Midfielders
Defensive midfielders
Mikel Arteta – 6.91 (43 appearances, 41 rated games)
Premier League: 31 appearances, 30 rated games – 6.82
Champions’ League (including qualifiers): 6 appearances, 5 rated games – 7.15
FA Cup: 5 appearances – 7.15
Capital One Cup: 1 appearance – 7.50
The Spaniard with perfect hair had a very solid campaign with a few exceptional performances. However, during Aaron Ramsey’s absence Arteta’s flaws became visible and were too expensive for us in big matches. With Ramsey in the team Arteta managed to give a MoTM-performance in the home victory against Liverpool but without the Welshman he suffered against the same opponents at Anfield. Arteta’s legs don’t allow him to perform well against pacey technicians and that might motivate Arsene Wenger to search for a younger and more mobile player for the holding-midfielder-role. Arteta’s penalty-taking ability is unique though – he dealt with the pressure of a retaken penalty against Everton in the FA Cup quarterfinal in the manner of the best players in the world.
Mathieu Flamini – 6.96 (36 appearances, 34 rated games)
Premier League: 27 appearances, 26 rated games – 6.63
Champions’ League (including qualifiers): 6 appearances, 5 rated games – 7.30
FA Cup: 3 appearances – 7.08
The Flame made a come-back in style. His combative performance against Spuds made him a fan-favourite again and it wasn’t the only game where Flamini showed how many different qualities he adds to our team. However, he isn’t the most mobile player in the world and his aggression mixed with mistimed tackles had cost him a lot in terms of suspensions. Luckily for us, Flamini isn’t a member of the France World Cup squad which means he will be available for the early challenges (pun intended) in the summer.
Isaac Hayden – 6.00 (1 appearance)
Capital One Cup: 1 appearances – 6.00
Hayden’s appearance against West Brom could have ended with a red card. It wasn’t a bad performance from the youngster but he is one for the future. Given that he can play as a central defender as well, we might see a lot more action for Hayden in the forthcoming years.
Central midfielders
Aaron Ramsey – 7.40 (34 appearances)
Premier League: 23 appearances – 7.27
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Champions’ League (including qualifiers): 8 appearances – 7.87
FA Cup: 2 appearances – 7.25
Capital One Cup: 1 appearance – 7.00
“If only Ramsey hadn’t been injured for three-and-a-half months…” Yes. If our brilliant Welsh dynamo hadn’t been injured, we would have been in the title race until the very end. Unfortunately, we didn’t have him during the period that included two tough streaks of matches and heavy defeats against Liverpool and Chelsea. His absence made us look lackluster and flat. Ramsey’s improvement has been immense for some time and his numbers prove it – he scored ten goals and created nine more in the league in just 23 appearances. He was ever-present in all competitions and in most cases the one that settles things right – he added five goals in the Champions League including a crucial winner at Borussia Dortmund and the match-winner against Hull City in the FA Cup Final that ended our trophy-drought.
Ramsey’s performances have drawn attention from Barcelona and Bayern, but he seems like the most likeable person in the world of football, so he will stay at Arsenal even beyond his new long-term contract.
With Özil totally settled in north London, Ramsey might enjoy an even better season. You don’t see too many players that have an engine of perpetuum mobile combined with high intelligence and that’s why Aaron is, has been and will be such a great asset for the Gunners!
Jack Wilshere – 7.13 (35 appearances)
Premier League: 24 appearances – 7.06
Champions’ League: 7 appearances – 7.50
FA Cup: 3 appearances – 6.92
Capital One Cup: 1 appearance – 7.00
It was a mixed spell for Wilshere. Injuries, Agger’s tackle in an international match, suspension for an inappropriate gesture at Etihad and some lackluster performances spoiled what could have been a great season for him. The Englishman, however, managed to score the most beautiful goal of the season. His opener against Norwich was an example of poetry in motion, his back-heel-one-twos with Giroud still look like they came from out of this world.
The main criticism regarding Wilshere’s game has been a lack of the final product. He has improved in that area but it should get better. Perhaps the key for that lies in the definition of his position in the team. He has been used as a central midfielder, mostly a box-to-box midfielder who makes darting runs forward, in a more advanced role in “the hole” but also as a wide midfielder on either the right or left flank. Wenger has used the same trick with Ramsey in order to make him feel comfortable on every part of the pitch and it seems that the Welshman gained a lot from that experience.
Can Wilshere do the same? Time will tell. If injuries stop attacking his feet and ankles, he should become a club legend.
Tomas Rosicky – 7.03 (39 appearances, 38 rated games)
Premier League: 27 appearances, 26 rated games – 6.92
Champions’ League: 8 appearances – 7.16
FA Cup: 3 appearances – 7.58
Capital One Cup: 1 appearance – 7.00
He was the most reliable Arsenal player this season. Why do I say this? Well, in most cases he was the best player in our defeats, the one that went through a transformation from “The Little Mozart” to “The Great Warrior”. He has been a Spud-beater again – he scored twice against our pathetic neighbours in our hat-trick of victories.
