End Of Season Review – Arsenal

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Another year and another football season comes to a close. In this series we will be asking fans to tell us how the 2016/17 season has gone from their perspective. Today we hear from Arsenal fan Dougie Cazorla

 

Overall verdict on the season, hit or miss?

 

 

Despite the trophy, this season was a miss. Most Arsenal fans, myself included, wanted nothing more than to see a sustained challenge for the league, even if it meant not being victorious in the end. We had the deepest, most talented squad of the last 8+ years coming off a season where we finished as runners up. We lost form earlier than usual (January) which meant prioritising the FA Cup and trying to push for Top 4.


Highlight of the season

 

The obvious highlight was the comprehensive FA Cup Final victory over Chelsea. It saw Arsenal field a disjointed side, full of injuries against a settled Chelsea squad that walked the league. Arsenal were able to express themselves in large part due to the re-instilled values provided by their 3-4-2-1 setup. This shift in tactical approach is the reason many Gooners have optimism going into next year.

A personal highlight of mine came in Arsenal’s 3-1 victory vs Stoke City on December 10th. Our local Syracuse Gooners branch hosted an annual Goonerfest party where nearby Rochester and Buffalo branches came to join in. We won this game in style and we all partied in a packed home pub. Cheers of “We are top of the league” rang out all day. It came in the midst of a long Arsenal unbeaten run and they ended the day top of the table. No one could have anticipated the run of poor form that was about to commence.

Lowlight

 

Losing to Watford at the Emirates at the end of January. It was the annual “kick in the balls” Arsenal receive from a poor side that makes you realise Arsenal won’t challenge for the title. It had been Swansea at home and Stoke away in the previous two seasons. This year it was a team with the likes of Cleverley and Capoue in the midfield. Arsenal are generally labeled as a team of “flat track bullies” because of their record against bottom half sides. We let Watford overrun us with physicality and they were deserved winners on the night.


Player of the Season

 

It’s impossible not to shout Alexis Sanchez here. 30 goals and 15 assists across all competitions. He was involved in 37% of Arsenal’s total goals. He was the one that could consistently provide that moment of clinical brilliance. In a team full of safe, tidy footballers, it was refreshing to see someone willing to take risks, attempt incisive passes, and work tirelessly on the pitch.

Most Improved Player

 

 

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain took a giant leap forward this season. While he only provided 6 goals and 8 assists across all competitions, he was deployed in 6 different positions and excelled in each. His dynamism and overall skill-set make his ceiling as high as any player at Arsenal. Defining his role and pinpointing his ideal position as a RWB or CM will be pivotal going forward.

Game of the Season

 

 

It’s easy to point to both big Chelsea wins but I’m going with the 2-0 home win vs Basel in the Champions League knockout stages. Simply stated, this was the Arsenal I’ve been longing to see for quite some time. Cazorla and Xhaka pulling the strings and providing the perfect blend of technical security and range of passing in the midfield coupled with dynamic attackers up front who were given a license to express themselves due to the structure around them. The result was flattering to Basel on the night as we battered them and it seemed like the league and Champions League were within Arsenal’s grasp.

Goal of the Season

 

The consensus favourite is Mesut Ozil’s solo effort against Ludogorets but for me, it’s Giroud’s scorpion kick. While the uniqueness and quality of finish doesn’t hurt, it’s the buildup to the goal that does it for me. Giroud helps start the move with a cheeky back heel in his own half and runs the length of the pitch to finish. It’s a moment that will be forever etched in my mind due to the associated skill as well as Giroud’s lung busting run that seemed as if it was in slow motion!

 

What areas need to be strengthened for next term?

 

Central midfield and attack. After Santi went down, we struggled to find a midfield two that was capable of being a control base as well as transition us consistently into the attacking third. We used 10 different combinations and regardless of personnel, were being overrun in the centre of the pitch. The change of system surrounded Xhaka with more bodies, decreasing the distances he and his CM partner needed to cover and solidifying our midfield.

Our attacking issues for so long now have come from not having a clinical striker. This position needs to be priority number 1 in the transfer window. One of Mbappe, Lacazette, or Lukaku could work ideally in our system. I am not of the belief that Alexis’ best position is at CF like most feel. He needs to be constantly involved and the ball played to feet often which leaves a lack of space between the lines and no one stretching the opposition’s defence when he is deployed at CF.

If money was no object and you could sign any player in world football who would it be and how would they fit into your team?

 

Kylian Mbappe would be the dream signing. His combination of pace, dynamism, and clinical finishing is astounding given he is only 18 years of age. With the likes of Ozil and Xhaka providing creativity behind him, we could have the next Thierry Henry leading the attack. I have a few very minor reservations due to his deployment in a 4-4-2 strike partnership at Monaco for much of the year and he could develop his hold up/link play. He checks all the other boxes at the CF position.


What would represent a successful season next year?

 

A successful season next year means seriously challenging for or winning a Premier League title. A sustained title challenge hasn’t happened since ‘07’-’08. This was the year of Eduardo’s injury which proved too devastating a blow to recover from. Gooners are forgetting what it even feels like to challenge deep into a Premier League campaign. Furthermore, success will depend on the tactical flexibility of Arsene Wenger and stylistic changes he implements towards oppositions. For a decade now we’ve been constantly getting beaten in similar ways. A bit more pragmatism and not leaking senseless goals by committing too many men forward must happen next season.


Written by Dougie Cazorla, follow him on twitter @Dfresh10

Dougie is also the founder of the superb Arsenal Blog cusegooners.com




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