2008-2009 season review, Part 2: Overall player ratings, Song and Arshavin the best, thumbs down to Diaby and Adebayor
Welcome to Part 2 of my season review. Having analysed our season as a whole in Part 1, what went right and what went wrong, I will today focus on player ratings, where I will rate each and every one of our players making sure to provide the explanation behind the ratings.
Needless to say, feel free to comment about this article and to post your personal ratings so as to able to compare them with each other. In my case, I didn’t keep a record of all the ratings I gave throughout the season so I have to rely on my memory, provided it still works as it should.
Manuel Almunia: Vote 7,5
Starting from the away game against Fenerbahce in the Champions League, Manuel showed character and the needed determination to consolidate himself as Arsenal’s #1. He may make the occassional mistake here and there but all keepers do and at the age of 32, you could say – for a goalkeeper – that he’s in the best shape of his career.
Lukasz Fabianski: Vote 5
Contrary to Almunia, you can see Fabiański is still learning his job and as much as we may not like to point fingers against our players, he’s responsible for our F.A. Cup defeat against Chelsea with that silly exit in the attempt to block Drogba. But he’s still young, only 24 and I’m more than sure in two or three years, he will no longer make such mistakes and will be our regular.
Bacary Sagna: Vote 5
By his standards, he had a very disappointing year. He made it in the Premiership’s best team last year and that came to no surprise considering how incredible his season has been. This year he struggled very, very much. A reason may of course be that almost all our problems struggled to settle down but after almost every Arsenal game, many were disappointed with his crosses which yes, unfortunately, have been terrible throughout.
Kolo Toure: Vote 6
If he wanted to leave in January, there had to be a reason. Problems with Gallas saw the former captain not enjoying himself anymore although in the last part of the season, he started to show a glimpse of the brilliance which made him a fan-favourite. To his defence, he rarely had the same partner alongside him, it was either Silvestre, or Gallas or Djourou, definitely not easy.
William Gallas: Vote 6,5
I think what was said on Toure can be applied to Gallas as well. Contrary to Kolo though, he was involved in a number of incidents which saw Wenger take away his captaincy. However, despite that, Billy kept on performing well, like a true professional and in a way, our slim hopes of winning something died when he suffered that nasty injury. Can’t however take away from him some mistakes which cost us dearly at the start of the season.
Mikael Silvestre: Vote 4
How could Manchester United get rid of one of their players, was the question almost everyone asked when he joined. At the end of the season, we knew the answer, although it was not hard to realise why. Slow and uncomfortable in almost anything he does, he’s been a big liability to the side. But, I would keep him, more on that in part 3.
Johan Djourou: Vote 5
There was a lot of high hopes for the Swiss Internatinal but due to injury problems and due to the fact that he didn’t play a lot, it seems he never really fulfilled those expectations.
Gael Clichy: Vote 6
Not the best of seasons but just like Gallas and without taking anything away from Gibbs, we struggled when he was sidelined in the last part of the season. Having said that, he was also very disappointing in the first part of the year, I remember that game against Hull where he was completely torn apart by Mendy. But he also had super games like when we faced Manchester United at the Emirates, a game where he gave nothing away to Ronaldo.
Kieran Gibbs: Vote 6,5
We couldn’t have asked for a better substitute to Clichy but as much as he impressed in the last months of the season, he felt the pressure in the first minutes of the two Champions League games against Manchester United, slipping twice, with the second one killing all our hopes to progress. But he’s still young of course and the best backup in that position ahead of next season.
Alexandre Song: Vote 8
After the away game at Kiev, I awarded him the man of the match award but then he faded away a little only to come back strongly in the last months of the season. And what a comeback! He performed brilliantly both as central midfielder and at the back. Also, despite his young age, he has the experience of those old defenders who know when it’s time to commit a foul, even if it means getting a yellow. A pleasant surprise this year.
Abou Diaby: Vote 4
Granted, he suffered injuries and so on but he was shocking this year. In almost all games, he didn’t seem to know what he was supposed to do, regardless where he played. The reason why Wenger kept on insisting with him beats me.
Cesc Fabregas: Vote 5,5
I would have expected much more from our captain. I understand he suffered an injury which kept him out for a long time but before that his performances were unacceptable. He looked tired, almost uninterested, maybe the hangover from the European Cup triumph. After the injury he did produce magic immediately from the first game but then again faded away. Not sure if the reason is the midfield around him, what he spoke about in an interview at the start of the season.
Samir Nasri: Vote 7
His first year at Arsenal was superb. Like Song, one of the few players who can actually smile when looking back at his season. Unfortunately, the experiment of playing him as central midfielder failed but he’s terrific on the wings and like the rest of the pack, will be hungry for more next year.
