That’s that then, another season’s over, but what have we learned from Arsenal’s shambolic 2016/17 campaign?
It’s a season most of us will want to forget. However, improving next season relies on Arsene Wenger learning from this term’s mistakes.
Or something.
So, what have we learned?
Francis Coquelin is a liability
When Arsenal recalled Coq from his loan spell at Charlton Athletic in 2014 due to first team injuries, having some young, fresh legs in the side appeared to give the team a temporary boost.
Fast forward to the 2016/17 season and the Frenchman isn’t just useless in terms of positioning and dictating play, he’s actually a liability.
When he’s playing, Arsene Wenger’s side might as well be down to 10 men – he’s that bad.
In fact, when the Frenchman wasn’t in the team, Arsenal didn’t lose!
Arsenal need to sign Santi Cazorla replacement
After Santi was sidelined again in October and was later ruled out for the entire season after undergoing surgery on his ankle, Arsenal’s ability to actually play with an effective midfield ended.
Without the little Spaniard on the pitch dictating play and creating space for the others, we were useless, and this only continued to get worse as Wenger attempted to force other midfielders to fulfill Santi’s role.
Round peg, square whole and all that.
The 32-year-old may never be fully fit, which is a shame, but this means that the Gunners have to find an adequate replacement for next season or they’re going to run into exactly the same problems.
Gooners are annoying
From planes to A4 banners that use about 10 different fonts, Gooners have managed to annoy just about everyone this season, including themselves.
We’ve become caricatures of ourselves and, frankly, it’s become embarrassing.
Alexis Sanchez is actually human
Despite only missing five days this season through injury and appearing to self-heel, the Chilean proved during the latter stages of the campaign that he is in fact human by not showing up during certain matches, stropping while being subbed off, and generally being a little bit of a brat.
He’s a fantastic player but not perfect and while he brings so much to the team, if he does leave this summer, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.
4th place really is like a trophy!
As much as Arsenal fans and Arsene Wenger get ripped to shreds for claiming that finishing in fourth place and getting Champions League football is like a trophy, all you had to do was watch Liverpool’s post-match celebrations to know that it really is a big deal.
It’s huge, not just financially, but when it comes to attracting big players and keeping team morale boosted.
I didn’t think I cared that much before but the idea of having to relive the mistakes of this season into next year is pretty depressing.