Both goals were something special. The early screamer at White Hart Lane edges out as the winner in terms of beauty but his goal in the FA Cup match exemplifies Rosicky’s performances – he robbed the annoying Danny Rose on the halfway-line and made an unstoppable run toward goal before netting with all composure in the world. He was also the key for our victory against Everton in the FA Cup – he released Oxlade-Chamberlain with a wonderful pass before the Englishman’s run was stopped with a foul in the box.
Rosicky signed a new contract and will be there for another year. It would have been a shame if he hadn’t stayed – he won his first trophy with Arsenal and is ready for more!
Kim Kallstrom – 6.56 (4 appearances)
Premier League: 3 appearances – 6.42
FA Cup: 1 appearance – 7.00
When Arsene Wenger signed the Swedish midfielder, well-known for his greatness in Championship Manager 3, and it turned out that he had been injured for a while, most Gooners in the world felt like a kid who opened his only, but long-awaited Christmas present wrapped in not-so-shiny paper, to find an second hand toy that was broken.
Truth be told, Kallstrom hasn’t been the worst player Arsene Wenger has ever signed and he did contribute to our FA Cup glory with a well-taken penalty in the shoot-out against Wigan, but we need a better player for our midfield.
Santi Cazorla – 6.96 (46 appearances, 45 rated games)
Premier League: 31 appearances – 6.89
Champions’ League: 8 appearances, 7 rated games – 7.07
FA Cup: 6 appearances – 7.00
Capital One Cup: 1 appearance – 8.00
Injuries and a new play-maker in town didn’t allow Cazorla to shine like he had in his first season. He was mostly used as a wide midfielder, a sort of a left winger with a free role. His link-up with Özil should be better and hopefully will develop. So far, we have seen some mouth-watering glimpses of that (e.g. Hull City in the league) – with a similar kind of performances from our two most creative players we will score for fun next season!
Although he was brought from Malaga as a long-range specialist, he hadn’t scored a free-kick before the last match of the season against Hull. He picked the best time to score his first for Arsenal – his right-footed shot gave us a life-line in the final. He had some impressive performances – like the one against the Spuds in the FA Cup or against Liverpool at Emirates in the league – so we might see a lot more from him next season.
Mesut Özil – 7.06 (40 appearances)
Premier League: 26 appearances – 7.14
Champions’ League: 8 appearances – 6.62
FA Cup: 5 appearances – 7.30
Capital One Cup: 1 appearance – 7.00
Our record signing, the man who had been hailed as our Messiah before nails and hammers were brought out by people who don’t know a single thing about football. The German that forced a lot of Gooners to use the “Alt + 153”-command, went through a very turbulent season. His first match at Arsenal should have ended with a hat-trick of assists for him had Theo Walcott brought his shooting boots on our trip to Sunderland. He did get a rare hat-trick of assists against Stoke in the next match but it wasn’t all milk and honey for him after that. Truth be told, he gave some below-par performances due to fact he hadn’t been used to the pace and no-winter-break schedule in England. That was enough for some people to write him off like a Veron-esque purchase by Wenger, especially after he missed that penalty against Bayern. Yes, Özil’s performances should have been better, especially in big matches where he was mostly on the wrong side of the assists (two goals conceded against Liverpool and one against Manchester City came after he misplaced passes or lost possession) but it shouldn’t be forgotten that it was him who had released Oxlade-Chamberlain against Liverpool just before The Ox created a goal for Podolski and gave a brilliant performance against Everton in our run to the final. And, don’t let me start with his performance against Napoli! The thing is, a genius like Özil needs players with pace to exploit his passes. It’s no wonder his performances had deteriorated once we lost both Ramsey and Walcott – pacey players with ability to make runs behind the defence. Give him a pacey winger to play with and he’ll produce miracles.
It’s interesting to notice that his performances at Emirates have been much better than on our travels. Perhaps it’s a confidence thing. That’s something he should improve next season as well as penalty-taking.
Abou Diaby – 7.00 (1 appearance)
Premier League: 1 appearance – 7.25
He is alive and kickin’! His cameo against Norwich was one of the most optimistic stories in football last season. The French midfielder enters his last year of his contract with Arsenal and it might be the last one in London. It’s good to have one more option in the middle of the pitch.
Thomas Eisfeld – 7.00 (1 appearance)
Capital One Cup: 1 appearance – 7.00
He scored in his only appearance this season but hasn’t been given playing time after the game against West Brom in Capital One Cup. Perhaps things will change next season.
Kristoffer Olsson – 6.00 (1 appearance)
Capital One Cup: 1 appearance – 7.00
He didn’t excel against West Brom but took a good penalty. One for the future.
Gedion Zelalem – 6.50 (1 appearance)
FA Cup: 1 appearance – 6.50
Zelalem has already won hearts of many Gooners with his passes during the pre-season Asia Tour and despite the fact he hasn’t been given too much playing time with the senior squad, some of his skills will remain in my mind forever. It was like watching a 17-year-old Fabregas in an Arsenal shirt again, hidden under the name “Zelalem”. Who knows – maybe one day Zelalem will be our talisman and wear our armband!
(Next: attackers)
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