Ruben Dias lost his mind after Man City’s draw with Southampton and Tottenham are celebrating reaching a second tier final and yet it’s still all about Arsenal, say Arsenal fans.
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Arsenal season review
Overall a disappointing season for us. Don’t want to blame injuries as every team has them. I do think we had enough depth but what can you do when the backups get injuries too. A lot of players have regressed. I would say the only positives have been MLS, Nwaneri, Gabriel, Timber, Raya and Saka.
Raya: One of our best players this season. He excels at every aspect of goalkeeping. Elite at collecting crosses and starting counter attacks. Saved us in many games this season. I just feel safe with him in goals. 8/10
Neto: From what I recall, he only played the Girona game where he was a disaster. We will have to buy a solid backup next season. 2/10
Timber: Absolutely brilliant this season. Genuinely feel he could have got us over the line last season at left back with all our injuries there. He’s came and made it easy to forget about White which is saying something. Always composed on the ball and takes risks dribbling. 8/10
White: Seems to have been playing through injuries since he’s joined us. I absolutely love him. This season is obviously hard to judge him on as he’s been injured. He hasn’t been able to find any form or fitness since. A pre season will do him a world of good. 6/10
Tomiyasu: Never fit. Probably not on big money but we will have to sell if anyone will buy. No point in selling him now though when his value is at its lowest. 1/10
Saliba: A mixed season for me. I keep seeing people put him in their Team of the Season which baffles me. He’s brilliant on his day but this is easily his worst season yet. He’s been making many mistakes and several costly ones. Hopefully he will get back to the elite level next season. 7/10
Gabriel: Absolutely amazing season from him. Amongst our very best players. Both attacking and defensive set pieces depend on him a lot. He is irreplaceable. 9/10
Kiwior: I respect the job he did against Madrid but he hadn’t played for months prior to that because of how poorly he played in the first half of the season. If he wants to leave I would sell as his value will be high and won’t get any better. I do think he’s a good player but he won’t want to sit on the bench. 6.5/10
Calafiori: I have been extremely disappointed with him. It’s not the injuries, it’s the defending. He struggles with it every game and is a liability at times. It’s almost as if the opposition target him. Offensively he is brilliant and finds himself in good positions. I expect a lot more from him next season. 5.5/10
MLS: He’s been absolutely immense. I remember seeing him a lot in the youth team in midfield and thinking he wouldn’t be able to drive past people like that in senior football. He’s a brilliant chance creator too, has a great eye for a pass. He makes at least one of those runs a game which just opens things up and makes space for others. 8.5/10
Tierney: Always really liked him. Great pro. Hope he does well at Celtic again. Can’t really fault him but he only really comes on as a sub. 6/10
Zinchenko: Hasn’t been bad but not been good either. Played in midfield a lot lately. He’s definitely gone. It’s weird how low his stock has fallen. Needs a change, can see him in Germany and doing well. 5/10
Partey: Been brilliant mostly with some lapses in concentration. Don’t like him at RB but he’s filled in there. Obviously he has other issues and hopefully he won’t get a new deal. 7.5/10
Jorginho: Solid pro. Really thought it was a good signing at the time. Good backup to have but we need to improve. 6/10
Rice: Had a brutal Euros to be honest and wasn’t exactly good until February or so for us. He has definitely been carrying an injury. Also find it weird how many people have him in their team of the season. The Madrid game will always be there but it doesnt reflect his entire season. He’s been brilliant in the 8 role and gets a lot of chances. Will need to improve his finishing but I do think he’s a great player who will give us a lot in the next few years. 7.5/10
Odegaard: He’s been fairly brutal this season and he’s definitely not fully fit. His finishing is horrendous. He scored 23 goals in the previous two seasons and was creating far more chances. If he doesn’t deliver next season he will have to be improved on. 5.5/10
Nwaneri: Think he has 9 goals all comps this season. It’s a very good breakthrough season. He takes people on and likes to create. He should have got more chances I feel but overall very happy with his contributions. 7/10
Saka: He was carrying us up until his injury. His output doesn’t actually show how good or important he is. Constantly double marked. Always looks like the one player who will create something. Defensively brilliant too. 8/10
Martinelli: I find him quite frustrating. He is a great worker but he really can’t dribble well. He doesn’t have good finishing. I think his crossing has improved but next season could be make or break for him as he will be 24. 6.5/10
Havertz: Started off the season very well. You could tell he was struggling to play in certain games around January, especially the Newcastle game. Would’ve probably had 20 goals this season had he stayed fit. We need a striker but im happy we have him. 7/10
Jesus: A player I absolutely loved at City and his early days at Arsenal. Injuries have ruined him. He was electric but he’s finished now id say as he’s out until 2026. On big wages so will be hard to offload. Was starting to hit form too but he’s so unpredictable goal scoring wise I doubt he would’ve kept it up. 5.5/10.
Mikel Merino: He’s elite aerially and I was very happy with how he did up top. Doesn’t seem great on the ball in midfield. He’s a good option off the bench next season in midfield but he can’t be a starter for me. 7/10
Sterling: Absolutely awful. I have no idea where he can go from here. It couldn’t have gone much worse. 1/10.
Dion Byrne
Oh wait, he doesn’t play for Arsenal
Looking forward to reading all the emails having a go at Dias for his comments, oh wait, he doesn’t play for Arsenal.
