Season Review 2023/2024 - Arsenal Squad

Squad Review


Raya - B - I’m still really not convinced by this guy, not tall enough and still prone to reckless errors. But here’s here to stay, and I’m ok with that…capable of good saves and capable of excellent distribution.


Ramsdale - C - I feel bad for him but he hasn’t helped his own cause. I think he’s a better shot stopper than Raya but Raya is better with the ball at his feet, better at dealing with aerial threat. He’s going to Newcastle by the look of it and I genuinely wish him all the best


White - A - Has made the right back position his own, a player that made himself virtually un droppable despite my reservations about his defensive quality. He is an excellent wing man for Saka.


Saliba - A - One of Europes best defenders, nothing more to say than that


Gabriel - A - Concerned about his communication with David Raya, but he’s the perfect centre back partner for Saliba…they are clearly good friends.


Kiwior - B - Not a full back but until late on in the season he did an admirable job there, I think he’s a very good utility defender…strong and senses danger well.


Tomiyasu - B - Best season in an Arsenal shirt, just needs to stay fit


Zinchenko - D - I think he was better this season than last but I think like Xhaka this league is too quick for him and if Bayern Munich want him we should let him go


Timber - C - Terrible that his season was ended through injury, think Arteta has been sensible in hindsight in being cautious in his return


Jorginho - A - With the exception of the Spurs game back in September, he gives us real experience…I think he will struggle for pace against transitioning sides going forward but I think regardless if we recruit in midfield his experience is invaluable


Rice - A - Probably our player of the season, faded towards the end through overuse but tidy, hard working and a natural leader.


Partey - D - Looks like a player struggling for fitness and form.


Odegaard - A - I thought comparing him to De Bruyne last season was precipitous, this season…whilst he hasn’t reached the goalscoring heights the chances he makes and his contribution to our game is top class.


Havertz - B - So many of us me included thought we’d signed a stinker, but I think when he started to gain more confidence in front of goal he’s been a genuine asset for us


Martinelli - C - Had a few niggling injuries but it feels like he’s regressed from last season…he’s still got exceptional pace but I think he’s a bit of a headless chicken. It’s a shame he’s one of my favourite Arsenal players but will need to see more from him next season


Jesus - D - As an impact substitute he’s done ok, but we need a striker who will take their chances and not one who is less potent than he was for City


Saka - B - I think he gets overplayed and then we don’t see the same player as we do earlier in the season, but should appreciate that most teams fear him so much that they’ll double up on him


Trossard - B - Full of tricks, technically very good…lacks a bit of pace but has been reliably amongst the goals for us.


Nketiah - D - Thought this might be his breakout season for us, but I think all he’s proved is that he’s not good enough



Vieira - C - Not seen enough of him to really give him a fair appraisal


Smith Rowe - C - Can’t fault his effort, I think he may have to move clubs to get the game time he deserves


Nelson - D - Failed to really have much impact when he did play

Zin is a Z, apart from that can't be bothered to argue

He came on yesterday and immediately tried to turn a win into a draw, he must go in the summer

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Originally Posted by Mac76

Zin is a Z, apart from that can't be bothered to argue

He came on yesterday and immediately tried to turn a win into a draw, he must go in the summer

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Immediately?

That’s impressive given we weren’t even winning when he came on

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HCZ_Reborn

Immediately?

That’s impressive given we weren’t even winning when he came on

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He's that bad

Rice, Saliba, Gabriel and Odegaard all reached new levels this year. That’s our spine and without them we wouldn’t have been anywhere near the title. I had my reservations about Odegaard, I thought he was a little bit fair weather but I have to admit that he’s looked every bit a proper captain and led by example.

Saka has chalked up good numbers again but I don’t really feel like he’s been as consistent as he was last year. He receives a lot of special treatment from opponents but he’s got to find a way to deal with that.

Martinelli and Jesus are probably the biggest disappointments of the season in terms of how they’ve regressed from the previous year. If they had contributed more maybe we wouldn’t have dropped those sloppy points in the first half of the season. I would look at selling Jesus now and bringing a real striker in, while Martinelli needs a kick up the arse to rediscover his form. I’d agree with the headless chicken comment, he’s a bit of a kick and run merchant but he can still be effective with that, it’s when you ask him to be a bit more tactically savvy where his game kind of gets neutered.

Special mentions for Trossard and White who were the real cult heroes. Trossard has a priceless nack of scoring at important moments and White is an ice cold player who never drops below a 7/10 performance, a bit like Lauren back in the day.

I’m happy that Havertz found a role for himself and also delivered a lot more than we all expected. We definitely still need a striker but knowing that we’ve also got a capable plan B is encouraging.

