Another mediocre season IMHO, but part of the problem stemmed from before a ball was even kicked. We had another poor summer in terms of player recruitment/improving the squad.
Fair play to the lads, once they got their act together we pushed on and achieved our target. It wasn't pretty though and whilst the early makings of a decent enough team are there, we have major work to bridge the gap between us and the top 3.
Domestic cups: A truly terrible season.
Champs League: We lost to a pretty special team tbh. No complaints.
Prem League: With losing RVP and Bale becoming an absolute beast I think we did well to get 4th.
i guess the main reaction is one of relief and being able to laugh at spurs.
not been a great season in terms of quality but i have loved the fight for 4th with spurs. with them being our rivals, it makes it more important to beat them to it and i have to say i enjoyed the run in.
there have been some great performances, city away, spurs at home that stand out but most have been fighting for our lives to leave with a 1-0 win. towards the end every player was putting their body on the line to get us over the line, some players really stood up, per, ramsey and kos especially. it was brilliant to see them fighting for the shirt. look at the defence for example towards the end, composed, assured and fucking brilliant. ramsey has been a huge improvement and a key player in 2013, there are platforms all around which we have laid the foundations for this season. nothing special, but foundations to build on and really push ahead
while this season hasnt been that memorable, no cup runs or title challenge, just the 4th place trophy, i genuinely believe we will look back at this season as the season that gave us the platform to do something special. we got to 4th because we deserved it at the end of the day, now its time to push on, spend that cash on the right players, take advantage of the fact that 4 of the top 6 have changed managers and that there is no more fergie.
We missed out big time. in 13 league appearances he has 3 goals and 5 assists. wilshere has one goal and 6 assists in his entire arsenal career. And people have the nerve to talk about wilshere?Originally Posted by Marc Overmars
Although I predict a win every game we play . . .our best shot at sliverware was domestic cups and we bombed those.
The PL and CL were probably always out of our grasp but it was those two trophies that saw us dig deepest. . .and scratch our heads as to why the team cannot put in those kind of performances and effort week in and week out. The run at the end of the season and taking the away to Bayern ar what we need to see on a more regular basis.
Wenger saw maybe the worst year of fans opinion about him and a more trigger happy board would have shot him in the head long ago. . .he will be aroud next year and fans being fans are trying to spin that fact with new optimism (well some of us are ) as we are told we have money to spend.
It was the summer transfer activity that caused me the most heartburn, started off ok and its not that we didnt brig in a 30mil player, it is that we didnt replace what left or address squad depth. I said all year I thought te suad was better and more balancd and we got more goals from different players not just one guy but what we did miss was a matchwinner. . .and those calling for world class to b bought are spot on. . .lets hope the call does not go unnoticed
Last edited by Japan Shaking All Over; 21-05-2013 at 08:33 AM.
Terrible season all round but panned out the way most of us expected it to after our transfer dealings last summer. Losing two of our of best players from the previous season and not properly replacing them was always a recipe for disaster and I believe most people predicted fourth would be the best we could hope for at the start of the season.
Cup finals were absolute disasters. Bradford City and Blackburn at home, really?
Positives
- The main positive has been our improved defence which barring a dodgy spell mid season and against Spurs away has been amazing, especially in the pressure matches at the end. Mertsacker and Kosicienly have been excellent.
- Kosiceinly's form. See above
- Jenkinsons' development
- Wenger prepared to drop Chesney and Vermaelan
- Still managing to finish above the scum despite Donkey Kong being on world player of the year form
- Wenger finally realising how substandard Santos is
Disappointments
- Vermealen. Awful decision to make him captain with hindsight.
- Ox hasn't developed as much as I'd like
- Theo seems like the same Theo as before. Too hit and miss.
- Wilshere's injury woes plus lack of form
- The amount of tripe still on our books that we can't get rid of
- Wenger relying on Diaby :facepalm:
- Whilst Ramsey has looked decent recently, he doesn't look like he'll reach the level or quality I thought he would have when he first joined. Thanks a lot Shawcross you dickhead.
- Gervinho. Spineless git
Main signings
Santi's been a major positive. Real quality in the midfield and someone who can create chances on a plate. Possibly the best import signing of the season (I'm forgetting loads of transfers so I've probably said something silly here)
Monreal's a thousand times better then Santos. Happy there.
Podolski looks like an expert finisher and has a habit of getting scrappy goals when needed however too often he goes missing and doesn't contribute.
Girioud is the opposite. Better build up and overall play but his finishing is neither clinical enough nor his threat up front enough to cut it at the level we want to be at. I wish we could combine the best qualities of Podolski and Giroud into one striker.
All in all a pretty forgettable season apart from the last day dramatics and hopefully the final one before we push on to the next level.
P.S. I agree about Countiho. He looks quite tasty (no homo) and a lot better then Borini. Though there must be a reason why no one else went in for him - want to see how he does next season before fully judging him. Might get second season syndrome.
Last edited by The Emirates Gallactico; 21-05-2013 at 10:34 AM.
2012/13.
3rd or 4th with no interest in trophies.
Got a bit fruity at the end.
Meh
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