By their exalted standards, it’s been a slow start from the Arsenal Ladies this season. A shock 4-0 defeat to Liverpool at the Emirates represented their first league defeat in nearly two years, whilst only a last gasp Steph Houghton curler preserved a point away at Lincoln. The WSL promises to be a much more competitive affair this season, with several teams investing and making huge improvements.

One of the teams that has notably improved over the off season is Bristol Academy, who currently lead the WSL having won all of their first three league games. The acquisition of Spanish strikers Natalia and Laura del Rio have propelled them to another level. Bristol will be Arsenal’s opponents in this Sunday’s Women’s F.A. Cup Final at Doncaster Rovers’ Keepmoat Stadium. Arsenal have netted the trophy 11 times before whilst Bristol Academy are gunning for their first major honour.

Ahead of the game, Tim Stillman caught up with 7 time F.A. Cup winner and Arsenal goalkeeper Emma Byrne.

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Emma, it’s fair to say it’s been a mixed start to the season for Arsenal. One of the undesired themes so far has been profligacy in front of goal- the Liverpool game could easily have finished 5-5. Is finishing something Shelley has focused on in training as a result?

Yes, we’ve been doing some work on finishing and it is something we’ve spoken about in training. It’s been really peculiar, but the good thing is that we’re creating chances, so we’re not too worried. We know from experience that we’ve got plenty of players who know how to score goals so we don’t think it’ll be a long term problem. We’ve been a bit unlucky too, we hit the post countless times against Liverpool.

As goalkeeper I have responsibility to bear there too because we’re not keeping clean sheets. So I have to hold up my end of the bargain. For the missed chances against Lincoln, for example, we’d have still won 1-0 if we’d kept a clean sheet. So that’s something else that we are working hard on as a team.

Speaking of the training ground, what do your training sessions look like as a goalkeeper? Do the Ladies have a specialist goalkeeping coach? Do you join in with the other girls or train separately?

At the moment, we’ve just brought in a new goalkeeping coach, but he’s not able to make every session just yet. Tony Roberts, who coaches the youth team goalkeepers for the men’s side, comes and takes us once a week. He’s incredibly enthusiastic and we’re very lucky, because not many men’s team coaches would be willing to give up their time to come and coach the ladies. We train in the evening don’t forget.

Tony lives for the game, he still fancies himself as a player too! (TS- Roberts has been on the bench for the U-21s twice this season, despite his 43 years). But I’m a qualified coach too, so I’ll sometimes take sessions with myself and Rebecca Spencer (Arsenal’s reserve goalie). We usually join in with the rest of the team for the last half an hour of training, when we’ll play small sided games.

Faye White and Julie Fleeting have gone, Jayne Ludlow plays less and Kelly Smith and Rachel Yankey have been injured this season. That’s made you and your international colleague Ciara Grant the most experienced players in the side. Have you both felt that responsibility in the games so far?

I think so, yes. I certainly feel a lot busier this year! As a goalkeeper it’s a strange position, because you kind of want to be busy, but at the same time you kind of don’t. I know I have to sharpen up and work harder in training now and I’ve been working hard on that because there’s a lot of extra responsibility on me and Ciara.

I know Ciara has said that the league is notably quicker and more physical this year, but she’s more than capable of handling that. I know it’s up to me to work harder. I know I have to be louder and more vocal in games too. The demands of this league are tougher than ever and I know I have to be sharper in games and more of a leader too. 

I know you do some goalkeeping coaching in the girls academy now. Is coaching where you see your long term future after you retire?

I think so, yes. It would be a natural progression. We used to have a goalkeeping coach at Arsenal called Alex Welch who was a huge inspiration to me. He’s currently mentoring me whilst I take my badges. He was always more than just a goalkeeping coach, so to have him mentor me is a huge honour. I’ve finished my B badge and I’m currently studying for my A badge. I’m also qualified as a coach educator now and like I said, I often take sessions with Rebecca Spencer and myself.

Being a coach is probably what I’d be most comfortable with but it would also depend on job offers. In the women’s game, the job opportunities for such a role aren’t as plentiful for a goalkeeping coach. Not all clubs have them and if they do, they tend to only have one. I think coaching is what I would like to do, but it would depend on whether there were opportunities out there. I might have to crossover into the men’s game! That would be a turn up.

How did you come to be a goalkeeper? At what stage did you think, “That’s what I want to do with my life”?

Nobody wants to be a goalkeeper, we all just get pushed into it somewhere down the line! Where I’m from in Ireland, we play a lot of Gaelic football so I grew up playing that. I had some friends that played soccer as we call it where I’m from. I used to really enjoy it and played out on pitch for most of my youth. One day in a game in Ireland, I was playing in midfield and our goalkeeper got injured.

Because of my background in Gaelic football, the girls thought I was the natural choice to take over in goal. I had a decent game and it just so happened that the Ireland manager was watching. When he began to enquire about me, I thought, “I should probably stick with this and see where it takes me.” Years later, here I still am!

You came to Arsenal via a circuitous route. You left Ireland to play in Denmark, before signing for Arsenal from Fortuna Hjorring at the age of 20. How did Arsenal spot you?

I was in the Ireland squad at that stage, but I was reserve to a keeper called Sue Shipp. She had to pull out of the squad with an injury for one game, so I played. It just so happened that Vic Akers was watching. Ciara Grant was at Arsenal at the time and her and I were really good friends, even then. Vic asked Ciara about me and ended up asking if I would be interested in a trial at Arsenal. I was playing in Denmark at the time and was open to move. So I flew over to London for a long weekend and had a trial. That was 14 years ago and they haven’t gotten rid of me yet! Ciara Grant was really instrumental in that and we have such a solid friendship. She’s probably my best friend in football.

