Another season has come to an end, and the majority of Arsenal fans are pretty happy about that fact, given the way this one unfolded.
4Midfield
Aaron Ramsey 8
For me, Ramsey was Arsenal’s player of the season, if you only include those who were here all year. 11 goals and 12 assists is a fantastic return from a midfielder, especially in a team that often didn’t play very well.
11 of those goal contributions came in 2017, with the other 12 in 2018, so despite what I’ve seen some people say on social media, it wasn’t just a case of him turning up at the end of the season.
He scored and assisted in key matches, such as three times in the Milan tie, three times in the Europa League quarter-final, and when Arsenal were behind against both Manchester clubs. The only blemish on his campaign was another hamstring injury in December, and the fact his efforts weren’t enough to help the team achieve their goals.
Granit Xhaka 6.5
Xhaka finished the season very strongly, with hardly a single poor performance in the final few months. Conversely, he started poorly, and for a while it looked like he was never going to find his best form.
It’s hard to know exactly why that is, but my guess is that the formation change allowed him to reach his potential in the more recent matches.
The midfielder played in every single league game in 2017/18, the only player to do so. He made 48 appearances in all competitions, and cleaned up his act by avoiding a single red card or yellow card suspension.
He stepped up his big game goal contributions as well, with a goal and assist against Chelsea, goals against Milan and Liverpool, and an assist against Manchester United. It’s just a shame the start of the season was so bad, or he’d have a much higher rating.
Jack Wilshere 5
Wilshere didn’t make a convincing case for himself this season, in my opinion. He started well, impressing in his cameos as he returned from injury, but the more game-time he got the less he looked like he really deserved it.
Now at the end of the campaign, I’m struggling to remember his last really good performance.
He played well against Chelsea in January, so that might be it. He wasn’t bad against Atletico Madrid in the first leg, but like the rest of the team he failed to capitalise on the fact they were up against 10 men for almost the entire match. In the second leg he was terrible.
Wilshere is a perfectly capable squad player, and when he was in form in the first half of the season he was exciting to watch. The fact he’s now fit and still might not make the England squad says it all about the last few months though.
Mohamed Elneny 6
Unlike many members of the squad, Elneny grew into this campaign the longer it went on, before an unfortunate injury ruled him out of the final matches. He never played particularly poorly, even early on, but he definitely started to get a bit more adventurous in the final months.
His star performance was away in Moscow, where two lovely assists killed a dangerous looking comeback from the hosts. Unfortunately that was also his final appearance in the competition, and Arsenal lost in the next round. Similarly, he played every round of the League Cup until the 3-0 defeat in the final.
I’m glad he signed a new contract, and his enthusiasm for Arsenal will hopefully keep morale high in the dressing room and among the fans, whatever happens next season.
Santi Cazorla N/A
Didn’t play a single minute this season, but his return to training at the end of the campaign was a nice moment for fans and the player himself.
Next up: Forwards