In the cold light of day viewing this season as anything other than a disappointment is somewhat difficult.

Warm and fuzzy

The warm fuzzy feeling of the FA cup still reverberates in my belly but the suspicion that this squad was capable of so much more yet put little-to-no fight in at crucial periods of the season creates a sour taste in my mouth that is difficult to shift.

The only way this season could prove more disheartening is if somehow we found out that we’d be facing Bayern in the Europa League next season.

It seems somewhat unjust for me to be disappointed after winning another FA Cup, particularly as we comprehensively outplayed the title winners in the final.

But that has only served to heighten my sense of incredulity and discontent with our season’s efforts.

Costly start to the season

The summer months: a time when most fans exchange incredulity at our results for anger at our transfer market dithering brought a welcome change.

Arsenal and Arsene surprised us with the purchase of Granit Xhaka in late May. A far cry from the supermarket trolly dash of 2011, it seemed that Wenger was intent upon strengthening the squad in key areas, quickly and efficiently.

However, what followed in the weeks to come was typical Arsenal haggling and procrastinating.

In July, in came Rob Holding – a player who had strung together a number of decent Championship performances but not the signing Arsenal fans were hoping for. Despite the signing of Holding, the preseason injury of Per Mertesacker confirmed Arsenal would need to invest.

Although Wenger openly declared his intentions in July to sign another defender and was publicly rebuked by Jamie Vardy, thus showing the club’s destitution in the striker department, it wasn’t until late August that Arsenal signed both Lucas Perez and Shkodran Mustafi.

Genuine excitement at the club’s business was unfortunately dampened by the sheer tardiness of the deals and the resultant calamity that ensued against Liverpool and Leicester.

One season into their Arsenal careers, I guess the colouring of the four signings is marginally positive with only Lucas Perez’s infrequent appearances really tarnishing the quartet.

Holding has been superb, defying all expectations and generally proving that you don’t need to cost £55million to be a damn fine centre half.

Mustafi’s first season has been mixed. Months of genuine quality followed by a worrying dip in form and some rash bookings.

Granit Xhaka, possibly the most divisive of recent transfer dealings, struggled with initial expectations. Much of this I place at the feet of Wenger, who seemed confused over Xhaka’s ability and talent. He seemed to suggest that the Swiss playmaker was a box-to-box midfielder, tempting fans to believe him to be a long overdue replacement for Patrick Vieira.

How Wenger came to this conclusion is somewhat worrying, given that the midfielder covered on average 9km a game in Europe this season compared to the 11km regularly consumed by Ramsey.

His quotes must surely call into question the club’s scouting or Wenger’s knowledge of player recruitment.

However following some initial discipline problems, some self-inflicted, some as the result of inept refereeing, Xhaka soon began to dictate play and carve out a niche for himself in the team. If Arsenal had utilised Xhaka’s passing range much earlier in the season, who is to say where this current Arsenal team would have finished.

[button color=”” size=”” type=”3d” target=”” link=”http://dailycannon.com/2017/05/arsenal-loan-deals-reviewed/”]A quick word on Wilshere. I was glad that he resisted the temptation to join Pardew at Palace and frustrated that he didn’t elect to practice his trade in Serie A with Roma. In hindsight, Bournemouth was a good fit, unfortunately he didn’t live up to his billing and struggled to really cement a place despite improving upon his initial fitness concerns. The door is still open at Arsenal but he still has it all to prove.[/button]

Arsene buys into ConteMania

It was not implausible that many Arsenal fans would have been expecting a change in tactics this season.

The pursuit of Vardy, the acquisitions of Perez and Mustafi and the occasional sighting of a high press at the end of the 2015/16 season suggested that Wenger may have opted for a high octane, full throttle approach, utilising Alexis Sanchez and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain’s willingness and desire to press higher up the pitch.

But, early Chelsea trouncing aside, Wenger reverted to type with a more languid style that seemed to focus around the passing and movement of Ozil and the link-up play of Giroud rather than the utilisation of our more aggressive forwards. For most of the first half of the season, this proved sufficient in both Europe and the Premier League.