Yourself, Rachel, Kelly Smith and Ciara Grant have played in many Cup Finals now. I was wondering if some of the younger players that haven’t, such as Jen Beattie, Jordan Nobbs and Dani Carter, have been asking you all a lot of questions in the build up to Sunday?

Not really, those girls are incredibly confident, probably more so than us. They have already played in Champions League games, some of them in the Olympics at Wembley Stadium, so I don’t think they really need any tutelage from us in the build up to the game. They’re all incredibly excited, but scarily confident.

The role of the more experienced girls is more likely to come in on the pitch, I think. Once the game starts, our role will be to calm things down. Particularly when we come under pressure, as we surely will against this Bristol side. That’s when we need to make our experience count and give the younger girls a bit of a steadying hand. But they’re all already so experienced and we tend to perform well under pressure. They’ll be alright I reckon!

This will be your 9^th F.A. Cup Final. With the women’s game as competitive as ever and given last year’s exit to Chelsea at the semi final stage, would this be your most satisfying cup triumph if Arsenal succeed on Sunday?

Last year’s F.A. Cup exit really hurt us. We’re used to getting into the final and the semi final against Chelsea was something of a freakshow. We had so many chances and couldn’t score and Chelsea were very clinical, but it’s one of the oddest games I’ve ever played in. I wasn’t really 100% fit that day but had to play. Watching the final on TV was a really depressing experience for us, even though Becky Spencer was in goal for Birmingham and we were happy for her.

If we win it this year, it will certainly be amongst the most satisfying wins. But probably my most satisfying will always be the 2001 Final. We were playing Fulham, who were professional at the time, so we were huge underdogs that day. I was only 21 and we won 1-0 and I managed to save a penalty, so that’s difficult to beat in terms of personal satisfaction. That was where it all started for me, it day kickstarted my career and established me as Arsenal’s number 1.

But we are desperate to win this year. Last year did not feel right at all, not being there at the Final and not lifting the cup. 2 years is too long for us, at Arsenal, we see the F.A. Cup as our trophy. We miss it and we want it back!

Bristol are top of the WSL having won their first three games. Who are their players to watch out for?

They’ve got a lot of very good players and they’re really flying at the moment whereas we’ve not been playing so well. Corrine Yorston is an ex Arsenal player and she’s really dangerous from set pieces, we know all about her and we’ll be aware. They’ve bought two very gifted Spanish strikers and Laura del Rio is a real player. She’s very technical and has very good feet in tight spaces. She hits a very good free kick too.

They have a very strong centre half in Grace McCatty and Loren Dykes is very quick and tricky on the wing. They’re very strong all over the pitch. But we try not to focus too much on individuals. The bottom line is I think if we all do our jobs and play as well as we can, we should win. We feel very confident.

Finally, this will be the first Women’s Cup Final to be aired on terrestrial television for six years. With no men’s football on that day, it’s likely to attract a good audience. Does that bring an extra pressure to the girls, to give a good account of the women’s game?

I wouldn’t really call it a pressure. I just hope that we can really put on a good show and show how high the standard has become in the women’s game now. Whatever the result, I hope both teams can hold their heads high with regards to their performance. If we play to our best, I am confident we will win and we usually perform well in these circumstances.

But yes, there’s no doubt that we want to give a good account of where women’s football is at. We know we still have to change some minds out there and we hope that we can do that. But ultimately, we want our cup back.

Many thanks to Emma for being so generous with her time. Tickets for Sunday’s final at the Keepmoat Stadium are still available here http://www.keepmoatstadium.com/ priced at £10 for adults and £5 for concessions. You can also pay on the gate should you wish.

 Arsenal will be running coach travel to Doncaster and back from Caledonian Road station on Sunday morning, details here http://www.arsenal.com/match/report/1213/travel/ladies/fa-women-s-cup-final-travel.

Christian Benteke has said he’d be open to a move to Arsenal as speculation about his future increases.

The Aston Villa striker, one of the real success stories of last season’s transfers, scored 23 goals in all competitions in England last season and after signing from Genk for £7m, Villa could make a serious profit if they decided to sell.

Their reluctance to do so, however, won’t have been aided by comments made by Benteke while away on international duty with Belgium.

Asked about his future, he said, “If Aston Villa say I must stay, I won’t necessarily accept that. I do not in any way want to feel I didn’t get the most out of my career.”

“Of course playing the World Cup in Rio is in my head. But I have no fear of falling out of the team. There is no point in me getting into a tug-of-war with Villa.

“If the chance comes up for me to join a club like Arsenal, I’m convinced we can reach a compromise where everyone comes out a winner.”

The player’s agent, wisely, has moved to downplay the comments, but it will be interesting to see if Arsene Wenger is willing to go after a player he admitted was on his radar last summer.

Instead, he plumped for the more established and experienced Olivier Giroud, but in the absence of any real alternative to the Frenchman the Gunners are on the look out for a striker this summer and Benteke, established now in the Premier League, is likely to be an option.

Emmanuel Frimpong has undergone surgery for a knee problem.

Arsenal confirmed the midfielder went under the knife this week and should be back within a couple of months having picked up an injury during Fulham’s final league game of the season against Swansea City.

The Ghanian midfielder joined the Cottagers on loan in January but made just two starts in that time. It’s another blow, following serious cruciate injuries to both knees in successive seasons.

For once, however, the timing appears to be on his side. Coming at the end of the season he won’t miss any games and should, all going well, be back in time for the start of the new campaign.

