So that’s it. Another season done and dusted, but how did the players rate in the final nail-biting game against Newcastle?
Here’s how.
Wojciech Szczesny: 7/10 – Solid again, not really troubled, did what he had to do well.
Bacary Sagna: 7/10 – Was this his last Arsenal appearance? If so, we’re glad he went out with three points and he won the free kick which led to the goal.
Per Mertesacker: 7/10 – Got ‘megged early in the game by Yanga-Mbiwa, but his calm assurance at the back was as crucial as it has been all season.
Laurent Koscielny: 10/10 – Got the winner on the final day for the second year in succession, and backed it up with an awesome defensive display (yes, there’s an element of goodwill in this mark but hey, I love the guy).
Kieran Gibbs: 7/10 – Preferred away from home to Nacho Monreal for the first time since the Spaniard arrived, got forward well and although exposed once or twice defensively did well overall.
Mikel Arteta: 6/10 – Should never have started, he was clearly nowhere near fit but Wenger wanted his leadership out there.
Aaron Ramsey: 7/10 – This guy would run through walls for the team, his energy and defensive discipline, especially after Arteta went off, was a big part of why Newcastle failed to threaten. Made some great tackles.
Tomas Rosicky: 7/10 – Buzzed around, found it hard going offensively, but when you see a guy sprint from one side of the pitch to other in the 91st minute to close down an opponent, you can’t but doff your cap.
Santi Cazorla: 7/10 – Faded a bit as his first Premier League season drew to a close, but he’s been wonderful to watch this season.
Theo Walcott: 7/10 – A Theo performance: some good bits, some bad bits, but provided the cross for the goal and should have made the game safe late on but was denied by the post. Has plenty of good stuff to build on for next season.
Lukas Podolski: 6/10 – Again found it hard going up front, and looked a little off the pace. Seemed to spark a bit in the second half and put in some good work when we needed it.
Subs:
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: 7/10 – I suppose the best thing you can say is that we didn’t suffer for Arteta’s absence. Ramsey dropped into the deeper role, and the Ox slotted into the midfield without any fuss.
Olivier Giroud: 6/10 – Held it up well at the end when we need needed him to, got stuck in defensively in the final few mins.
Jack Wilshere: n/a – Not on long enough to rate
Bonus rating:
Alan Sugar: He gets HAHAHA out of 10, for this. Thanks!
Never in doubt.
Arsene you are the greatest manager ever , never mind Red nose , could he achieve what Arsene has done with all that little money at his disposal. We need to take stock of our managers achievements. First the loyalty he has showed in building all this from scratch. For me after the invincible s and reaching the champ league final he had massive top top teams and big big money offers that’s a fact, he said no to all of them because he knew he couldn’t leave Arsenal in the lurch and wanted to see out all what he… Read more »
very very well put sir…more people need to realize what Arsene has achieved in terms of stabilizing the club during what could have proved to be a really tricky period. He has consistently achieved top 4 finish on minimal budget when it would have been easy for him to just walk away and go to any top team in Europe. We should be grateful that we have got a top, top, top quality manager!!!
Well said Hardeep. Thanks.
Too right. He has given his everything for our club, but I suppose that’s only natural considering it is his club too.
Absolutely right. It hasn’t been all roses, but I wonder if Arsene has not been the difference between us and Liverpool these last few years.
Well done. Wenger was involved and pacing the entire match, whereas the old drunk was completely clueless and looking like his grandkid needed to shout in his ear what all was happening. But I come not to bury wankers but to praise professors. Wenger will ultimately show us all, and I expect him to fully embrace our disposable income. He knew of Arteta, Kos, and made the adjustments under *intense* scrutiny in the public, such as these very boards, but never wavered. If we showed real consistency, not Theo-consistency, this season could have turned out much much better. But such… Read more »
Don’t think Koscielny’s rating was generous at all he was absolutely immense yesterday. I didn’t really realise it at the time as i was just too fucking nervous to appreciate much of the game but whenever i think back to anything Kos did it was either winning tackles and bringing the ball forward, winning everything in the air, and hustling newcastle players back towards their own goal. And scoring a £30 million goal of course. I think it was one of the best individual performances of one of our players this season, if not the best. Rambo’s workrate was awesome… Read more »
Agree kos is now our no1 defender
I actually don’t think it’s a new fact. I’ve thought he was our best defender since last season. I’ve been bemused at the beginning of this season as to why he wasn’t playing. Hopefully we’ve figured it out now, & he’ll be the starter as long as he continues to play so well.