Denilson: Vote 5,5
Oh, drum roll, the Gunning Hawk is about to analyse Denilson’s season! Well you guys know I don’t rate him high enough to be a regular, to be one of the men who played most games for us. The statistics may dress him up as the holding midfielder every top European team wants to have but all I saw, over and over again, is a weak youngster who gives the ball away cheaply, in dangerous areas and doesn’t backtrack to make up for the mistake. Will he be good someday? Of course, but this wasn’t supposed to be his season and away games against Manchester City and Aston Villa clearly showed why.
Aaron Ramsey: No Vote
I will not give a vote to those who didn’t play enough and Aaron is one of them. I honestly can’t determine how good he is, not yet at least. The Carling Cup and the away game in the Champions League against Fenerbahce may say he’s good, very good, but way too many times, when he was used, he kept the ball way too long, rather than passing it, maybe to impress but in that case, how can you blame him? He thought he could be a regular, instead …
Jack Wilshere: No Vote
Liam Brady said the kid will be good and good he will be! In the Carling Cup but also with the youth side he was simply amazing and his goal against Stoke City is one of the best goals we saw this season. A shame we didn’t see more of him with the first team as the kid is full of confidence and not shy to challenge in any way.
Emmanuel Eboue: 5
Strange season for Emmanuel. The boo-boys didn’t help, he looked devastated on that day but in a way recovered well from that. Unfortunately the midfield is not really his preferred position so I hope to see more of him in the Sagna position when the Frenchman will need a rest.
Amaury Bischoff: No Vote
Brough by Wenger as a mystery signing. Many believe he will leave and so do I. He’s not as patient as Ramsey and Vela, he knows he’s good and wants action, not bench time. In the few occassions I saw him play, I was impressed.
Eduardo: No Vote
He didn’t play much, did he? In the few occassions when he was involved, he delighted us with some incredible tricks and goals and seems to team-up well with Carlos Vela. He just underwent more surgery, let’s just hope it’s nothing serious.
Robin Van Persie: 7
Awful start to the season but at the end of 2008 and start of 2009 he was simply unstoppable. The goals against Chelsea, Liverpool and Everton show how needed he is for this Arsenal side. He was disappointing from set-pieces and faded in the last part of the season and that worries me, his inconsistency.
Carlos Vela: No Vote
Too little, just like Ramsey. All I know is that in the little time he was used he hit a hat-trick, scored six goals in all and provided three assists. He’s fast, his first touch is top-class and above everything else, he’s damn creative in front of goal, something almost all other strikers – with the exception of Eduardo – lack. Some may say he’s not strong enough as statistics show that as he’s the most fouled player of the season but that’s not because he’s not strong, that’s because fouling him is the only way to take the ball off his feet.
Theo Walcott: 6
Theo also suffered a number of injuries which prevented him from having a good season but when he was involved, he showed those limitations when having to deliver the final ball which you may wonder when he will overcome.
Emmanuel Adebayor: 4
My conclusion on Emmanuel is that he wanted to leave last summer, the club forced him to stay and therefore he was upset from the first to the last day of the season. Some amazing goals such as the one against Villareal clearly show that when he meant business, he delivered.
Nicklas Bendtner: 7
Some insist on saying he’s no good, too wasteful but ultimately, I don’t see him as a pure striker, he’s more of a support to someone like Eduardo. He was amazing also when played on the right this season and one of the few who actually tried hard whenever involved.
Andrei Arshavin: 8
The “8″ is not a “9″ or “10″ because he only played half-a-season but anything he tried and touched during the last six months turned to gold. He’s fast, can delivery crosses, can win penalties and can score. And he’s also not shy to express his feelings although maybe he should discuss that with the club rather than talking to the media.
Summary
Our top fives players – for me of course – have been Almunia, Song, Nasri, Robin and Arshavin. Those who really disappointed are Fabianski, Silvestre, Sagna, Diaby and Adebayor although others follow closely.
And this concludes part 2 of a three-part season review. In Part 3 I will talk about who we shall keep and who we shall sell of the players I mentioned above. In the meantime, feel free to comment on this part. But remember, keep it nice so as we can live happily ever after.
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If you think Sagna was a 5 you dont know a thing about football. His crosses may be a little poor ill grant you that, but hes a RIGHT BACK, not a winger. In every other area of the game he is top class, without him we’d have been a mess at the back.
For the most, I agree with you.