Who he’s playing for remains to be seen.

Brazilian side Gremio have revealed they aren’t optimistic about extending Andre Santos’ loan deal when it expires in July despite wanting to keep the player until December.

The left-back signed a six-month contract with Vanderlei Luxemburgo’s side in January but is due to return to London in two months with Arsenal eager to offload the 30-year-old on a permanent basis during the summer transfer window.

Talking about negotiations with the Gunners, Gremio’s director of football, Rui Costa, told Fox Sports Brazil that it had been difficult enough securing Santos the first time round and that a new deal will depend on renegotiation.

“The condition of the loan was six months. We are talking but it’s hard,” he concluded.

Gremio aren’t the only Brazilian club that Arsenal will play poker with this summer. Denilson’s loan with Sao Paulo also ends in July with a permanent deal the only option Arsenal are willing to consider.

At the tail end of last month Sao Paulo’s vice-president Joao Paulo de Jesus Lopes told ESPN Brasil:

“There are still more than 60 days left on his contract, so there are a couple of points to take into consideration.

“The first point is that we are interested in the player and the second point is that we must deal with this situation closer to the end of the deal.

“If we do it too early, it will end up costing us more money.”

With the likes of Ju-Young Park, Marouane Chamakh, Nicklas Bendtner and Johan Djourou all due back from their respective loans in the coming weeks and Andrei Arshavin and Sebastien Squillaci also on the look out for pastures new, there’s the potential for a real clear-out this summer. Perhaps the ruthlessness shown at Academy level is a sign of things to come…

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Thanks to @SiuFay for the heads up.

Having looked at the defence, midfield and attack, it’s time to cast our beady eye on the players out on loan. Some of them are out there to get experience, some of them because we can’t stand the sight of them anymore, but how did they fare?

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Ryo Miyaichi – 3/10

Having impressed on loan at Feyenoord and under Owen Coyle’s tutelage at Bolton Wanderers big things were expected of Ryo when he signed a season long loan with Wigan. Unfortunately, despite Roberto Martinez enthusiastically declaring the Japanese international would fit well with the Latics’ passing philosophy, groin and ankle injuries played havoc with his first team chances. His only start came in the Capital One Cup back in September and he made only seven further appearances from the bench.

Highlight of the season: Can one day tell his kids he played against Brazil after coming on as an injury-time substitute in Japan’s October friendly.

Lowlight of the season: After 4 month absence with groin problem he returned against Everton in FA Cup quarter-final only to have his ankle poleaxed within 30 minutes. He was subsequently ruled out for the remainder of the season.

Season trivia: The Japanese ambassador to Austria was nearly expelled from Vienna after Ryo labelled Wigan’s Paul Scharner ‘bat sh*t crazy’ on his blog. To avoid a full-scale diplomatic incident Wagyu cattle were sent as a gift to the Alpine state where they mated with the Laughing Cow.

Next season: Another loan spell probably. Possibly abroad and perhaps with a permanent move in mind.

Denilson – 5/10

Arseblog News can’t be sure, but we think Brazilian football seasons are a bit like dog years and that Denilson may actually have played four or five since returning home to play for Sao Paulo. We know he got sent off a fair bit, scored a comedy own goal or two and pissed off angry locals on Twitter. No doubt he went sideways quite a bit and enjoyed the sunshine.

Highlight of the season: Scored a cracking goal against Palmeiras back in October and Sao Paulo were awarded the Copa Sudamericana title after their opponents Tigre refused to play the second half of the second-leg of the final.

Lowlight of the season: Hilarious own goal against Sao Bernado in March.

Season trivia: Arsene Wenger refuses to answer calls from Denilson after the Brazilian recommended Wellington to the Arsenal scouting team.

Next season: Arsenal will no doubt be trying to offload him permanently this summer with Sao Paulo pondering a bid.

Ju-Young Park – 4/10

Having spent last season at London Colney cataloguing the training cones for Pat Rice, Park was shipped off to Celta Vigo on loan where he’s actually had quite a bit of game time. Three goals in 22 games is an upturn on his debut year at Arsenal but it hasn’t stopped Vigo from being relegated from La Liga.

Highlight of the season: Being out of harms way having avoided national service back in South Korea.

Lowlight of the season: The risk posed to his countrymen by Kim Jong-un.

Season trivia: The first Korean to score in La Liga, Park celebrated the landmark moment by going out clubbing with his teammates. Alas, he was turned away by the doormen at Galicia’s most renowned drum n’bass night for wearing the wrong shoes and carrying a knuckleduster.

Next season: He’ll likely leave Arsenal this summer. Good luck to him.

Nicklas Bendtner – 0/10

Last summer there was all the usual talk of how many options he had and how all the clubs wanted him and how he just had to choo-choo-choose one, but The Greatest Striker That Ever Lived only moved to Juventus on deadline day. Made just 9 Serie A appearances (2 starts), failed to score a goal and tore his groin so badly he had to have gender reassignment surgery. An abject failure.

Highlight of the season: His transfer deadline day turtleneck.

Lowlight of the season: Being arrested for drunk driving the wrong way up a one-way Copenhagen street, thankfully he’s become so good at missing nobody got hurt.

Season trivia: An anagram of Nicklas Bendtner is ‘Blank incest nerd’.

Next season: Needs to grow up, set his sights lower and go somewhere he can play on a regular basis. He’s not a Champions League footballer, except in his head, and unless he smartens up he’ll waste the bit of talent he has.