I think since Wenger favours the balance the BFG brings when paired with our other defenders (even if he’s not our best CB) he had to choose between Kos and Verm. Vermaelen got the nod for a while due to being captain and it cost us a bit. Hopefully he’ll improve and prove to be a strong third option, we’ll need the squad depth next year when we are challenging for thophies!
Did anyone ever here of Koscielny.
When he played in his first season anyone give him a chance . No
Except the one that really counts
Arsene Wenger . Genius .
Well… after Chelsea, Norwich, Manure, Swansea, Bradford, Shity, Blackburn, Bayern and Spuds, not gona lie, had a little seed of doubt. But those seeds can now bugger off 🙂
Now Arsenal, please, please, PLEEEEEEASE for the love of Dennis buy some players and hold on to Koscielny this summer.
FOG, KAFS
“Fuck Off Guardiola, Koscielny Ain’t For Sale”
Well done to the lads! They pulled through! And I’m so glad I had Kos’ name printed on my away kit this season!
Lord Sugar tweeting misinformation was priceless!
May our negative spiral continue into the new season! COYGs!!
“Negative spiral” ? Oh I don’t doubt it. It certainly will continue, it’s merely disguised. With all this pseudo sense of “accomplishment”, you A.K.B.’s have overlooked the TREND. The club IS in decline, and has been for some time. The last two seasons – despite achieving top four, how has that been accomplished ? With a great deal of struggle, and ( last season ) a large slice of luck. It went to the very last day then, too. At West Brom. it took Fulop’s three mistakes to gift us the match. Despite our “impressive” ( and belated ) unbeaten… Read more »
Fuck off, you’re boring.
Spectrum or Scrotum? I think there’s a mistake up there
‘We are a club in decline.’ No we are not. We have been on the pitch over recent seasons but that is not impossible to reverse. We are also in a good position to flourish. I also think you are discrediting us too much for not getting comfortable top 4 finishes. Surely you’re not enough of an idiot to overlook the emergence of Citeh and Sp*rs as serious contenders in recent years. Surely? The days of trading titles with Manure are gone for the foreseeable future. Do you hear that? Gone. ‘That’s exactly what is wrong with this club –… Read more »
test
All systems go, stellarium.
Ha, priceless.
“This time around it has been almost EXACTLY the same pattern. The trend as I said, is DOWNWARDS.”
I’ll be damned. The spectrum of idiocy, yes.
2010/11 – Finish 4th, 68 points.
2011/12 – Finish 3rd, 70 points.
2012/13 – Finish 4th, 73 points.
I loved when it panned to Daniel Levy. Gutted. Hahahhaha!
Neville n Redknapp said it all. We must now build on our solid squad and add a couple of stars. Most importantly get our new players in ASAP.
Noticed Fiorentina missed out on CL again. Jovetic looks a good bet to go but like i said to get the top top players. Must get in early.
So the transfer rubbish starts. I fucking love it!
Going to have a player ratings piece for the full season?
I’ve actually been adding up all the scores and averaging them all season. I’ll post the final averages sometime soon.
Yes, but we’ll just make them up.
Mike, did you really add them all up?
I have them all added up until the new years game vs southampton. I have all the rest since then recorded but need to tally them up.
Up till then Jack and Cazorla were the two highest rated, coming in at 7.2 and 6.9 respectively
Cheers. It’ll be interesting to see how our end of season results tally up
I hope the importance/weight of these ratings will be seen through numbers of games they played in the season. It’s totally different case having 7,2 average having played 38 games (90 min almost everry time) to about 20 games
All right, here’s my aggregate ratings for the 2012-2013 season. I left out Diaby for some reason although he made more appearances than several others. He’d probably be somewhere between 5.5 and 6 I reckon. I also included the ratings for substitutes, which hurts some players a little because they didn’t always have time to make an impact and ended up with a 6 rating that drags them down a bit. Szczesny 6.4 Mannone 5.5 Gibbs 6.3 Santos 5.4 Mertesacker 6.6 Vermaelen 5.8 Koscielny 6.6 Sagna 6.1 Jenkinson 6.2 Arteta 6.5 Cazorla 6.8 Wilshere 6.8 Rosicky 6.3 Ramsey 6.4 Ox… Read more »
Arshavin tied with Vermaelen? There’s another song in there Blogs!
Why are people so intent on Jovetic? I’m more interested in the higuaine ( or however you spell it) rumour. Although I have to admit, when I think of him I think of the other RM striker (Benzema).
Higuiain would be ideal in my opinion. Benzema is quite similar to Giroud in is style, Higuiain offered Real something different, and he could do that for us. Something of a goal scoring super-sub who only plays in one position. For me Podolski is lethal on the left, so Higuain would complete our forward line.