I will not argue with you “haha”, but since you know a lot about football and our team, you should know that Clichy, Sagna or whoever plays in that role gets a lot of time in a crossing position, even more than Walcott or Nasri who are the wingers.
i agree with Ifeayi and of course the OP but bendtner desrves less
common sagna deserves better,a poor season granted but stil the best of the bunch at the back. bendtner 7! you got bribed (like wenger)?did better at the season’s end but that’s because he’s so poor we have to judge him by lower standards,and by the way i tot strikers were supposed to score goals not fluff them.but yeah fabianski,diaby,denilson &silvestre were terrible,while song and arshavin were the bomb
For Sagna i realy dont agree with you. by the way do you remember the acrobatis save he made against aston villa
and the way he tamed lampard against chalsea i think sagna need more credit than what you have given him
he is one player who has been very consistence all through
Lol. Please do your analysis again. Sum up how many goals conceded by the mess made up by toure and rate him again.
If you do so, then you may give more justifiable ratings to the men around him.
Last but not least, Bendtner and Cesc are obviously two most underrated players. The former made his opponents tired of running on the field and scored 2 digit goals this season, inlcuding goals made a difference in serveral important maches whereas the latter made many successful blocks whilst on defence and good passes resulted in goal.
Aside his crosses sagna was top top class.and also i think van persie DESERVES an 8.
Yes friends, on second thoughts, I agree I was harsh, very harsh, on Sagna. Thanks for mentioning that off-the-line clearence dickens.
On Bendtner, uk, I believe Arsenal fans are divided as there are a lot of mixed feelings on him. I don’t think he’s as poor as many want us to believe though.
disagree on:
sagna
bendtner
van persie
agree on the rest
Sagna is the bomb of Arsenal. His work rate is best to none. He is simply the best player of Arsenal this year. Most will not agree with me probably because of Arshavin but what we have to remember is that he found this team in a mess to an extend that his efforts were more pronounced. As to how Bendtner can get even 5 is beyond me. He is a better defender of an opponent than our striker. I still remember his goal line clearance when we could have scored a goal. Toure and Gallas cant work together, one has to goal unfortunately Gallas is a pure class, lets face it. His work rate can only be beaten by Sagna/Theo and he must stay and Toure should go. Adebayor does not possess the quality of the likes of Kanu etc, for every goal he scores he misses 4-5 clear chances. He must also go and let us buy Villa D. Babel can suit our play as well.
Sagna – 6, not good enough in offense, but brilliant in defense. Had only 1 really bad match (when he wasn’t fit).
Agree with the rest, maybe Diaby and Silvestre could have 3-3,5, they were really terrible
Chris I have to say i do agree with you on sagna, maybe a point more..But the simple fact of the matter is that he is a proffessional football player and his crosses are not nearly up to scratch..The same goes for cliche, we have adas and bendnter who are great headers of the ball but the service is simply not up to scratch..One can only imagine how many more goals we will score..I would even say that I would have started eboue infront of sagna at the end of the season as he was high on confidence and really playng well in the right back position where he played his best footty for arsenal.
Hi Teko, thank you for the comment.
At one stage, I also would have liked to see Eboue play and Sagna rested and maybe see the Frenchman back for the last part of the season. I will publish an article later on today on next season where I see Sagna as regular of course but Eboue as his first back-up choice.
[...] In Part 1, I analysed our season as a whole, what went right and what went wrong. In Part 2, I gave ratings to all our players. Today, I will explain how I see the Arsenal squad next season, who I would sell and who I would [...]
i say Adebayor is very strong and you don’t know some things about Foot ball ? Don’t you ? no you don’t see you strangle
I never thought someone would strangle me to death in the rare cases I think how I’ll die
How do you rate a player poorly because “due to injury problems and due to the fact that he didn’t play a lot, it seems he never really fulfilled those expectations”? When he did play he did play well. It was when he was drafted in that our defence stabilised. In fact, for some weeks he was first choice, with Gallas and Toure partnering him.
Ah Djourou, OK, had to search to find him
No, I wasn’t that impressed by Johann this season but that could be because he suffered injuries. That is what I meant. Ultimately, he suffered what the whole back four suffered with this season, having to play with different partners week in, week out.
I rate him high though and hope to see more of him next year.
Good ratings, Chris. But lo and behold, I have some supplements on me own:
(where there’s no description see Chris’)
Almunia: 7.5 – He will never win any personal awards but when at his best, he’s a safe rearguard. He’s been very impressive in penalty situations and commands his area as he’s supposed to (and as good as possible when the starting two CB’s are a new transmutation every week). If only he had a more consistent back line in front of him we’d be seeing some very good results.