Joel Campbell – 6/10

This was his second season out on loan and although he’s only scored twice the 20 year old has made an impressive 26 appearances in La Liga for Real Betis. He’s impressed, so much so that they want him back again next year, and it looks as if Arsenal are willing as they tie-up a more formal arrangement with the Andalusian side.

Highlight of the season: A rather splendid winning goal away from home at Deportivo.

Lowlight of the season: Probably had to deal with Dick Law somewhere along the way.

Season trivia: Has a massive tattoo of Paolo Wanchope across his shoulders but from one angle it looks like an aroused angel feeding ambrosia to a mermaid

Next season: Another season at Betis will ensure he picks up European citizenship, and should enable him to develop as a player. If he impresses, it opens the door for an Arsenal return.

Jack Wilshere has confirmed that he’s due under the knife this week to have scar tissue removed from his ankle but made clear that he doesn’t expect to spend more than a couple of weeks out of action.

The 21-year-old was initially going to have the operation before the end of the season but following an injury to Mikel Arteta ahead of the trip to Newcastle the procedure was deliberately delayed by Arsene Wenger.

“I’m having an operation this week to deal with the irritating scar tissue caused by the screws, but it’s a minor process and I’ll only be rested up for a fortnight,” the midfielder told the Sun.

As a result of the surgery Wilshere will miss next week’s England friendly games against the Republic of Ireland and Brazil, however, despite seeing injury again rule him out of international duty he maintains that his desire to represent and even captain his country is as strong as ever.

“I want to captain Arsenal and I want to captain England. That definitely appeals to me. It’s my ultimate dream. People say players are no longer bothered about wearing the England shirt.

“But for me it’s the pinnacle of my job because club rivalries go out of the window and the entire nation comes together behind you — it’s the best feeling.”

If Arseblog News isn’t mistaken that’s Jack’s second most innuendo-laden statement of the week…coming quick off the heels of his proclamation that ‘big’ David Beckham ‘rubs off on everyone.’

Anyway, we digress…

Assuming Wilshere does only spend a couple of weeks off his feet he should be fit enough to join the rest of the squad when they travel to the Far East in mid-July for the club’s pre-season tour.

It had been anticipated for some time that many youngsters would be departing the club this summer, but it was still came as something of a shock on Friday when it was revealed that at least 15 members of the U21 squad will depart when their contracts expire at the end of next month.

Some players, such as Jernade Meade and Jordan Wynter, refused a new deal in search of first-team opportunities elsewhere, whilst others, including defenders Sead Hajrovic and Elton Monteiro were let go having failed to break into the senior picture at Emirates Stadium.

The sheer number of players being let go may come as a shock to many, and does rather beg the question as to why many of these players were kept at the club for so long when they had very little chance of making the grade. For some players, such as Nigel Neita, a striker who went almost two years without scoring in a competitive fixture, it had long been apparent that even a cameo in the Capital One Cup was highly improbable, but the departure of Meade has sparked some confusion, with the left-back having performed diligently during his two first-team outings this season.

Meade, however, acknowledged that, with Kieran Gibbs and Nacho Monreal ahead of him, he would probably have had to go on loan next season in order to receive first-team game time, and instead came to the conclusion that it would be more beneficial to make a permanent switch now so that he could become fully integrated at his new club.

Some of the elder statesmen of the second-string set-up will be leaving too, with midfielder Craig Eastmond having signed a pre-contract agreement with Colchester United, whilst it would not be a huge surprise to see Sanchez Watt join him at the League One club, with the pair having both impressed during a loan spell there earlier in the campaign.

Goalkeeper Reice Charles-Cook also leaves, despite impressing on the few occasions that he was called upon over the past few years, with Samir Bihmoutine, Conor Henderson, Josh Rees, James Shea, Zach Fagan, Martin Angha and Kyle Ebecilio completing the plethora of players departing. Angha and Ebecilio have already signed deals with Nuremberg and FC Twente for next season and will be hopeful of featuring regularly in two of Europe’s top leagues.

These departures have considerably culled the number of players available for the club at both U21 and U18 levels next season, but their exits are likely to be compensated for by the acquisitions of several promising talents from elsewhere, which could include Aston Villa’s England U17 midfielder Dan Crowley.

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Jeorge Bird is the author of  www.arsenalyouth.wordpress.com  Follow him on Twitter @jeorgebird

Right then, the final part of our season review posts and after doing the defence, and mulling over the midfield yesterday, it’s time to analyse the attack.

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Olivier Giroud - 7.5/10

While the HFB hasn’t convinced everyone 17 goals and 10 assists in his first season is far from a calamity. Took a while to get going, which is understandable because he was in a new team in a league, but has been solid overall. It certainly gives him a good platform to improve next season and if Arsene Wenger goes out and buys another this summer then we’ll have options, something the team lacked this season.

Highlight of the season: The goal against Sp*rs may not have been his best, but illustrated his ability close to goal as well as any other, and he scored more goals from inside the 6 yard box than any other Premier League player this season.

Lowlight of the season: A bad miss on the first day of the season, could have given us all three points.

Season trivia: Set to star in a biopic of Charles Aznavour, directed by Eric Cantona

Next season: May have competition for his place which will hopefully be something he and the team thrives on.

Theo Walcott – 8/10

Had more consistent patches than in any other season and statistically has had his best season by a long, long way. 21 goals and 14 assists is up there with the best in the league, so while there are frustrations about his game, it’s impossible to argue with the numbers.

Highlight of the season: A pair of hat-tricks (against Reading and Newcastle), and hugely important goals in the run-in against QPR and Man United.

Lowlight of the season: That patch of inconsistency which coincided with him signing his new contract.