For someone who’s a super sub at best against the shoddy la liga teams, and will have to adapt to the BPL, his wages and transfer fee are a massive risk.
If Real Madrid does buy Lewandovski, Arsenal should look into Benzema. I think he’s better than Higuain, much more well rounded and has a good striker instinct. He’s also French, which is good with ze manager. I any case, these 3 cannot exist together in Real.
I’d prefer Higuain to be honest. Benzema has huge ego, his work rate is a joke and I always have a feeling he doesn’t give a shit about the team. Seems like playing for team “Benzema” most of times. Wouldn’t like him at Arsenal at all
my knowledge of jovetic is derived entirely from fifa 13, youtube clips, random opinions and the odd goal.com article. Obviously I am no expert, but from those sources (particulalry fifa) jovetic seems like a real quality addition. he’s the best player by far in the current fiorentina squad (not saying much I know), and from youtube he seems to have a bunch of deft flicks, is clinical with the side of his foot (could teach feo how to curl?), and has decent dribbling skills (not quite as good as santi, but much better than your average player). honestly i don’t… Read more »
Considering the circumstances it was a great performance all round. Onwards and forward then.
Arsenal Away fans – 10. Outstanding all season.
Great achievement by the lads, not bad for a “senile incompetent” that “can’t coach for toffee”, and the “worst Arsenal side of Wengers reign”.
Wonder if Steven Howard and his pals will apologise………….
Koss is the fucking Boss. He can be one of the best defenders in the world. He’s like a shaved and showered Puyol (who is one of the best defenders of the decade).
Ha ha a 10 for this comment, Kos is indeed the BOSS.I have had a man crush on him since thee Barca perfomance.
BS ratings. Koscielny should have got 1400/10!
He’s the greatest defender on the planet. Who else is quicker to the ball in every single situation in a football match. It must be hellish being a striker and playing against him. His tackling technique is the best in the world. His vision for danger is the best in the world.
This is how Arsene holds on to his managerial position. Once every while he will snap up a talent like this.
Saint Laurent, if you’ll pardon the pun
Rosicky..gotta give it to this guy. I hope he plays 35 odd games next season. We always seem to be more calm and composed when he plays, he makes it tick.
Now that we’ve secured CL, let the Jovetics, David Villas, Fabregas’ begin.
Or Sanogo. Meh.
Isn’t the “negative” “spiral” upwards if just “spiral” is downwards?
Good observation, philosoraptor!
Spin doctored.
I’d have given Rosicky an 8 I think, his energy throughout the game was vital, and to see him working so hard so late in the game was fantastic. This is a guy who clearly loves the club, and he’s surely got to retain his place for next season. I don’t want to put a downer on things, but Podolski was pretty awful (again)
Not a Ramsey basher as some have been. I actually think the guy has potential and really rate the work and commitment he puts is. But yesterday he was horrible, giving the ball away in some potentially dangerous positions, making way too many poor passes – in particular one on the counter attack were he sends is BEHIND Theo with the outside of his foot in some fancy attempt to do…what? Obviously Theo should be released behind the defense in a situation like that. Was disappointed by him yesterday, and though he has potential, he needs to make a BIG… Read more »
That’s harsh I thought he was good yesterday constantly breaking up the play and showing an incredible work rate. I take your point on the passing but I think its symptomatic of the fact he works so hard getting around as those passes looked like they were subject to fatigue rather than anything else.
Think you’re being a bit rough on the guy, traditionally he’s a good passer (one of the best completion rates for us this second half of the season) – his passing was not at his normal high levels but the way he broke up play and really kept Newcastle at bay especially once we took the lead and the home side really upped the ante was so important to our win. We are praising Kos rightly so for his ridiculous performance last night and his form over the past few months, but let’s not forget that Ramsey and Arteta have… Read more »
I agree that he did and does breakup the opposition’s play well. But while he has good completion stats for the season, you have to wonder if that reflects a lot of “easy” passes back- and sidewards? I do not belong to the guys constantly on his back and I belive there is potential along with a work rate and commitment that you can do nothing but love. My issue is with what seems to be poor decisions/passes in the decisive moments. When getting into situations where more is needed that the simple backward or sideways pass, I do feel… Read more »
Brilliantly put, exactly my thoughts. I think Ramsey still has to improve a lot to be regular in a side that competes for the title, needs better balance, composure, decision making. Sometimes people overlook his flaws because of his immense determination and bravery which I applaud too, but, I do not think he would be a regular is any other top 4 team (Even though they play a different system) But he will improve I feel. Him and Wilshere are the future midfield pairing. I wouldn’t mind looking at a good solid CM to buy, as Diaby seems to be… Read more »
Agree with you totally, Don’t know what some people are looking at, sure he tries hard, so do I, but that is not good enough to play for arsenal, he slows down every attack either by giving the ball away or delaying a pass,
The worst thing about him is he finds himself on the ball too often and fails to create anything.