Andrew Goonerabroad Brown
READ MORE: Villa pounce on Man City slip to give Champions League race new life and save the run-in
Oh yeah, it’s not Arsenal
Where’s all the newspaper and social media bile about spurs overcelebrating after beating a tiny team in a game, to only reach a 2nd tier trophy final??
Oh yeah, it’s not arsenal.
rojapy
Arsenal spin
How Man City not beating Southampton is actually Mikel Arteta’s fault and more evidence that he’s in line to be sacked despite no actual evidence being proffered. I can turn this out in like 20 minutes for football365. Where do I invoice you?
Simon, London
READ MORE: Southampton frustrate Man City and Derby, Everton win most 3pm Blackout fixture imaginable
Man Utd insanity
I always see that Aman fella writing in absolute nonsense about United and Arsenal. He states that Ten Haag is a better cup manager and that’s what mattered. It clearly doesn’t matter enough, he lost his job! If he had been performing the way Arteta has he would still be at United. Completely insane way of thinking. He won two trophies at United while being shit in general. Arteta has won just the FA Cup but being an Arsenal fan has been way more enjoyable. I would not swap out last 5 years for Uniteds. They’re pluggy underdogs who spend more than anyone else. They always think after they win a single game that they’re back. They go into every season thinking they’ll do good and they won the transfer window. It’s actually insane. They used to mock Liverpool fans for living in the past and now it’s their turn. I mean, the fact that they think they’d have a better season than us if they win the EL is insane! It’s a second tier trophy that we are currently to good to even compete in. Let’s not forget that the standard is brutal now because you don’t have CL teams dropping into it.
Dion Byrne
Reclaim the Mailbox
I’ve been reading so much drivel in the mailbox it’s now the new social network of stupidity.
But instead of getting annoyed with the baseless claims and trolling, I’m transported back to the height of the 80s football violence where Thatcher was on the prowl to reduce the hooliganism before being roundly told ‘keep your hooligans out of our game’. Chastening stuff.
Fast-forward to today and hooligans have been replaced with keyboard warriors and trolls, they infiltrated every aspect of the digital community, taking deliberated contrary stances against fact and are wilfully inflammatory in order to ‘get a rise’ from others.
It’s time these c@nts were ejected from our game.
In sharp contrast to real life, where I can sit with friends or strangers from across the supporting spectrum, chat about the game, lament our club’s short comings and take the piss out of each other a little.
Digitally, it’s a smug pool of bullshit, snipes, snide comments, and lies followed by lies, all wrapped up in a click-creating model. It boring and isn’t furthering the game but regressing it.
Maybe it’s time to let them find the footballing equivalent of an incel chat forum somewhere in the arsehole of 4Chan and snide themselves to death. Maybe a reclaim the mailbox campaign is required. I don’t know, but either way my enjoyment of the talking side of football would be better without them.
Alex
Winning isn’t all that
I’ve been hearing a lot of noise from United and Spurs fans ahead of their upcoming Tallest Dwarf Cup Final. Stuff like, “If we win the final, we’ll have had a better season than Arsenal.” Hartley from Somerset also chimed in with, “Do Newcastle, Liverpool or City fans look back with misty-eyed nostalgia on ‘that time we came second’?”
Well, as a Liverpool fan, I can answer that. Yes, I do, actually.
I still look back with huge affection on the season we finished second under Klopp with 97 points. In fact, believe it or not, I prefer that season to this one, where we’ve coasted to the title. Clearly I’m in the minority. Football seems to be binary for most people: win equals good, lose equals bad. But that’s never been it for me.
That 97-point season was extraordinary. Every match felt like it was on a knife-edge. Week in, week out, it was gripping. Last-minute winners, brilliant football, tension, passion, belief. Every point mattered. The emotional highs were relentless. The football was exhilarating, and the relief and euphoria at every final whistle brought a huge sense of joy and accomplishment. Liverpool kept delivering. It was glorious, it was unforgettable and it lasted the entire year. It’s the reason I love football. The only problem was City also kept winning, and in the end they pipped us by a point. Fair play to them. They deserved it.
This season, we haven’t hit those same highs. Most games have been solid but unremarkable. We’ve clearly been better than every opponent, and here we are, champions in waiting, playing the last few matches in pipe and slippers mode. It’s been great, no doubt. And the best part is notching up number 20 to match United’s record.
But still, I preferred the season we came second. Call me a fool, but for me the Premier League isn’t just about the final game of the season. It’s about every game. Every week. Every result. Every 90 minutes. Every last-minute winner. It’s the journey that keeps pulling me back in. The stakes. The struggle. The sheer adrenaline of caring so much about every pass, every goal, every final whistle. And the banter in the pub every weekend.
So while the sight of Big Virg lifting the cup on the final whistle will be the memory etched into the record books, when I look back at my fondest football memories, I’ll still look back at the season we came second with 97 points and remember that’s why I love football.
Sean (LFC)
Leeds the kings of bile
Has a team and manager ever created so much bile from others? Asks Rich AFC.
Yes – and more – Leeds United
But that was of course before Football was (re)invented and before social media existed so it doesn’t count.
We’re back baby (probably only for one season as the financial rules are stacked against promoted clubs)
Steve Leeds since 1970