Season trivia: His latest book, 50 Shades of TJ, is proving a massive hit with middle-aged housewives and priests alike.

Next season: Fingers crossed he can do it again, and as he matures, produce more.

Lukas Podolski – 7/10

16 goals and 11 assists is a good return considering he was substituted more often than any other player in history, missed a good chunk of games and was carrying an injury through most of the season. Seems to enjoy life at the club and is far from the failure some pundits have claimed.

Highlight of the season: Arsenal’s goal of the season against Montpellier in the Champions League. Oh, and this.

Lowlight of the season: Missing the away trip to Bayern Munich where he would undoubtedly have scored a load against his former club.

Season trivia:  Having invented techno music back in 1992 has now fashioned a brand new musical instrument which he calls the Bumblecrip.

Next season: Despite the good numbers it’s hard to see exactly where he fits into the team. Seems to lack the engine to play wide and the presence to play up front on his own. Perhaps his future depends on a change of system, but hopefully he can kick on next season.

Gervinho – 5/10

Early season goals and promise? Why Mr Gervinho, with this effectiveness you are spoiling us. Then he took the Fererro Rocher away and replaced it with the crumbly bits from the bottom of a box of Coco Pops. Bleurgh.

Highlight of the season: A two goal salvo against Southampton, one of which saw him hit the ball with real power.

Lowlight of the season: Bradford. Now let us never speak of this again.

Season trivia: Was offered a job as a lighthouse because of his intensely shiny dome.

Next season: If somebody offered us some money for him, or he could be used as part of a deal for a player we want (Gonalons *cough*), then it’d probably best for all concerned if he played somewhere else next season.

Andrei Arshavin - 0.01/10

He arrived a genuine star but this season played just 79 minutes of Premier League football. People are quick to blame Arsene Wenger for not using him correctly but seem all too willing to overlook the fact Arshavin is an overweight, unfit lazy pudding.

Highlight of the season: Played pretty well against Reading in the Capital One Cup, to be fair.

Lowlight of the season: Coming on as a sub at Stamford Bridge. When Arsenal need a goal, the game just passed him by and he never tried to get involved. That was the last time he ever pulled on an Arsenal shirt.

Season trivia:  Is now fully behind a woman’s right to drive a car and will contemplate them having the vote if his demands are met.

Next season: Somewhere else as his contract expires at the end of June.

Marouane Chamakh – 0.5/10

Scored twice against Reading in the Capital One Cup, good goals too, but other than that made no impact on our season whatsoever. Shipped out on loan to West Ham, where he didn’t feature at all from the end of January. Waster.

Highlight of the season: The goals referenced above.

Lowlight of the season: Everything else.

Season trivia: Has a major crush on Sarah Palin but is banned from Alaska in case he slips into the season and causes another Exxon Valdez.

Next season: Bordeaux say they’ll take him back if they don’t have to pay anything. We should pack his bag, and give him an envelope full of £20s just to make sure.

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Please note: Ratings as provided by Arseblog and the Arseblog News Hound are based on our overall feeling, rather than an aggregate of their scores in the post-match ratings articles.

Bordeaux say they’d be willing to take back former striker Marouane Chamakh, as long as they didn’t have to pay anything for him.

Speaking to sudouest.fr, the Girondins president, Jean-Louis Triaud, said there’d been no contact with the man they ‘lost’ on a free transfer to Arsenal in the summer of 2010, but that he’d be more than happy to discuss a return if Chamakh picked up the phone.

It seems Triaud is in no mood to pay actual money for the player, and who can blame him after a miserable two seasons which saw the Moroccan score just 3 goals and end up farmed out on loan at West Ham where he hasn’t played since Jan 31st.

“If he calls me, I’ll answer it with pleasure,” he said, “but Arsenal should still be willing to let him go [for no fee].”

Frankly, the chances of any club spending money on a transfer fee for a player who has lost his way so badly are very slim, and if giving him away on a free transfer means we can get him off the books, then it seems like a good deal for all concerned.

Last week, Chamakh admitted he’d relish a return to his former club, saying, ”

“Everyone knows that Bordeaux is a club that is in my heart. If I find an agreement with Bordeaux, why not. Yes, this is possible because there is a good chance that I will not stay at Arsenal.

“If I come back to France, it will be in Bordeaux.”

Joe le Taxi for Marouane.

Auxerre striker Yaya Sanogo has, more or less, confirmed his move to the Gunners for next season.

The French U21 international told Sky Sports (assuming they actually spoke to him and not Carl Jenkinson by mistake), “Arsenal could be a great club for me, I scored nine goals this season with Auxerre and they think I can improve my level in England.

“I am pleased to be following in the footsteps of Abou Diaby who came through from Auxerre. There are many teams interested in me, but Arsenal is my choice.”

Considering the injury problems he’s had, Gunners fans will be hoping he doesn’t follow too closely in Diaby’s footsteps.

Crutchsteps.

Stump trails.

We’re sorry.

I guess this is as close to official as you can get without it being official. We suspect they’re just dotting the Ts and crossing the Is on the Jovetic and Higuaín deals before announcing.

That’s it. That’s surely it.

It’s time for part two of our Ratings of the Season pieces. After yesterday’s dissection of the defence, today we mull the midfield.

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Abou Diaby – 4/10

Got a good pre-season under his belt, looked like he might just have cracked the whole fitness thing with 7 appearances before the end of September, and not only that, he was playing well. Then injured himself taking a shot against Chelsea and missed three months, before a stop-start return, and then a cruciate knee injury which will keep him out until 2014.

Highlight of the season: A performance at Liverpool which suggested he could be the perfect player to link the defensive and offensive parts of our midfield.

