Well with the off season finally here I thought I would try offer some opinions on what's gone wrong and what's gone right this season (bearing in mind we still have an FA cup left to fight for). Bad: We still lack a WC centre forward. I think we need someone better than Giroud and Welbeck too (useful players). We need a destroyer up front a la Henry. We need a new goalie. As much as I like Ospina I think we need someone better between the sticks and that has been a longstanding concern. Defensive midfield: Still a pressing concern even with Coquelin stepping into the breach. We need a new player for rotations sake at least. Conceded the most headed goals out of anybody this season (36% of our total goals conceded) Slow start to the season (not helped by the WC and injured players, loss of form, new formation, CL qualifier etc) Really poor CL campaign... nothing else to be said. Aging players: Mertesacker, Rosicky, Arteta, Flamini etc Injured players: Diaby, Walcott, Wilshere, Debuchy all long term absentees at some point. Records against the tougher teams: has improved but still needs work. Our points tally is a lot lower against those sides than a lot of other teams. I think we've improved but will discuss that in the Good section. Good: Alexis Sanchez: 24 goals in all comps is brilliant for a new signing in a new league. World class at times. Could do more against the top sides. Ramsey. stepped up to the plate in the latter half of the season. Needs to be consistent. Giroud, has had a storming run towards the latter half of the season, has tailed off in recent weeks but finally knows how to score against the top sides. Huge improvement as a player. Ozil. Looks fitter, hungrier and sharper. Can still go missing in big games. Bellerin: great pacy fullback who stepped up after Debuchy was needlessly taken out against Stoke. Operates at warp speed. Record against the top sides: has improved from last season. Still not great but improving. Down to improved tactics away from home, less goals conceded and better defensive organization. Overall we've improved defensively but can still be inconsistent. This season we've only conceded more than 2 goals a game once (away at Stoke, CL not included). This is a huge improvement from last season, shipping 5, 6, and 6 goals to the top sides. Not good enough. Our record in the same fixtures is 2, 2, and 0. (Pool, Chelsea and City away). We also ended our OT hoodoo, defeating United in the FA cup and getting a decent enough result at Old Trafford the second time of asking. Overall, a positive season, lots to work on. And FA Cup final to come. Slight optimism, let's hope our failings are worked on and that we can really push on next season. Thoughts?