Sagna: 6.5 – Considering the fact that his last season was extraordinary, we all expected big things from the athletic RB. The pure star quality only shone through in glimpses but he’s still been able to keep a decent performance rate throughout the season – albeit not as high as yesteryear’s. We best not forget the fact that he had the task of defending our right side more or less singlehandedly when Eboue had his long run of upsettingly poor games in RM. Add the ever changing variety (and thus mentality) of RM’s, I feel Sagna could’ve done far worse.
Toure: 7.0 – Unlike certain others who ran about the field like they should be picked but really didn’t want to play (without pointing any fingers, see Emmanuel Sheyi Adebayor’s rating further down), Kolo displayed tremendous sense of responsibility and encouragement this year. We all know how he wanted out of the club because of the player he’s destined to be paired the closest to, he never let it get the better of him or in any other way disturb his focus on the pitch. This illustrates great strenght of character as well as his importance to the team. With Silvestre fuzzing about like he can’t believe his own luck, Kolo has been positively indispensable in defense. Perhaps not as solid as in previous seasons, he’s presence on the field has never the less been – in my opinion at least – an unsung boost to the team.
Gallas: 6.5 – Much the same as with Kolo. Unlike Kolo, Billy landed himself a storm of unpopularity following his strip-off of the captaincy and, let’s face it, it was very much uphill from there. But he’s gathered himself to deliver some solid defending when the rest of the team(/defense) were all 6’s and 7’s. He’s made errors like everybody else but when looking back at the season in it’s entirety the apprehensiveness after the fallout with Kolo was overall put to shame.
Djourou: 5.0
Silvestre: 2.5 – The only reason his rating isn’t a solid fuckall is the home game against Man U in november. He somehow managed not to cock it all up in that game. Apart from that I will just quote my close, United-supporting mate Martin: “Congratulations; what a bargain!”.
Clichy: 5.5 – As a huge admirer of Gaël it hurts deeply to rate his season with a humbling 5.5. But that is nevertheless how I feel he’s delivered this term around. “Mr Inconsistency” went from being reliable, composed and (quite frankly) very cultured to shaky and alarmingly poor in his positioning. Exactly what happened to our top-class LB is anyone’s guess, but I sure hope he’ll rediscover himself for next season. His mutual understanding with Samir appears promising, but his horrible, high and dipping crosses need practice.
Gibbs: 6.5 – Young Kieran has developed his defensive work vastly since substituting for Gaël at first and he now possesses many of the qualities required to be next in line at the sought-after LB position at Arsenal. His positioning and tackling needs some polishing but he has all the time in the world to get that done while learning from the best, Gaël.
Song: 6.0 – Alex endured a horrible start to the season but redeemed himself admirably during the latter half. In my opinion he should be our battling, defensive midfielder rather than, seeing as with him doing all the labored cleaning up and ball-wining, Cesc (or whoever’s supposed to be the central, attacking midfielder) is free to create matters going forward. He may not be the top class midfielder everyone’s hoping we’ll sign over the summer, but I do feel he’ll be a decent back-up and, in time, maybe even the suited replacement.
Diaby: 5.0 – It’s the good old case of “one brilliant – five horrendous” with the silky Frenchman. At times he’s absolutely unstoppable, pulling great tricks, shots and passes out of his hat but, unfortunately, those are but in glimpses. For the majority of his extensive on-field minutes he looks like he’s searching for his right spot himself, unfamiliar, as he seems, both in the attacking and defensive midfield role as well as on either wing. We should, however, bear in mind that he’s still young and has at least a season or two in which to develop, before the fans will want to see profound merits.
Fabregas: 6.0 – Injuries disrupted the Spaniards (nearly) first season as captain and, maybe as a result of this, he never seemed to find his beat. Illustrated his importance to the team when he returned from injury in mid-spring, but he failed to hit the heights of last season. I’m still not sure making him captain was the right call as he seems to struggle when needed to lift his team or in other ways take matters into his own hands. Admittedly, though, even he must sometimes be wondering when we’ll find him a suited midfield partner following Flamini’s departure last year.
Is in for a myriad of transfer speculations and rumors, but I feel certain he’ll endure the lot and stay strong for the team next season.
Nasri: 7.0 – Samir made an impressive, immense and immediate impression on the team and league with some very well taken displays early on. But seeing as he’s been deployed on the left wing (much to the perpetual agony of your narrator) I feel we haven’t exploited his dazzling potential at all during his first year. He’s much more of a playmaker than winger and you can actually see this fact in action whenever he gets tired of linking up with his LB and seeks towards the center of the field in order to initiate more varied waves. There’s no doubt, however, that he’ll be massive for us once he settles, maybe even gets used to playing as a winger and starts performing away from home as well.