However, the second half of the season saw us struggle to compete with those who had adopted the Antonio Conte’s three at the back revolution.

Much like the music industry, football is constantly in evolution and right now Conte is akin to Beatlemania in the US.

Like the Beatles, Conte rocked up in a foreign country and set a wild fire ablaze. His novel horses for courses, back three approach was adopted by practically every club in the Premier League, with the exception of West Brom, Southampton and Burnley.

The option for Wenger was to embrace it or to stubbornly continue strumming his acoustic guitar.

The biggest hit in 1963, the year before Beatlemania, was a song called Dominique by The Singing Nun (a bespectacled nun, in her habit, playing an acoustic guitar). For much of the season, I was afraid Wenger would refuse to shed his habit and continue blindingly in his twee stylings.

But then came upsets at West Brom and Crystal Palace and the habit was thrown aside to reveal Wenger in full Sgt Pepper get-up.

Initially apprehensive, I was unsure whether it was a last throw of the dice from Wenger or whether he genuinely recognised an ability in the squad to excel in said formation. I’m still unsure whether the success of the formation is down to design or fluke but it’s safe to say that it saved a poor season from becoming an irreparable one under the Arsenal manager.

The Ox excelled at wingback, Xhaka was provided cover which allowed him to focus on his passing game, Holding shone under the guidance and safety net of a back three and Monreal established himself as a left footed, less handsome Azpilicueta.

Atypically for Arsenal, it was the cohesion of our forwards that caused greater concern than the unison of the defence.

Wenger’s persistence with Giroud frustrated many, with vexations aired about a lack of mobility and a general ponderous when Welbeck was benched.

For all the neat flicks and link up play that Giroud offers, it was Welbeck’s willingness to stretch defences, chase down lost causes and open gaps by drifting wide that allowed Arsenal’s new formation to excel.

Given that Arsene was clearly planning to persist with his usual 4-2-3-1 at the beginning of the season, it will be interesting to see how this new formation will dictate the club’s transfer plans this summer.

Star players continue to contribute

One accusation that can’t be levelled at Arsenal is that their star players don’t consistently perform.

Out of the 24 Man of the Match performances achieved by an Arsenal player (according to WhoScored.com), 14 were accrued by Sanchez and Ozil.

Sanchez, with a total of 10 MotM performances, has again excelled in a wide role this season scoring 24 and assisting 10.

Ozil has similarly impressed, possibly with a little less oomph than the Chilean live-wire, contributing eight goals and nine assists. Some may still question whether he plays to his full potential in the majority of his games but the countenance on his face when played behind Giroud may go some way to explaining his inefficacy.

Equally impressive this season has been Petr Cech; questions were raised last season at the goalkeeper’s form and his ability to save shots from distance. But a steady season, with some exceptional performances near the end of it highlighted the keeper’s importance to the squad and possibly negated the return of Wojciech Szczęsny next season.

In addition to these three, Nacho Monreal has proved vital in his current capacity as utility defender. As a fullback he has proved nuanced, linking well with Sanchez on the left and protecting the team’s left flank with vigour and the occasional professional foul (see fouls against Middlesborough and Palace); as a wingback, he’s provided direct running and formed an interesting partnership with Granit Xhaka who clearly prefers the lofted pass down the flank as opposed to a cross-field styled pass; and finally, as a make-do centre half – he has slotted in seamlessly – dealing well with aerial opponents and trickier players with equal success, not unlike Ceasar Azpilicueta.

In a nutshell

The victory on Saturday has helped to temporarily appease the fans.

If Arsenal had failed to lift the FA Cup, despite being the underdog, then malcontent grumblings from certain fans would have been audible for every man and his dog to hear on Saturday evening.

Thankfully, Wenger and his squad were quick to show Conte and his Beatles’ haircut that you can’t always get what you want.

Personally I’ve always preferred the Stones over the Beatles anyway…