preferred midfield trio in the 4-3-3 system that Wenger usually employs. Arteta being the deepest of the three and Cazorla being the closest to the opposition goal. Wilshere sits between the two and owing to his good ball control and excellent dribbling, is the most vital player in the team. His much awaited return has given a huge fillip to the team’s top 4 chances. Apart from the three, Ramsey, Diaby, Coquelin, Rosicky are the others who’ve been used this season.

The midfield has lacked some crispness, which was an important feature of the team in previous seasons. The fluidity is starting to become more apparent with every passing match, as players are starting to gel together better. Physically, the team is competing better and the players are not afraid to assert their physical strength.

Jack Wilshere 9/10

Wilshere, for one, sums up the physical side of the game perfectly. Never afraid to get into a tackle and showing tremendous energy and passion in every game. That is why I consider him one of the most ‘complete’ midfielders of this generation. The one thing everyone has noticed about Wilshere is his absolute hatred for his right foot. He won’t touch the ball with it. Not that he needs to though. All said and done, he didn’t come out the same player after his injury. He came out a better one.

Santi Cazorla 8/10

Cazorla epitomizes the modern Spanish midfielder. Tremendous skills and flair coupled with ambidextrous skills, which are among the very best in the world, he has been a gem of a buy for Arsenal. There were apprehensions about his supposed ‘home sickness’ when he was signed. But I think he has dealt well enough with that. He can take corners from either side, shoot with either foot and play centrally or as a wide man. All in all, a fantastic addition to the team. Most of his league goals have come away from home. An excellent stat for any player.

Mikel Arteta 7.5/10

Arteta was pivotal for Arsenal last season. So much that we hardly won a game without him. It has been pretty much the same this season. He sits neatly ahead of the defence and dictates the tempo of the game. One thing that has come to everyone’s notice is his exceptionally high passing accuracy this season. That has included a considerably higher proportion of back passes than before, but that is a different issue altogether.

Aaron Ramsey 6/10

Aaron Ramsey has had a mixed season at best. The Welshman has to be the most criticized player in the Arsenal first team. Some of the criticism is genuine and right but most of it is unacceptable. The only mistake that he commits is that he tries too hard at times. This, and the fact that he has been played out of position as a wide man so often this season works against him. Of late, he’s had some sort of a purple patch and is starting to look a better player. His best performances have come in the games where he played in the holding midfielder role, deputizing for Arteta. Fans need to understand that he’s still young and that the injury inflicted by Shawcross was a huge setback in his development. He’s got great potential and I firmly believe that he’ll only get better. Wenger does too. Keep calm and trust Wenger!

Abou Diaby 6.5/10

Blow a bit of air on him and he’ll snap. Such has been the life and times of the Frenchman that he has become the butt of all injury jokes. He would have been as good a box to box midfielder as Yaya Toure, if not a better one, had it not been for his injuries. The player has suffered a total of 34 injuries since breaking his ankle in 2006. I don’t know if that’s a record but it is extremely sad and unfortunate. He has excellent dribbling ability, great physical strength and a great eye for a pass. He can attack and defend with equal ease. I can go on about Diaby’s ability but I’ll stop here as this is a season review and not Diaby’s Got Talent.

Anyone asks me to rate Diaby’s performance this season, I tell him to watch the game against Liverpool at Anfield (o-2). Watch it once, watch it twice. Diaby was all that I advertised for above and more. Another thing that comes into mind is his assist for Giroud’s goal in the recent FA cup game. Only special players can do that. His latest return, however, has been slightly disappointing. In the little that we’ve seen of him, he’s lost his earlier confidence on the ball and looks like a player short of ideas.

Francis Coquelin 7/10

An excellent ball winning midfielder, his ability to win the ball is tremendous, as he has shown this season. ‘Le Coq’ has a huge future ahead at Arsenal.

Tomas Rosicky

Less than half a dozen appearances in all competitions this season. I choose not to give him a rating.