Should be allowed to execute more free kicks; the one against Blackburn that clipped off the bar was almost immaculate!
Denilson: 5.0 – The kid has had a very rough season and has to a certain extent, I feel, been pointed out as scapegoat of the Great Mid-Season Downfall. His abilities are simply neither compatible with the responsibility nor the required creativity of the attacking center midfield slot, in which he was put when Cesc was injured. He didn’t deliver at all – that much is untenable. But I’m certain his development would have taken him a great deal further this season had he not been moved out of his preferred, all-battling midfield role.
Still, with a possible experienced midfield purchase very much on the cards he might find himself surplus in the midfield and will thus have to battle or bite it.
Ramsey: N/A – Still not at all seeing why we paid almost 6 mill for this chap. I hope he’ll bring my doubts to shame in near future.
Eboue: 4.0 – Boy, oh boy .. While looking lively at times – predominantly when substituting for Bacary at RB – this will go down as a horror season for the engaged Ivorian. Padding out the details of his many antics would be a bit too pedantic for my taste, so let’s all just agree that whether he chooses to stay or leave, next season can only be better than the one he just endured.
Walcott: 5.0 – The Road Runner was supposed a major role in this years team despite his young age but, alas, he, too, had his rhythm spoiled by injury (in this case a nasty back injury he suffered on international duty), When he returned he looked very much alive, showcasing some great turns on the ball and his usual, blistering speed. But he tends to linger on the ball more than he did last term, to the distress of the positioned and awaiting attackers. His crossing could be more accurate and he sometimes seem to lose his teammates somewhere down his burst, leaving them little chance of reaching his ensuing cross. But I’m sure he’ll find his game next season and I have just about the same expectations to him next season as I had ahead of the finished.
van Persie: 6.5 – Robin pulled some crucial goals for us when matters looked the worst and remains to the day a very important player for the team; internationally experienced and “old”, albeit only in Arsenal terms. But, in my opinion, he’s not the top-class striker we all so badly want him to be. His goal tally is inadequate for a top-4 striker (although he does provide a lot of assists) and he hasn’t converted a free kick since blasting one home against Sunderland at the start of the 0708 season. When left on his own he’s incapable of lifting anyone and he needs to be far more on the finishing end rather than a constructing part of our attacks.
As I’ve mentioned before, he’s priceless when it comes to penalties.
Vela: N/A – Sorry, Chris, but he still has a lot to do if he intends to win me over : )
Adebayor: 4.5 – I cannot neglect his lumber Jack hand-countable moments of glory as some of them proved absolutely vital each in it’s own course. That does, however, not, nor will it ever, compensate for the epic, almost insultingly lethargic overall display of his first season as established, prosper star attacker. The first couple of months were just spent wondering when he’d ignite the engines, the following mid-season months were one, big increase of frustration over WHY he was playing (!) like he couldn’t care or commit less to the case, while the last months were spent actually wishing someone else would take his place (in this case Nick or Carl). If this “Adebayor 2.0″ is what we have in store for the future I’ll say good f.ckn riddance – let’s focus our energy and concerns on people who actually gives a frick.
(Did someone say “Huntelaar”?)
Nicklas Bendtner: 5.0 – If I were to rank my lanky compatriot solely on his abilities it would have been closer to 4.0. But his sheer work-rate and eagerness to impress grants him a full mark in my book. I’d still prefer we keep him as fourth striker after van Persie and, the starting two, Eduardo and XxX (seriously, did someone just yell out “Huntelaar” ?!), but I don’t see his future as one belonging at Arsenal. Rather, he should seek his fortunes somewhere more adjacent to his merits, which should also grant him more minutes on the pitch.
Asrhavin: 8.5 – See Chris’s ranking,
Summary – With so many players taking either a dip in form or a couple of months on the injury table it was never easy for the remaining ones to excel in terms of overall season ratings. Among the honorable mentions are Almunia, Toure, Nasri and Arshavin, the latter three chiefly for displaying any sense of urgency when the rest of the team needed inspiration/motivation, while Diaby, Silvestre and Adebayor need to take a serious look in the mirror ahead of next season – if they’ll be around, that is,
As always: all the best
from the sour Dane
I think wenger shd av playd bendtner at the semi stages espcialy gaints man u. Seyi wz nt interestd. Cesc waz tired most of d season nd denilson, diaby were poor support. Dat was d prob of d season
[...] In Part 1, I analysed our season as a whole, what went right and what went wrong. In Part 2, I gave ratings to all our players. Today, I will explain how I see the Arsenal squad next season, who I would sell and who I would [...]