Arsenal 2011/12 season review: Captain Vantastic needed more support in inconsistent season

Although there were some positives in our season and Robin Van Persie was simply superb, inconsistency and injury problems ultimately saw the season end without silverware. Although Arsene Wenger has done a tremendous job since taking charge of the club, seven years without a trophy is not good enough. Some people want him to go, others want him to stay. Personally, I think he should stay, changing managers doesn’t guarantee success and people need to remember what a good job he has done. No manager can win things every year and trophy droughts do happen, it’s part and parcel of the game.

We were just too inconsistent this year. We put together some good runs but then undid them with some poor results. The first few months, including the 8-2 defeat by Manchester United, were largely a disaster. But the way we turned things around and clawed our way back to take 3rd place was a great achievement. Turning things around like that was a big positive, but to end the season without a trophy again was hard to take. We need to be a lot more consistent and learn how to kill games off sometimes.

We had great games like beating Chelsea 5-3 at Stamford Bridge, winning 1-0 against champions Manchester City with a dominant display. When we came back from 2-0 down against Tottenham to win 5-2 that was a tremendous show of character. Winning 2-1 at Liverpool despite being on the back foot for large spells showed a lot of grit and determination. The second leg against AC Milan in the Champions League was excellent, but a little too late after the game had been all but ended with a poor first leg. We seem to do so much right, but at the same time too much wrong, we need to be a lot more consistent.

Manchester City and Manchester United also had blips in their season, but did far better at recovering from them and thus finished 19 points ahead of us. To finish that far behind the top two is unacceptable and we must improve. Several people thought we’d not even finish in the top four this season especially after the first half of the campaign, so to finish 3rd is testament to Wenger and the squad. But, while it was a good achievement, it isn’t enough and we should be challenging for honours a lot better than we have been in recent years.

After such a mixed season, how have the players faired and what needs to be done?

Van Persie had a sensational season and it was great to see him able to play more games this year and showcase his true potential. But there were not enough other players scoring goals to take the pressure off him. Although I’d love to see a few more players bought in, the most important piece of business Wenger can do is to get Van Persie to sign a new deal. I’d rather keep Van Persie and only sign a few more than sign loads and lose him.

Gervinho looked good taking people on but in terms of his end product he simply did not score enough goals and was not worth the money we paid. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain looks a superb talent for the future and played well when he was used. But we definitely lacked a natural goalscorer to play alongside Van Persie. So when the news of Lukas Podolski’s signing was announced, I was delighted. If he can produce the goods in England as he has in Germany we have a great player on our hands. But the Premier League is totally different so it is hard to tell yet whether or not he will be a big hit…but I am hopeful! If Van Persie stays, their pairing could help us put together a more serious title challenge.

If we lose Van Persie, however, I fear he will be very hard to replace and it will have a big effect on the overall team morale, which is not the way you want to start a season. It is not the same as when we lost Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri as Van Persie is an even better player, but if he did leave it could create a similar situation and we cannot afford a poor start to the next campaign. But until anything is announced all the talk surrounding Van Persie is merely speculation and I am hopeful he will stay….just hope I am right!

In the midfield area, Alex Song had a largely excellent campaign and Mikel Arteta seems to have slotted in quickly, with Yossi Benayoun putting in some good displays. Having Jack Wilshere unavailable all season didn’t help but that is no excuse. Despite all the individual talent, we sometimes lacked the composure to kill games off. Our football is often great to watch but sometimes we try to play too many passes instead of just putting the ball in the net.

At the other end of the pitch, Wojciech Szczesny put in several good performances and kept us in more games than he should have had too. Personally, I would like to see us buy a new second choice goalkeeper for in case Szczesny gets injured as I am not convinced by Lukasz Fabianski. The defence has been plagued by injury this season and many players have been forced to play out of position and this has been where our season has been affected most.

Laurent Koscielny is progressing well considering a few years ago he was playing in the French second division. But, despite some positives, the defence on the whole was not good. Injuries didn’t help, especially to the likes of Thomas Vermaelen and Bacary Sagna. But that cannot be used as the sole excuse. I am unsure what to make of Per Mertesacker following his first season and Andre Santos seems a bit suspect at the back. But we are definitely still lacking some solidarity at the back and need to add more depth in that department.

The foundations of a great squad are there, but I’d like to see Wenger buy a new second-choice goalkeeper, another defender and possibly one more midfielder. It may also be worth bringing in an extra back-up striker to cover for injuries as Marouane Chamakh and Gervinho simply do not score enough goals and Park seems unlikely to get enough game time to prove himself.

It is really hard to say whether or not we will be competing more seriously for honours next season. If we make a few additions we have the potential to be right up there with the two Manchester clubs, but we have to start strong. There is no reason why that can’t happen, providing we keep Van Persie, but whether we do is another question. Next year could be a big year, but whatever happens I’ll be cheering them on every step of the way.

COME ON YOU GUNNERS!