When Per Mertesacker twice inexplicably played Spurs onside to score against Arsenal at the beginning of March, few thought he would end up one of our heroes in the race for 4th. Nor Laurent Koscielny, who was on the bench at White Hart Lane having spent much of the season as our third choice centre back.
After yesterday's Newcastle v Arsenal match report here, Neil wrote: "Player of 2013 so far is Koscienly. Once Wenger went for him instead of Vermaelen...he proved that he is considerably better than any centre back around." Neil – I couldn't agree more.
Arsene Wenger was able to name an unchanged Arsenal side after Mikel Arteta passed a late fitness test on his calf. Although Olivier Giroud was available to play after his three game suspension, Wenger left him on the bench. Newcastle United were determined to try to spoil the party for Arsenal, as were Sunderland at Tottenham.
It was looking increasingly likely earlier this year that Arsenal were going to continue the unwanted recent tradition of selling the club captain in the summer. In 2011 it was Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona, followed last summer by Robin van Persie to Manchester United. The rumours and speculation about the current captain, Thomas Vermaelen, have died down recently and, from his own words, it appears that he will still be at the club next season.
As the season comes to a close, I feel it may be time to give your Arsenal player ratings for the season (I don't want to think about tomorrow's game to be honest!) It's been a funny old season, with some players starting poorly and improving, some just not performing and some playing very well. Others have been wildly inconsistent.
Are any Arsenal players good enough to interest another big club? by FD
All the transfer talk at the moment is about the potential players Arsenal are looking to bring in over the summer. It seems as though there's hardly a prospect we haven't been linked with. That's all well and good – it's refreshing to be considered as one of the poachers for a change, rather than having to play our usual game-keeping role.
A Defence To Rely On? That Doesn't Sound Like Arsenal... by DG
In recent years, Arsenal's defence has become somewhat of a stereotype to beat us with. Since the glory days of Adams, Dixon and co have passed, we have struggled to put together a truly dependable and cohesive back line that could be depended on week in week out.
It was not too long ago that a lot of Arsenal fans thought that the inclusion of Aaron Ramsey in the Gunners starting line up was a bizarre form of torture inflicted on us by Arsene Wenger for some reason. It was also a clear sign, for some, that Arsenal were not going to win the game and was further proof of the French manager's decline into senility.
It is no secret that Arsenal are looking to bring in at least one central defender this summer. It could even be two, depending on what happens with the Arsenal captain Thomas Vermaelen. The Belgian international will be less than impressed at having lost his regular starting place to Laurent Koscielny and may decide he wants to move on, with Barcelona one of the teams apparently interested.
Lacktustre Arsenal get the victory Player ratings by NS.
With Gareth Bale FC winning just before kick off, Arsenal knew a victory was essential.
My first can of beer had hardly finished fizzing on opening as Theo Walcott scored. We were relaxed. What a nice feeling a goal in 20 seconds gives you!
Three stars who've shone for Arsenal this season by FD
With all the talk of transfers and who's likely to be joining the club this summer, it's worth just reflecting on the players who've contributed the most to Arsenal's current season. Of course, the next few matches will ultimately decide whether we can salvage some degree of success from another trophy-less campaign, but regardless of where we finish in the league, I believe there are a few players who can hold their heads high and be satisfied with how they've performed.
New Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola has reportedly made a move for Arsenal centre back Laurent Koscielny. It is reported that the Germans have enquired into how much Arsenal want for the player. Guardiola has capped the transfer sum at £20 Million, which seems like a good offer from my personal point of view but manager Arsene Wenger has fended Bayern off and is refusing to negotiate, according to Goal.
With the stories circulating about Bacary Sagna's future, heightened by his poor performance in the draw against United at the weekend, Arsenal may be on the look out for a replacement right back this summer. If the rumours were to be true and we were on the market I do not believe there would be anyone more suitable than Micah Richards to be the man to fill the gap, especially as he is a Gooner himself.
The Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny can count himself lucky that he got his starting place back from Lukascz Fabianski. It was only the rib injury to his Polish international team mate that let Szczesny back in. He could have been in the same situation as the Gunners captain Thomas Vermaelen, who has played just once since the derby defeat by Tottenham and that was because Per Mertesacker was suspended.