Overall you can’t be disappointed with the efforts made here, we’re operating at a completely different level to what we’ve been at for 20 years. It’s galling that the history books won’t remember how good we were this year but I have no doubt we will be back in the mix this time next year. We’re an excellent team with pretty much an entire squad full of players with their best years ahead of them.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mac76

Zin is a Z, apart from that can't be bothered to argue

He came on yesterday and immediately tried to turn a win into a draw, he must go in the summer

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:gp:

There's a whole bunch of stats here about what we've achieved this season, quite interesting: https://www.arsenal.com/news/records-we-broke-and-milestones-hit-2324"]

People who have been graded D are those who I think on reflection we should be selling

Add to that Aaron Ramsdale who will be going, and Emile Smith Rowe who as much as I like him just has no future at the club. No sense in keeping him and Vieira (although personally I’d sell both)

So Nelson, Nketiah, Jesus, Zinchenko, all need to be gone in the summer

I'd keep Vieira, I think he looks good on the right and can be someone who, if Arteta ever can let go of his comfort blanket, could take Saka's place for certain games

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mac76

I'd keep Vieira, I think he looks good on the right and can be someone who, if Arteta ever can let go of his comfort blanket, could take Saka's place for certain games

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I think Vieira is physically well below the level needed. He’s a decent technician but I don’t think he’s ever really impressed when given a start. The only times he’s looked ok is when he’s come on while games are stretched and managed to play in space that isn’t usually there.

I don’t think he’ll be sold but 2 seasons now without really having a look in is a bit of a red flag.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marc Overmars

I think Vieira is psychically well below the level needed.

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Do you mean physically ?

We don't know about his psyche or do we ?

Indeed I did. :lol:

People point to the Villa game at home - but that was the only slip in an otherwise flawless run in.
I reckon this run was more damaging:

Saturday 9th December Aston Villa 1 Arsenal 0
Sunday 17th December, Arsenal 2 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Saturday 23rd December Liverpool 1 Arsenal 1
Thursday 28th December, Arsenal 0 West Ham United 2
Sunday 31st December, Fulham 2 Arsenal 1

P5 W1 D1 L3

Before that we were top, 2 points clear of Liverpool, 6 clear of City
After that we were 4th. Liverpool were 5 clear of us, we were level with City but they had a game in hand.

With City being the unstoppable juggernaut they are, we really needed a cushion over them and that's when that slipped.

Yeah after that poor December we were playing catch up and had to be flawless in the second part of the season to even have a chance. I don’t think anyone really expected the run we went on, not because we weren’t good enough but just because it’s unrealistic to expect to achieve that level of consistency. We pretty much had to win 17 out of 18 games and we fell just short with 16.

It’s annoying as fuck but you’ve got to look at the stodgy first half of the season for where we dropped the points that could have been avoided. It feels silly pointing to literally just a game or two but those are the margins now. I worry about how demoralising this could potentially be but I think we’ve got enough experience now to come back and maybe win it next year. That’s what Liverpool did after 2019, it was just a continuation of the form they were in. Although I certainly don’t expect to win 26 out of 27 games from the start of the season. :lol:

Yeah what worries me about next season is that we get one bad result early on and throw in the towel. I don't think Arteta would let that happen, but it'll be hard to get out of the head of the players that once perfection is impossible to acheive, so is the title.

City have this ability to amble through the first half of a season, stay in touch and then go in to beast mode. The only way it seems to beat them is to do what Liverpool did and go absolutely mental at the start of the season until it’s all but won. Maybe we’ll do that next year.
It feels a bit like being a 100m runner in the Bolt era, there’s not much you can do when they’re in the mood. I was arguing that last season but we did hand it to them a bit. Not this year. We pushed them all the way and it still wasn’t enough. They’re just relentless. Whaddaya do?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Letters

City have this ability to amble through the first half of a season, stay in touch and then go in to beast mode. The only way it seems to beat them is to do what Liverpool did and go absolutely mental at the start of the season until it’s all but won. Maybe we’ll do that next year.
It feels a bit like being a 100m runner in the Bolt era, there’s not much you can do when they’re in the mood. I was arguing that last season but we did hand it to them a bit. Not this year. We pushed them all the way and it still wasn’t enough. They’re just relentless. Whaddaya do?

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See the interesting thing about the season Liverpool won the title is that City didn’t go into beast mode

They were doubled by United and Wolves, lost to Norwich and Southampton as well as Chelsea, Spurs and of course Liverpool

By the standards they’d set from the previous two seasons they were poor


They weren’t brilliant when they won the title back in 2021….lost at home to Leicester, United, Leeds and Chelsea. But they were much better away from home…but they still finished on fewer points than we managed this season.


The difference is the level of quality in that squad. Unfortunately I think they’ll continue to win at will until Guardiola leaves or the FA does what it should do (but probably won’t because the British government won’t want to fall out with the UAE)