Lowlight of the season: The injuries. Plus ça change.

Season trivia:  Even a trip to the US to visit renowned serious injury consultant Steve Austin couldn’t help him get through a season uninjured.

Next season: Like it or not he’s going to be around. We can’t simply ‘get rid’ of someone under contract and nobody is going to buy an injured player, but he’s been given enough chances, and it’s time for Arsene Wenger to accept we’re pissing in the wind with Diaby. It’s sad, but we must be pragmatic.

Mikel Arteta – 7.5/10

Mr Consistent at the base of Arsenal’s midfield, provided experience, leadership and quality from almost the first whistle until the last. Looked to fade a bit towards the end of the season, but given how much he played that’s understandable. Made more passes than any other player in the Premier League (and we think in any of the top leagues in Europe), and while some might scoff because they’re not 60 yard raking diagonals, keeping it simple is often the best tactic.

Highlight of the season: Holding his nerve time and again from the penalty spot.

Lowlight of the season: The one time he didn’t came late in the game against Fulham but it’s hard to blame him for the dropped points when Arsenal had turned a two goal lead into a one goal deficit before Giroud’s equaliser.

Season trivia: Lukasz Fabianski was set for a comeback in October but ruffled the skipper’s hair on a night out and snapped his wrist like a twig.

Next season: Clearly loves being at the club, might well be captain next season, and too often we’ve bemoaned the loss of players over 30. Might find his role somewhat lessened if signings are made but likely to be a very important part of the squad.

Aaron Ramsey – 7/10

A season of two halves for the Welshman. It’s fair to say the first wasn’t good. He struggled with form and being played out of position didn’t help, but it’s impossible to overlook his contribution to the run-in. He gave the team energy and hard work when it needed it, pitched in at full back a few times, and grew in confidence as time went on. Has definitely made progress.

Highlight of the season: Scored a brilliant early season goal in the Champions League but for me it was the 30 minutes at right back as we hung on against Sunderland which showed his selflessness and willingness to work for the team.

Lowlight of the season: The performances when deployed in the front three – while accepting that’s not his natural position, he could certainly have been better with the ball.

Season trivia: Always the first to training but the last to leave because people keep hiding his car.

Next season: From a point where he was being written off, he’s won people around, but needs to continue to develop. Every squad needs players like Ramsey, and if he can improve further then he’ll play a valuable role.

Francis Coquelin – 5/10

He’s tidy, efficient, combative, and energetic, but even with injuries to Wilshere and Diaby, wasn’t given a great deal of playing time by Arsene Wenger. From January to May, played just 60 minutes of Premier League football and rumours of his departure, in order to play more, seem credible.

Highlight of the season: Playing 120 enthralling minutes of the 7-5 Capital One Cup win over Reading.

Lowlight of the season: Not really to do with him, but being thrown on late in the game at Villa Park when Arsenal were drawing 0-0 provoked a negative reaction from fans. Especially as he replaced our only striker, Olivier Giroud.

Season trivia:  Will spend the summer touring the nightspots of Greece with the DeBarge tribute band he plays in with his brothers Jaques and Long-Jean.

Next season: It’s hard to see how he can have a real future with us, especially if the talk of signing a player like Gonalons is accurate. This was the season for him to show he had it at this level, but didn’t catch the eye sufficiently. We suspect a transfer.

Tomas Rosicky: 7/10

Another long-term injury cast a shadow over the first half of Tomas Rosicky’s season but since starting the away game in Munich he’s battled back to some of his best form. He only made 7 Premier League starts in total but with six of those since the end of March he was an integral part of the midfield during the run in.

Highlight of the season: His match-winning brace in the 2-1 win at West Bromwich Albion.

Lowlight of the season: Getting less than 90 minutes playing time between August and the start of January due to injury.

Season trivia: Tomas is so injury prone he’s actually had his tonsils removed three times in the last 2 years.

Next season: Challenging for a weekly starting berth, mentoring the next generation of midfield starlets and trying to stay fit.

Jack Wilshere: 7/10

After an interminable 15-month wait, he was given a start out of the blue against QPR in November and went from strength to strength until his ankle injury started troubling him in early March. Promising tiki-taka relationship building between him, Cazorla and Arteta which should be revisited next season.

Highlight of the season: The clinical edge-of-the-box strike which capped a man-of-the-match performance against Swansea in the FA Cup.

Lowlight of the season: Rustiness played a part in sending off at Old Trafford but probably the pain in his ankle which requires surgery to remove a screw this summer.

Season trivia: If his son Archie makes an Arsenal debut at the same age (16) as him, Jack will still only be 35 thus throwing up fun possibility of a father-son double act. Now that’s Arsenal DNA.

Next season: To storm back to form following rehab after ‘minor’ summer surgery, then to lead Arsenal to the treble and England to World Cup glory in Brazil. No pressure.

Santi Cazorla: 8.5 /10

Having failed to sign Cazorla in the wake of Cesc Fabregas’ departure Arsene finally got his man in August and the little Spaniard hasn’t disappointed. With 49 appearances to his name he played more games than anyone else and was the only squad member to feature in every Premier League fixture. 11 assists and 12 goals (all in the league) pay testament to a very slick debut season. A gem of a signing and there’s not been a Gooner who hasn’t been impressed.

Highlight of the season: The strike at West Ham was fantastic as was his tidy finish in the 5-2 drubbing of Spurs, but hard to overlook the hat-trick against Reading.

Lowlight of the season: Playing the full 120 minutes of the defeat to Bradford.

Season trivia: Was the hump in Per Mertesacker’s camel costume at the Arsenal Christmas party.