Hope he goes out on loan and maybe he can develop his game,
Good player ratings. We have a squad of about 18 regular players now. So we need another five or six. Another centre back, another right back if Sags goes and another midfielder to cover injuries. I think Wenger will bring back several of the deadwood as LANS like Bendtner and Park, Denilson and Frimpong and maybe Djourou even buy back Song. I hope Walcott is made the Captain. and a midfielder to cover Jack Poldi and Thomas’s injury issues. Other wise the Manager might use the deadwood as cover this year. Bendtner and Chamak up front, Girv, Frimpong and Denilson… Read more »
davo, mate, you’ve been am A- grade tool in every post I’ve ever seen you make….
you kiwis, in my opinion, are some of the coolest, most laid back bros around…what happened to you?
A- in every post. True. So you would award my posts between 85% and 90%. Thank you. Yes I am very observant and posses a high level of sporting knowledge and am known to present factual, interesting and challenging posts on a regular basis.
lol, yes mate , I do give you an A… at being a tool.. Excellent come back btw..
Now i know the season hasn’t been perfect but can you at least try and see the positives that have come about ?? If not I know a website called LEGROVE, you might want to check it out as I think you would fit in more over there
LeGrove would rip him to pieces. I think it would break the record for use of the word ‘see you next Tuesday’.
Davo’ too much gloom mate and Walcott for captain, that creased me up . I will say that your posts are definitely ‘interesting’ for sure 😉
Reading that drivel sure was challenging I’ll give you that.
Fuck song and give the rest you mentioned away for free it’s time we keep the squad and replace them players with quality
4th place trophy or not, can believe the relief I felt at the final whistle……… Which proves just how much it matters to us all. Now Falcao please Arsene and a proper title challenge
I’m off to LeGrove now to witness an anti Arsene melt down
Falcao?? Dream on. No way we splash that kind of cash.
The media & the whingers made claims that this is the worst arsenal squad under wenger, & I don’t believe that for a second. This is the most under-rated squad there is. Personally, I love this group of guys more than the arsenal in the nasri/bendtner/almunia era.
Come on you Arsenal! Let’s build on this.
Sorry about that I included my first draft with my second ha ha ha.
I can’t help but read your name as Davon Ewz Ealand.
Reminds me of an LA drug dealer/wannabe rapper.
Im guessing your next release will be into some sort of farm animal?
You got that spot on mate! Negative spiral = upward thrust. We now see what you did there AVB. You sly.
Like the look of Sanogo, think that was good business. I have a feeling we have sneaked in before his price rocketed. Hope we dont go down the media route, and pay ott for hype players, Like the look of Lukaku and Benteke, both are Premiership proven, and a bit special. Prefer them on OUR team than against us!!
Wenger: 10/10.
No one really mentioned it, but I thought the ox substitution was extremely smart. Gouffran was having a real go down our right, getting in behind sagna and running at Mert, having the Ox’s pace on that side really helped nullify the threat. Just my two cents.
But when you see a
guy sprint from one side of the
pitch to other in the 91st minute
to close down an opponent, you. I’ll give him an xtra 1 for that.
can’t but doff your cap.
HAHA SUGAR
If Chelsea/ Mourinho dont pull Lukaku back in their squad they are stupid. Guy is gonna be a big player.
Benteke had a good season and him too can become very prolific in the right team.
I like the type of striker were gettkg in sanogo. Quick athletic technical type. A different option and a promising youngster to push he starters. Hope he lives up to the hype
Che£$ki, stupid?? Never!!! 😉
Dont think he would be cheap, but with Josie Moronio coming back there is talk of “marquee” signings afoot, and Lukaku is too good to be loaned to West Brom. Think we could prise him away, that would be some coup!!
UPDATE: Che£$ki have kicked off their summer spending spree and have signed Belle Tent for £70m.
no time to get my coat, the door is shutting on me………..
have i told u i dreamt of Seeing Giuseppe Rossi in an arsenal shirt…well this was before the begining of the season but we’ll see. but i am sure if it were to come true ppl will tear their hair.