Since the huge disappointment of losing the north London derby, Arsenal have bounced back with a great run of games. One of the key factors in that has been the Gunners defensive displays, conceding just three goals in seven games. Arsene Wenger reacted to the Tottenham defeat by dropping the captain Thomas Vermaelen in favour of Laurent Koscielny, and the French centre back has grabbed his chance.
Arsenal's defence isn't as bad as it's made out to be and is not the reason we are struggling by KJ
The general consensus amongst most football fans is that Arsenal are a good attacking side that are average at best at defending. That would be correct considering how over the last 5 seasons, our goals conceded at the end of each season has steadily increased:
2008/2009: 38 2009/2010: 41 2010/2011: 43 2011/2012: 49 2012/2013: 35 (with 4 games to play)
As you can see, we've conceded more and more goals as the seasons have gone by but this season seems to be the one that bucks the trend.
Arsenal were far from impressive against Fulham on Saturday, but did at least hold on for a massive three points. With both our top four rivals picking up points in tough fixtures yesterday, the next Gunners game, against Manchester United at the Emirates on Saturday, has taken on extra importance.
In a massive game for Arsenal, Arsene Wenger started with Tomas Rosicky in the middle and Cazorla on the left, with Walcott on the right. Fabianski is still injured so Szczesny got another chance to prove his worth. The Gunners started with real intent and were looking extremely dangerous.
Fulham's job got a whole lot harder when Steve Sidwell lunged in on Arteta with his studs up.
The Germany and Arsenal centre back Per Mertesacker has come in for some serious stick from the media and from Arsenal fans this season. It is fair to say, though, that the 29-year old has established himself as one of the first names on the Arsenal team sheet. After missing the match against Norwich following his red card against West Brom, Mertesacker immediately regained his place at the expense of his captain Thomas Vermaelen, proving that Arsene Wenger values him extremely highly.
The last time that Arsenal played Fulham, back in November at the Emirates, the Gunners threw away victory and were punished by their Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov, who scored twice and set up another. The defending by Arsenal that day was awful and we have improved greatly since then, but must be very careful not to give the former spud any chance to repeat his heroics at Craven Cottage today.
The Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud has come in for a pile of criticism, despite scoring 16 goals already this season, and he is becoming better known for the goals he misses rather than the ones that end up in the back of the net!
He especially came in for a lot of stick after Tuesday's 0-0 draw against Everton, when he had at least a couple of good chances to get us all three points, and many Arsenal fans have been calling for him to be dropped today in favour of Lukas Podolski.
Per Mertesacker thinks that the Arsenal players should be kicking themselves today. The German international feels that the Gunners should be celebrating an important victory over Everton, but instead can only rue that the opportunity to firmly grab pole position in the race for the Champions League slipped away.
The remaining matches of the season are all set to be nail biting stuff. We need to continue to win and Tottenham and Chelsea need to lose some. Next Tuesday is a very tough match with Everton, and here are my thoughts and I just wanted to see what people think.
Being out of the cups certainly seems to suit this Arsenal side. Finally showing the sort of form that deserted us at the start of the season, even our Ivorian Messi Gervinho is finally getting back in on the action. Yet when you take a step back, it's all rather frustrating. The defensive stability which looks set to bookmark our season was not there at a time which could have defined our season, and players who spent time in and out of the side playing poorly seem to have found a fighting spirit and determination that could ultimately have helped end the anxious wait for silverware.
Per Mertesacker may have done his captain at Arsenal a huge favour on Saturday. The big German centre back suffered a rush of blood to the head against West Brom, giving away a penalty and earning himself a red card into the bargain. That meant that Vermaelen was brought on for the last 20 minutes, and he will also start the next game against Norwich City because Mertesacker will be suspended.
Arsene Wenger raised a few eyebrows with his Arsenal team selection against Reading. The main issues were the decision to leave Lukas Podolski and Carl Jenkinson on the bench, playing Cazorla on the left of the front three and Tomas Rosicky as the central attacking midfielder. With Walcott injured, Gervinho got the nod ahead of Oxlade-Chamberlain.