Next season: Well he can’t play anymore games in the league so we’ll just settle for more goals and more assists.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: 6.5/10

Having impressed at the tail end of last season, and at Euro 2012, the young England midfielder seemed to struggle with expectations before Christmas but proved himself a trusty squad member in the final months. Three assists and one goal in 25 Premier League appearances can be improved upon but he’s still only 19 and he’ll take a lot from this year.

Highlight of the season: Lovely strike in the 7-3 win over Newcastle United and getting his first England goal versus San Marino at Wembley  back in October.

Lowlight of the season: Being sacrificed against Manchester City after 11 minutes after Laurent Koscielny’s sending off.

Season trivia: Nearly quit international football in the middle of Euro 2012 after being forced to room with Stuart Downing.

Next season: He has the physicality and technical quality to be a regular starter at Arsenal. Needs to play without fear and take games by the scruff of the neck, should look to follow lead of Walcott.

—

Please note: Ratings as provided by Arseblog and the Arseblog News Hound are based on our overall feeling, rather than an aggregate of their scores in the post-match ratings articles.

Tomorrow: attack.

It hardly comes as a surprise but yesterday’s ‘success’ at St James Park has triggered the sending of thousands of membership and season ticket renewal reminders.

Good business sense in all honesty, although the move from Ivan Gazidis to back up the barrage of emails with the annual ‘we want to win trophies and are ambitious’ message does seem somewhat more cynical than necessary.

Supporters don’t so much want to be told there are big plans afoot; we just want to see them implemented. Also we’re not as dumb as we look when we’re in the stadium dressed in t-shirts made of plastic, supping expensive watered down beer and doing manic hand gestures in the proximity of young children.

Anyway, here’s the CEO making clear that he and Arsene are already working on strengthening the squad, presumably before we announce the signing of the lad from Ligue 2 with a banjaxed groin. You big troll Ivan…

“It is important to reiterate that for everyone at the Club, qualification for the Champions League is not our ultimate ambition,” Gazidis told Arsenal.com.

“Our majority owner Mr Kroenke has made it clear that while it’s an achievement to make the Champions League our ultimate objective is to win the major trophies.

“We all share that clear ambition and will be driving the Club forward to achieve it. Arsène and I have already been planning what we need to do to strengthen so we are better placed next season.

“One thing is certain. The Club is in a very strong position to move forward and our form of losing just one of our last 16 Premier League matches shows that we have a solid foundation on which to build for success.”

Arseblog News is certainly pleased we got this version of Ivan’s little pep talk and not the one that ended with, ‘if it weren’t for Howard Webb giving Newcastle those five dodgy penalties and that c*nt Bale’…

That being said, questions do remain. When exactly did Stan Kroenke make it ‘clear’ that he isn’t happy with the club plodding along surviving off Champions League football. A private meeting perhaps, as there’s been something of a deafening silence from him since…well forever.

Also, is this all the usual guff or are we going to see the type of concerted action we need to turn ourselves into serious contenders for silverware?

The summer will no doubt provide us with some answers…

Via Sport Witness comes the news that Gervinho is being tipped with a move back to France this summer.

They quote a transfer news newspaper (seriously), who say that he’s a target for Lyon and the player would be open to a move having not played that often with Arsenal this season.

He started the season brightly, scoring 5 goals before the end of October, but his form dwindled, as did his confidence, culminating in some truly awful finishing. And by finishing we mean ‘missing’.

The Ivorian finished as the club’s 5th highest scorer, with 7 goals in all competitions, but failed to get off the bench for Arsenal’s final three games of the season.

It would be fair to say that it hasn’t quite worked out as well as anyone would have liked following his move from Lille in the summer of 2011.

In a recent interview, Mikel Arteta revealed that Gervinho had suffered a crisis of confidence, well aware that his errors were greeted by moans and groans from the crowd.

And while some players need support to help them along, you don’t expect professional footballers to need a cuddle to tap one in from 3 yards.

With Arsenal planning a busy summer in the transfer market, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Arsene Wenger try and recoup some of what he paid for him while trying to improve the squad, but time will tell.

The season’s barely finished and already the exciting transfer business is underway.

Today the club have announced that former youngster Craig Eastmond will leave Arsenal and play for Colchester United next season.

The midfielder looked as if he might be close to making a first team breakthrough at one point but ended up being farmed out on loan, to varying levels of success, to Milwall, Wycombe Wanderers and Colchester.

There’s a coincidence. He made 13 appearances for The U’s in League One before suffering an injury but will join them permanently at the end of June.

Eastmond was part of the team which won the FA Youth Cup under the tutelage of Steve Bould in 2009. Of that group only Jack Wilshere and Francis Coquelin have any first team involvement, with the latter tipped for a move away this summer.

Eastmond told the official Colchester website, “I enjoyed my time here on loan and now I just want to carry on where I left off. This is a place that feels good to me and one that has made me feel part of a family.

Nandos Colchester branch are said to be ‘extremely excited’ about his arrival, and good luck to him in his career.

Kieran Gibbs believes the drama of Arsenal’s quest for a top four position will help strengthen the bond between the current first team squad and insists that with new players now integrated the future is bright at the Emirates.

Arsene Wenger’s men celebrated with gusto in the aftermath of yesterday’s gritty 1-0 win at St James Park and while the England left-back accepts that a shot at qualifying for the Champions League isn’t traditionally something to shout about, the opportunity could hardly be passed up given the mountain the Gunners have climbed since the turn of the year.

“We are jumping around celebrating but we haven’t actually won anything,” the left-back told the London Evening Standard.

