Hello everyone.
Tomorrow I continue the assessment of how well individual players did this season. And we are moving on to midfielders:
Mathieu Flamini. I've seen a lot of eyebrows raised over this signing back in August, but now but it seems everyone views the Frenchman as a true DM. His ability to shore things up is amazing, as is his his attitude. You can be sure, that if some injustice happened to an Arsenal player, Mathieu will be the first to stand up. There were a lot of cynical fouls from the Frenchman (some of these I rather liked), he's missed quite a few games through suspension (still had an almighty 27 appearances in the league), but his influence was such, that at times we bemoaned his absence from the starting line-up.
Jack Wilshere. Surprisingly, featured less, than Flamini. His season was once again disrupted by injures, but the Englishman will be remembered for his wonder-strike against Norwich. Overally, though, Wilshere was inconsistent in his performances. Sometimes he was the hero (Marseille), sometimes the games have flown him by (Man City). Hope Jack won't get knackered during the World Cup and improves next season.
Mikel Arteta. Unlike Jack, our de-facto captain was the definition of consistency. Started whenever he was fit and played for 120 minutes both in the semifinal and the final itself. The highlight of the season was, of course, his converted penalty against Everton, which the Spaniard had to retake. Also, scored his spot-kick against Wigan during the shoot-out. It's unclear, whether Arteta will stay, but fingers crossed he will. His metronomic passing and overall attitude will be hard to replace.
Aaron Ramsey. Splendid. 14 out of 10. Simply great. The presence of the Welshman at the start of the campaign was what lifted us to the top. With Ozil still settling, Cazorla not at his best due to Confederations Cup and Podolski and the Ox out injured, Ramsey made the difference, scoring and scoring and scoring again. At one point, he was much better output-wise than Giroud, and the Frenchman started the season in flying colours. The Welsh Jesus also helped the defence out, something that resulted in our most brilliant run in years. Then Aaron got knackered and our title bid faded. And then he returned again and scored at least twice, both times against Hull and both were crucial goals. Despite injury keeping him out for three months, I'm positive he'll be voted Player of the Season on the official site.
Thomas Rosicky. The Czech played so great a part, that he managed to bag around 25 appearances by mid-January and was immediately offered an extension. But not the one-year-long-same-terms one. His deal will run for three more years, and his salary will also be substantially increased. This is all the result of his performances, the drive and desire he brings to the team. At times, Thomas seems as devoted to our cause, as invested in the team, that I get the feeling he'll stay with us long after his career as a footballer is over. Best moment of the season? Cup goal against Spurs. It encapsulated everything good about his style of play, the drive, the energy, the desire and, on top of all that, great technique on the ball. His celebration can only be matched with Walcott's 2-0 gesture.
Santi Cazorla. The little Spaniard had a quieter second season, something that may be down to him not having a proper pre-season. However, he stepped his game up in January and kept his foot on the gas till the very end. Scored some good goals along the way, his brace against Fulham and a brilliant I'm-not-losing-this free-kick in the final are the definite high points. Santi also slotted home the decisive penalty against Wigan. Talk about winning mentality.
Mesut Özil. Our star acquisition had a somewhat tame first season, but, then again, who didn't? It always takes time to get used to a new league, so my blood boils, when people suggest he's "nicking a living at the Emirates". The German chipped in with 7 goals and 14 assists and was invaluable in carrying out quick transitions from defence to attack, making it so much easier for us to play on the counter effectively. My only worries about him are that Mesut wasn't able to impose himself in big games, while I also didn't like the way he takes penalties. The first is manageable, he will learn, and as for the second, we have plenty of other capable takers. We should just accept that penalties isn't his thing and move on.
Kim Kallstrom/Abou Diaby. These guys haven't played a lot. Abou only appeared once (against Norwich), so it's fair play to say his contribution was non-existent, while Kallstrom featured a bit more. The Swede even started once (against West Ham, when he played a full game), but his output was minimal due to the fact, that he arrived at London Colney injured. This injury kept him out for a month and then, suddenly, Ramsey was back and we didn't need reinforcements anymore. Kim will return to Spartak, but we still should contemplate bringing in a replacement. Just to be a bit better off number-wise.
Serge Gnabry/Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Just like the previous two, didn't play much, though the reasons were different. Gnabry is still raw, despite catching the eye with at least two quality performances (Stoke and Tottenham), while the Ox was injured for almost the entire campaign. Showed glimpses of his talent in January and February, scoring against Liverpool and Crystal Palace (twice), but, just as he has convinced the manager to deploy him week in, week out, got knackered again. I sincerely hope he will be able to deliver on his promise next season. Same goes for Gnabry, by the way.
That's it for today, I'll be back on Thursday to assess how well our strikers did.
Until then
Until then