It's during the International break that I feel sorry for those fans who choose to blog about Arsenal every day. Quite what there was to talk about is beyond me, so hats off to them for drumming up content from the abyss. With relatively little news for the past week, except rumours of a Giroud goal for France (I know!
Squad rotation is increasingly common in modern football, and it is no different at Arsenal. Having said that, the captain Thomas Vermaelen would probably not have been dropped for the last two games against Bayern Munich and Swansea City if he had been playing well. The Belgian international knows that he now faces a struggle to win back his place in the starting line up, but he has vowed to put in the work in order to do that.
Arsene Wenger is on the lookout for a new central defender for his Arsenal squad. With an estimated £70 million burning a hole in the Fremchman's pocket, Arsenal fans are hoping for some big name additions in some key positions, and central defence is one of the most crucial.
The Gunners are currently operating with just three first choicers in Koscielny, Vermaelen and Mertesacker.
There has been all sorts of things said about the Arsenal defence this season, and all three of the central defenders have come in for their share of criticism. Strangely enough, they have all recently been linked with moves away from the Emirates this summer, but have all denied that they are looking for another club and declared their desire to stay at Arsenal.
Throughout the season, questions are always raised about what our best team is. It constantly changes because of a player's form, attitude and possible injuries. However, at the moment, Arsene Wenger has the problem of several players not having a place nailed down in the team.
It has certainly been an interesting week regarding the Arsenal defence. The Gunners captain Thomas Vermaelen has been benched in favour of Laurent Koscielny and his new partner at centre-back, Per Mertesacker, has joined the Frenchman in committing himself to a future at Arsenal despite rumours that he may be returning to Germany.
The decline of Vermaelen and the importance of Koscielny. by KJ
This season our Arsenal team has been riddled with defensive errors that have cost us many goals and therefore a lot of vital points. This in my opinion has been mainly down to the decline of Thomas Vermaelen. I remember when we first saw him on the Arsenal scene and many were saying in hush voices that we could have our best defender since Sol Campbell (not really saying much though).
Hey Wenger It's nice to see that you are being ruthless. That's what you need to do sometimes. I felt sorry for Mozart, he deserves a game but Ramsey had a good game.
Fabulouski 7: Never really troubled. Didn't even move for Michi's effort which was a worry.
The much talked about 2nd Leg Champions league game between Arsenal and Bayern Munich has come and gone, it's no longer news that we lost gallantly on the pitch at the Allianz Arena in Munich yesterday against the over hyped Germans. The Germans thought the match was already won due to the mouth watering 3-1 score that they got at the Emirates three weeks ago.
I would not have been too surprised if Arsene Wenger wanted to name the same Arsenal team that started the morale boosting game against Bayern Munich on Wednesday,. but unfortunately Kieran Gibbs looks like he will not be able to play, so Monreal will come in with Jenkinson on the other side.
Wenger said, "I think he(Gibbs) will be out on Saturday.
I have to say today's papers did make for pleasurable reading on the way to work, despite the fact that Europe's most elite competition now excludes Great Britain (a la Euro). Of course its prestige is worth remembering having just watched Spurs slug their way through a competition that draws comparisons similar to those made with Taken and Taken 2.
I have to say today's papers did make for pleasurable reading on the way to work, despite the fact that Europe's most elite competition now excludes Great Britain (a la Euro). Of course its prestige is worth remembering having just watched Spurs slug their way through a competition that draws comparisons similar to those made with Taken and Taken 2.
After Arsenal secured fourth place with the 1-0 win over Newcastle United and a chance of Champions League football next season, Arsene Wenger hailed his "special" players. In particular, he praised their mental strength as they overturned a seven-point gap from Tottenham Hotspur. The resilience showed in the team's performances as they went nine league games unbeaten, and swapped their usual swashbuckling style for a more pragmatic approach.
Arsenal fans should be used to having our hearts in our mouths towards the end of just about every game since Christmas, but with so much at stake yesterday's game at Newcastle was even nervier than most. Laurent Koscielny's goal calmed us all a little, but we still had to suffer right to the end of the 90 minutes.
