Matthew Rice-Smith
Season Ratings:
1 Manuel Almunia – 3 – A disaster from start to finish. Consistently made costly errors that belie such an experienced player. Should be shown the door this summer.
21 Lukasz Fabianski – 6 – Looked a competent goalkeeper until his season was cut short through injury. I have confidence in his ability as a backup goalkeeper.
13 Jens Lehmann – n/a
53 Wojciech Szczesny – 8 – Made himself Arsenal's No1 at the age of just 21, which is some achievement. An excellent player who I believe will be an Arsenal goalkeeper for years to come.
3 Bacary Sagna – 7 – A good, solid, consistent season from the league’s best right-back.
5 Thomas Vermaelen – n/a
6 Laurent Koscielny – 6 – All in all a good introduction to English football, especially considering he was thrown straight in with very little time to adapt. His season contained the full spectrum of performances, from the excellent to the very ordinary. Must stop giving away penalties.
18 Sebastien Squillaci – 4 – Started his first few games brightly but has got progressively worse and has been a liability ever since. Doesn't even attempt to take control of situations. Not a Premier League defender. Suggests that, perhaps, experience is overrated. Shouldn't play for Arsenal again.
20 Johan Djourou – 7 – A very good season for the Swiss international, who was the fulcrum of the defence for much of year. Appears to have at least partially got over his injury problems, and is starting to look an excellent centre-half. A fairly terrible end of season prevents him from getting a higher mark, however.
22 Gael Clichy – 6 – A poor start to the season was amended by some very good mid-season form. Drops in concentration in key moments continue to be a Clichy trademark, however, and I don't expect to see Clichy in an Arsenal shirt next season.
27 Emmanuel Eboue – 5 – Eboue’s role in the team is to be a solid, reliable squad player, mainly as a right-back. Yet a lack of any discipline in his game means he will never be any of these things. His disastrous, unnecessary mistake against Liverpool effectively ended our season and could also spell the end of his Arsenal career.
28 Kieran Gibbs – 6 – A season in which we learnt nothing new of the England international. A talented sick-note of a player with very poor defensive understanding and positioning.
17 Alexandre Song – 7 – Another solid campaign for the midfielder who forged a good understanding with Wilshere, further demonstrating his vital importance to the team. His main problem is a lack of competition and cover for his position.
2 Abou Diaby – 5 – Talented he may be, but his lack of work rate and constant over-dwelling on the ball is too often a hindrance to the side.
4 Cesc Fabregas – 6 – Often sheer class when playing, but another injury-plagued campaign has been detrimental to his season. Too many injuries, and too many questions over his commitment worry me. I hope he stays, but I can only see a move to Barcelona on the horizon this summer.
15 Denilson – 4 – A nothing season from a nothing player. Simple as. Should be sold this summer.
16 Aaron Ramsey – 7 – Has done great to come back and seemingly play without fear. At the end of the season he came close to looking like the Ramsey we all admired pre-Shawcross. Looks promising for the future.
19 Jack Wilshere – 9 – Our most consistent player of the season, absolutely superb. His performance at home against Barcelona truly was a joy to behold and was a high point in the season for both Wilshere and Arsenal Football Club.
7 Tomas Rosicky – 3 – Hardly even a shadow of his former-self. Offers nothing, has minimal impact and provides zero end product. Penalty miss at Sunderland cost us vital points. Should be let go this summer.
