Season Summary.

(Long read)

The Season.

There was good reason to be optimistic at the start of the season. Maybe even for a CL place.

Unai
We had a manager who had just missed out on Top 4 by a single point in his first season. We'd also spent a wedge on reinforcements all through the side.

In came an expensive red-hot goalscoring attacking mid from France. A promising LB with a solid season under his belt. A nailed-on Spanish international in CM. Plus one of our typical "Greatest Hits" retirement tours in David Luiz. An experienced CB who could play with his head up, pass, run with the ball, and provide much needed aerial presence.

That was the theory, at least. All of which made losing our twin talismans, Rambo and Kos, slightly bearable.

Things were a bit shaky at the start. A flood of goals at the back, but we somehow managed to outscore or equal the oppo strikers. Not to mention that most of the new faces were still yet to properly settle in. Plus, our kids were busy tearing up a storm in the Europa.

However, 6-8 weeks in, and it had become clear just how much we had overestimated our new-look squad.

Maybe it was a result of having too many new players. I recall playing the first Bournemouth game with about 5 new faces in the lineup. The sad part is that it's always easier to lay all the blame at the gaffer's door in situations like these.

Next came the run of 1 win in 9 - across all competitions - which ultimately sealed it for Unai. Leaving us in 8th place - a point ahead of United - and already 8 points off Top 4 pace by Week 13.

Freddie

With December came a ray of hope in Ljungberg. Turned out to be a caretaker stint. 6 games across all comps - 1 win, 3 draws and 2 losses. Meh.

Arteta

Arteta's announcement over Christmas brought with it a chance to redeem the season. 11th place, 9 pts off Top 4 by Week 18 (just under halfway), and only 5 pts above the relegation zone.

It's been 27 games across all comps for him so far - 15 wins, 6 draws, 6 losses. And a place in the Cup final.

1.89 points-per-game is a cracking return for a first stab at management. Especially for a so-called "glorified cone placer" parachuted straight into a top flight job.

CoVid brought an unwelcome disruption to his maiden season, both personally and professionally, but we've managed 7 wins, 1 draw, and 4 losses since.

Appraisal.

At the end of the day, 8th place and 56 points is a fair reflection of our overall mid-table standard of play. Bits of brilliance balanced out by bits of sheer Benny Hill. With a sea of risk-averse football in between.10 points off the "promised land" of Top 4.

An FA Cup final place is also good, win or lose. A win would go down as a decent season in my book. A win would also get us a spot in the Europa.

The Future.

Lots of room for improvement.

No point discussing the defence. The club have already spent £30m on Saliba, and then gone on to spend another puzzling amount on extensions for Luiz, Cedric and Mari for some reason.

So. First would be a maximum of 2-3 quality signings in CM, fullback and CF, to balance the side out and offer some capable insurance against injury.

Can't go too far with the changes yet again though. Squad rebuilds usually need about 4-5 transfer windows to progressively ship all the cloggers out.

The younger players also deserve another full season to prove themselves. They've walked straight into the senior squad and caused quite a few ripples.

The contract situation could also do with a firmer hand. If I had my way, a wholesale purge of our contract rebels would free up some cash and squad places.

Ratings.

Gaffers -

Unai (6) - Evil incarnate according to some, but he still gets a strong grade from me for backing a bunch of Hale End kids.

Freddie (4) - Meh.

Arteta (7) - A 143% increase in total league points compared to the first half of the season. A tad conservative in his approach, but that's exactly the kind of stabilising hand we needed at Christmas.

Keepers - Leno (8), Martinez (6)

Defence - Luiz (7), Bellerin (5), Sokratis (5), Kolasinac (4.5), Mustafi (6.5), Tierney (5), AMN (5.5), Mari (n/a), Cedric (n/a), Holding (4.5), Chambers (5)

Mid - Xhaka (5.5), Ceballos (5.5), Torreira (4), Guendouzi (5), Özil (5), Willock (5), ESR (3), Saka (7.5)

Strikers/Attack - Auba (9), Laca (6.5), Nketiah (4.5), Martinelli(6.5), Reiss Nelson (4.5), Pepe (6.5)

POTS - Auba
YPOTS - Saka
Honourable mention - Bernd Leno for consistently being the only thing standing between us and total collapse.


** The ratings are skewed in favour of our Europa League contingent.**