How do you think each player fared over the course of the season?
First team:
Ramsdale: Mostly solid. Absolutely spectacular in some games, but also had his moments of inconsistency in others. Properly settled now and is, in my view, England’s best goalkeeper. Still needs to iron out those brain fart moments where he gifts the ball directly to the opposition in or near our box, or plays it out to folks who are under pressure (and aren’t press resistant), or gets dunked on from 60yards out. 7.5/10
Zinchenko: Going forward he’s super useful. Helps us massively with his ability to create overloads and confuse opponents who don’t know how to pick him up. Key component, but perhaps we over relied on him? Once he went off form we struggled with our creativity. His inability to stay fit the full season is also a concern. Too much being made of his dramatics I think. I like that he has Pashun and leaves it all out there. However he’s woeful one v one. Needs more support in those scenarios. 7/10.
Big Gabby: Rock. Shaky start but has become a proper leader in that back four. Owns his position and understands his role. His improvement has been one of the less covered highlights of our season. Durable, strong, consistent. Exactly how I like my CBs. 8/10
William Alain André Gabriel Saliba: I don’t think it’s far fetched to say we lost the title the moment he got injured. He ties our entire back four together and is essential to helping us control the game how we want with his passing ability, recovery pace and strength. For one so young in his position I’m amazed at how calm and unflappable he is. Classy player, fantastic talent. Ignore Burnwinter. Drop the bag. For him, his agent and his agents agent if needed. Sign him on, and let’s go at it again. 9/10
Benjamin White: You all know how I feel about him. Solid, but unspectacular. Happy enough with him on most days. 7/10.
Thomas Partey: Decent season from him overall. Form tailed off badly towards the end as well which was super disappointing. I’d like to see him relegated to the bench at the very least by next season because of the dark cloud he carries. Plus he is getting older, and is prone to the injury bug as well. 6.5/10
Granit Xhaka: Reinvented, redeemed, reborn. Thanks for a memorable season. I want a bit more from the position, but I think we saw the best of Xhaka., and it was very good. 7.5/10
Martin Odegaard: Captain. Calm, clever, creative and consistent. One of our best performers this term. I believe there’s even more to come next season. 9/10.
Gabriel Martinelli: Electric player. Keeps opponents on the back foot, still learning, still growing, but already one of our most potent attacking weapons. 8/10.
Gabriel Jesus: Very good player when confident and in form. But even at his best, he doesn’t score enough goals. 7/10.
Bukayo Saka: Go read up about him on Arsenal.com. The face, heart and soul of this young Arsenal team. Glad he got through the season largely unscathed but he really needs to start getting more protection from the referees. He is a star and should be treated as one. Another who had a successful season, but still has room for improvement. I would like to see him have more confidence in himself and his ability to beat any defender one v one. And a bit of work on his right foot to make him less predictable and increase his options against tougher defenders. Tired a bit towards the end there, but still a stellar season from our Bukayo. 9/10.
Bench boys:
Eddie Nketiah: Came on and did great, but ultimately couldn’t sustain his form and we lost quite a bit of fluency when he was playing the 9 role. 6/10
Reiss Nelson: Scored THAT goal. 7/10.
Jake Kiwior: Looks like he’s got something about him. 6.5/10
Rob Holding: eh. Meh. 5/10.
Jorginho: Perfect squad player. Experienced and professional. 7/10.
ESR: N/A. Didn’t seem to be able to get anything going for him this season. Will be interesting to see how he does next term.
Fabio Vieira: Extremely disappointed in this cat. Had picked him to be one of our surprises of the season, but I honestly don’t think he’s cut out for the premiership. His first touch when he came on against Wolves sums him up for me. Just not good enough at this level. 5/10
Matt Turner: Decent enough when called upon. 6/10.
Leandro Trossard: Effective. Great option to have off the bench, versatile. 7/10
