Goalkeepers:
Apart from Wojciech Szczesny, none of the other goalkeepers look the part. Lukasz Fabianski had little game time and he doesn't look like challenging Szczesny for the goalkeeping spot. It speaks volumes that he was not considered for a starting berth when Szczesny had shoulder injury for the last few weeks of our run in.
Vito Mannone has also failed to impress, though to be fair to him, he only got one chance in the dead rubber against Olympiakos in the Champions League. He has since been loaned out to Hull and he's shown some decent form over there.
Szczesny provides an authoritative figure in goal. He gives us a calming presence that his two predecessors have lacked. He was the standout performer for us at the start of the season and had it not been for him, our goals conceded numbers would have been even more.
Still, Szczesny needs to improve his distribution. His shot stopping is good, but he needs to improve in one on one situations. Fabianski and Mannone look like they'll head for the exit door. In that case, I hope proper reinforcements are made.
Centre backs:
Laurent Koscielny has shown tremendous improvement this season. So much so, he has even outshone the Verminator Thomas Vermaelen. With clearing headers, last ditch tackles, crucial blocks and timely interceptions, the Frenchman has really come of age this season. One can only hope it continues for a long time.
Per Mertesacker brings a calmness to the defence and his experience has proved beneficial for us. For Per, it was his first season in the Premier League and I
hope he shows the kind of improvement Koscielny showed in the second
season. Though Per is our tallest defender at 6 ft 6 in, he is often
beaten by opponents in the air and I hope he turns it around next
season.
Thomas Vermaelen has finally shrugged off his injury problems that kept him out last season and he looks set to form a fruitful partnership with Koscielny. But he has made uncharacteristic defensive lapses
this season and we have been punished in quite a number of games. Also,
he needs to choose carefully when to charge forward as we've been
exposed far too many times on the break.
Johan Djourou hasn't been able to get much games this season, and he has struggled to maintain his place in the starting line up. He needs to find the kind of form that made him our best defender
in 2010-11. At the moment he's our fourth choice centre back and if he
needs a consistent run of games to rediscover his form, it doesn't look
like happening.
Full backs:
We had no fullbacks available in January owing to injuries and we struggled to play our passing game as we went on to lose all three of our league matches.
Bacary Sagna remains a key player in our set up and his importance cannot be overstated enough. He is a class act and we have sorely felt his absence when he was out with injury. Though he also made some uncharacteristic errors towards the end of the season, more often than not he's our most reliable defender and he is vital to our passing game. His understanding with Theo Walcott was one of the fruitful partnerships in the season.
Carl Jenkinson still looks a bit raw and he needs time to develop. One thing though, his crosses are mouth watering and one wonders what might have been had he and Marouane Chamakh started in the same line up when van Persie was in need of a rest.
Kieran Gibbs's form has been patchy and he is yet to hit the heights at Arsenal. Yet he was part of a solid back four that went on to win six consecutive matches. The lasting memory of him is the last ditch block to deny West Brom a goal in the dying minutes of extra time to seal third place and automatic qualification for the Champions League.
Andre Santos brought flair with his attacking forays down the left and he's chipped in with some vital goals this season. One only hopes he improves his fitness and gives Gibbs a run for his money at left back.
Defensive strengths:
We have improved our defending from set pieces this season compared to the last one. But we still make that odd mistake when either we have been caught napping or we succumbed to clever thinking by our opponents.
We have also been impressive in terms of offside play. We seem most comfortable when we have Mikel Arteta in the side and he really does a great job of helping the defenders out. Our defenders have also come up with goals at crucial times this season and I hope this continues.
Overall Areas of Improvement:
- Conceding fewer goals should be our top defensive priority for the coming season. Our goals conceded column keeps increasing year by year and I hope the appointment of Steve Bould as Assistant Manager helps.
- We also concede a large proportion of goals to opponents from their first or only shot on goal. I hope this is cut down to a minimum.
- Also, the team as a whole needs to defend better; it's not just the back five who have the sole responsibility of defending. We are often vulnerable on the break and immediately after we lose the ball. Our midfield and forward players need to track back more to prevent this from happening.
- Cutting out silly mistakes like giving away possession with sloppy passes within our defensive third will also help. I remember a number of times we conceded a goal or a gilt-edged chance after giving away possession in our defensive third. Szczesny, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Santos, Song, Ramsey, Frimpong and others have at various points of the season made such mistakes and one only hopes they have learnt from them.
