Season Review - Arsenal

A look back at the season all 20 clubs had in 2008-09, analysing the highs and lows of each team throughout the campaign, starting with Arsene Wenger's Arsenal.


2008-09 was a bit of a mixed bag for the Gunners as their early promise faltered earlier than usual only to see an upturn in results at the end of the season, albeit much too late to mount a serious title challenge.

Having finished fourth in 2007-08 Arsenal fans were looking for their team to, once again, establish themselves as serious title challengers at the start of the season, they would have to do this though without important first-teamers such as Mathieu Flamini and Aliaksandr Hleb who joined AC Milan and Barcelona respectively. Ageing squad members Jens Lehmann and Gilberto Silva left also, leaving Wenger with plenty of gaps to fill.

The striking options were boosted by the granting of a work permit to Carlos Vela whilst Aaron Ramsey became the club's first transfer of the summer. He was soon followed by Samir Nasri before Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre arrived late in August.

By that time the league campaign had already started but a narrow 1-0 home win over newly-promoted West Brom did little to instill confidence. Things got worse still the following week as they were defeated by Roy Hodgson's Fulham at Craven Cottage with the only goal of the game coming from defender Brede Hangeland.

Things began to pick up soon after though, as advancement to the group stage of the Champions League was secured with victory over FC Twente and Newcastle, Blackburn and Bolton were defeated comfortably. But there was to be drama at the Emirates in late September as Premier League new-boys Hull City, inspired by Geovanni, upset the Gunners with a 2-1 win.

Although concerning, the result certainly seemed to have little impact on the team initially, however, a home fixture against bottom of the league and fierce rivals Spurs did some damage. After having gone behind thanks to David Bentley's goal of the season contender early in the match, Arsenal stormed back to take a 3-1 lead mid-way through the second half. Darren Bent pulled one back for Spurs but Robin Van Persie added a fourth to seemingly secure the game for the Gunners with just ten minutes left on the clock.

But Tottenham, lead by new manager Harry Redknapp, had other ideas. Jermaine Jeans scored a marvellous individual effort to turn the pressure up slightly before Aaron Lennon scored an injury time equaliser to leave the Arsenal faithful with faces as red as their shirts.

As though that wasn't enough, a 2-1 defeat away to Stoke followed and Arsenal's title aspirations soon evaporated. A victory over Manchester United was the reaction but the inconsistency continued the following week when Aston Villa, competing with Arsenal for fourth place at this stage, came to the Emirates and left with a 2-0 victory.

With the team sitting in fifth place for most of the first half of the season Arsene Wenger knew something had to change. His reliance on buying youth and breeding them was failing him and fans had begun to question his methods. His response was the purchase of Russian star Andrei Arshavin.

But the playmaker joined during a concerning period of results for the team with four consecutive 0-0 draws highlighting the attacking problems at the club. Things began to change, however, when Arshavin started to feature after regaining full match fitness. Wins over West Brom, Blackburn, Newcastle and Wigan showed the team had turned a corner before another 4-4 draw came at Anfield, with Arshavin having his biggest impact to date with four goals.

Despite matching Liverpool in that game, the same could not be done recently against Chelsea, who proceeded to inflict Arsenal's heaviest defeat of the season, with a 4-1 win at the Emirates. Manchester United clinched the league having drawn 0-0 with Arsenal at Old Trafford before Stoke were soundly defeated on the final day of the season. But in truth, Arsenal's campaign was over much earlier than that.

Arsene Wenger can perhaps take solace in the decent cup runs of his team, reaching the semi-finals of both the FA Cup and Champions League, but there are serious problems at the club, and not just on the pitch.

William Gallas was stripped of the Arsenal captaincy in November after a verbal attack on his teammates and his discontent seems to have spread. Striker Emmanuel Adebayor, so deadly in front of goal the season before, looked out of sorts for most of the campaign and seems unwilling to remain at the club over the summer. Whilst fans have raised questions about Wenger's transfer policy after waiting all season for him to fill the void left by Flamini, it appears neither Alex Song or Denilson are the answer.

For Arsenal to move forward they need to change. Wenger will, reportedly, be given more money to spend this summer and he should try his hardest to bring in some of the world's best talent, regardless of age. Another centre-back is required urgently, Toure and Gallas have looked poor at times whilst Silvestre has proved a poor purchase. Should Emmanuel Adebayor leave then a suitable replacement must be found because without the Tongolese forward, the team will struggle to score goals. David Villa will almost certainly leave Valencia this summer and Arsenal fans would see him as big name who would bang in the goals. Perhaps the most pressing issue for Wenger to address though, is the central midfield position. Alex Song has played their recently and has done well, but Arsenal fans want more, a permanent partner to Cesc Fabregas is needed and Wenger will need to draw on all his expertise to find one. Yaya Toure has been touted as a possible candidate and that is certainly the standard of player that a club like Arsenal should be chasing.


Final standings:
League position: 4th
Champions League: Semi Final
FA Cup: Semi Final
Carling Cup: Quarter Final