God the last ten minutes were the longest minutes of my life i was at the casino that showed both arsenal play and spurs play i couldnt help both watch both games and all i can say is arsene wenger does it again! 🙂
longer than the wba match…i dont know which was worse but in both those matches my hands were cold and i was physically sick…i wish i didn’t care too much but i can’t help it..hopefully next season i will have the same feelings but for even higher goals like the EPL title or the CL.
If Sagna stayed one more year, wouldn’t he have the option of leaving on a free which could yield potentially higher wages if he moved with a 2+ year contract (because the new club wouldn’t have to pay a transfer fee)?
That is assuming of course Arsenal isn’t all-too-willing to cash in that last year of Bac’s contract. I suspect any club offering 8 million quid would be hard to turn down, especially if they are outside of the BPL.
sagna to dc replaces djourou allowing us to save on signing a new dc, and retains back up for dr
To the Fapcave all?
https://twitter.com/Alex_OxChambo/status/336185433870446592/photo/1
This sums it up for me he couldnt be more right.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjfyvR2IZEg
withthe new sponsorship deals next season all adding up to about 100m per year this is our moment.
This was so so so so funny !!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xOnBc30qbq4
Best of all it was posted from Alan Sugars account 🙂
I feel that the two players whom Wenger will find the hardest to leave out next season are, unquestionably, Ramsey and Koscielny. Both have been immense this season
I agree both came in through the clutch when it really mattered to us and showed their true skill and value.
And they did it with the immense pressure of fans on their backs #mentalstrength
If Kosielny isn’t the best defender in the EpL, I wonder who is. I think its time we signed an A grade striker ala lewandowski, Falcon, etc. I see us winning the season next. New managers coming to all clubs above us should some how give us some edge. Add our momentum with compact play now, stability should mean much.
Kos definitely deserves 10/10- i like the way he did nt complain when he was on the bench behind a rather poor Vermaelen earlier in the season; waited his chance and took it. As well as his performance on Sunday that acrobatic clearance to thwart Kone against Wigan the other night was massive!
Way to stand up and be counted when it matters Laurent!
I’m so proud of this team, and really gotta single out some players: Santi – his first season in the PL and made an immediate impact. The boss pretty much ran him into the ground and he kept his head up, didn’t say a word and kept on smiling. My player of the season. Gibbo – I think he’s probably one of the most underrated defenders in the league, which is good for us I suppose because we’ve got him locked down on a long term deal and he keeps going about his job. His pace is always a threat… Read more »
As brilliant as Koscielny was, Ramsey deserves a special mention. Yes he made a few loose passes (most of the players did as well) but his energy and workrate was absolutely phenomenal, and for me, the most improved player this season. Apart from the half-decent chance they had around the 10min mark, Newcastle hardly caused us any problems after that. Every time they looked to threaten, Ramsey and the Ox would be there snuffing the danger out, especially with Ben Arfa looking dangerous, and on the subject of Ben Arfa; if he could stay injury-free, he would be a great… Read more »
Ben Arfa is a talented, french, selfish hot head and injury prone. Diaby/Nasri combo……i’d rather not thanks. I see him going liverpool.
Not to mention he has no right foot and has forgotten how to pass. He is basically a poor man’s Robben.
kuss is one defender i love to watch, but his combination with mertasacker is getting close to the best days of arsenal. if continuation extends to next season i foresee arsenal standing as a big contender for the EPL next season. Rosicky is paying arsenal for having faith in him. his work rate totally professional, his focus and impetus has served as a inspiration to the younger players and has also brought more competition to the midfield. i wish he goes injury free next season then arsenal will see his best season before he decides his career. bravo to !!!we… Read more »
i know kolscieny is great but as terrific as he is i don’t think Vermaleen deserves half the stick he’s been gettting. I think the fact that the team has changed the way the play has helped the defence significantly its like how we started the season… the whole team was defending
[…] 来源：[Arseblog News] […]
Even if BM were to offer the moon,Arsenal shd resist selling Kos. He has saved the gunners on countless occasions and I believe he is indispensable.Now Wenger needs to buy three to ffive players who can turn the gunners into genuine challengers
.I believe if Arsenal/Arsene were to buy the top quality players,Moyes will find it tough to hang on to the epl trophy.It remains to be seen whether the fm will finally his m indset.If,not get ready for another battle to get cl qualification.
what a better way to end a season despite all the hullabaloo from the beginning.
With the first choice ch pairing established – why not retrain verm as a def mid. ? He’s a great passer, can finish, and has more footballing skills than an av def. I’d love to see him tried in that role and buy a world class ch to replace him.