“You can look at it like that. On the other hand, we are aware that we need to produce next season. We have to be confident to deal with that.It is massive to finish in the top four. We have done it for however many seasons on the bounce now but we haven’t actually properly qualified yet because we still have to play the play-off game at the start of the new season.

“We would have liked to have had a better season, but I think overall you have to be happy with the way the team got back together after December and showed real character, yet again, to come back and finish where we want to be.

“We were a new-look side for another season, again, with new signings that have had to come in and step up. It is never easy to just come straight into the Premier League and perform like some of our good players have.

“In the end, there was a combination of us needing to realise what we wanted from the season and the players starting to get to know each other more. As time went on, we started to gel.

“That was important and it puts us in good stead for next season because I believe the team have gelled because of this. The dramatic finale makes us even stronger and we are going into next season head on.”

One player who won’t be part of Arsenal’s future is Andrei Arshavin. Having watched the Gunners pip Spurs to fourth, presumably from the comfort of his sofa, the little Russian tweeted his congratulations before appearing to say a parting thanks to everyone associated with the club.

“Thanks a lot to all Arsenal’ fans, to all my team partners, who played with me all these years, to all the stuff and coaches!!! Many thanks!

“Gunners! Good luck in the Champions League next year!”

It remains to be seen if he retires, as some reports suggested last month, or if he’ll head to more lucrative climes. No doubt we’ll be hearing more from him in the near future.

YouTuber SlimSwaidy has put together a compilation of Arsenal goals from the 2012-13 season.

Apparently he’s missed three of them, but after 3’30 of rendering, 30 minutes uploading and who knows how long editing the whole thing together, it’d be a hard-hearted man who’d complain.

ps – Can you figure out which three?

As we head into the summer, it’s time to look at how the players rated over the course of the season. In a series which will look at three main areas of the pitch, we start with the defence.

—

Wojciech Szczesny – 6.5/10

While he didn’t make any jaw-droppingly awful gaffs, the younger of the Poles got a touch complacent and was summarily dropped for Lukasz Fabianski. When Fabianski’s injury opened the door for him, he returned a much more focused and solid player.

Highlight of the season: Two massive saves against QPR and Wigan kept the late trajectory of Arsenal’s season going

Lowlight of the season: Having to distance himself from his father’s remarks when he was dropped by Arsene Wenger. It was a situation he dealt with well, however, and came out of it with a lot of credit.

Season trivia: 87% of his kicks went straight out for opposition throw-ins.

Next season: Must build on the end of season performances and set those as the standard below which he can’t fall. Needs to work on his distribution.

Vito Mannone – 6/10

The Italian made 13 appearances in the first part of the season, filling in when Szczesny had an ankle injury. It can’t have been easy playing with a defence that wasn’t as switched on as it was in the latter stages of the campaign, but even still he didn’t do enough to convince that he’s got a long-term future at the club

Highlight of the season: A clean sheet, and a solid performance, away at Stoke, a place which has tested many more seasoned keepers.

Lowlight of the season: A poor save at Norwich allowed some great big fat bloke to score the winning goal for the home team.

Season trivia: Enraged environmentalists by punching an endangered owl in the face. Club kept the story under wraps.

Next season: Likely to be somewhere else as he wants to play first team football and it won’t be at Arsenal.

Lukasz Fabianski – 7/10

Ok, so 5 appearances isn’t a great deal to make a judgement on, but to say he was out in the cold was an understatement. He was frozen out like Luke Skywalker in Empire Strikes Back. Arsene Wenger cut open the weird tundra camel thing and used its guts to warm him up, the Pole played well, kept some clean sheets, didn’t lose a game and provided Szczesny with some healthy competition.

Highlight of the season: Brought back into a team which was demoralised, he kept a clean sheet at the Allianz Arena as Arsenal became the first side to beat them there all season. Or something.

Lowlight of the season: None really, but getting injured again having played so well must have been a frustration.

Season trivia: Was granted a licence to punch the faces of anyone who calls him ‘Flappyhandski’.

Next season: He wants to play first team football and Szczesny’s revival, and the pressure Wenger is under to buy a keeper this summer, might mean he moves on.

—

Nacho Monreal – 7/10

Encouraging first four months in England after signing from Malaga in January. Thrown straight in the deep end against Stoke on his debut, the Spanish international has since taken everything in his stride and provided much needed competition for Kieran Gibbs after the loan exit of Andre Santos.

Highlight of the season: His 74th minute strike away at Swansea helped kick-start the great end of season run in the Premier League.

Lowlight of the season: Possibly the miscommunication with Thomas Vermaelen at White Hart Lane. Also watching former club Malaga get dramatically knocked out of the Champions League in the dying seconds against Dortmund.

Season trivia: Currently in an on-off relationship with Penelope Cruz’s younger sister, Esmerelda Montse Cruz, who had her left leg bitten off by a shark in 2003.

Next season: Having sat out three of the final four games he knows he has it all to do if he’s to usurp Kieran Gibbs next term. Definitely has the quality to do so but could improve in the final third.

Kieran Gibbs – 7.5/10

His best season at Arsenal to date with 34 appearances in all competitions including 23 starts in the league. Still plagued by niggly injuries but put worst of his fitness problems behind him to kill off Santos’ claims for the left-back spot. Faces real tussle with Monreal but arguably the better of the two going forward.

Highlight of the season: Smashing volley away at Swansea highlighted his past as a winger. Hailed by Wenger as one of England’s top three left-backs after notching his 100th appearance for the Gunners vs Reading.

Lowlight of the season: Thigh injury sustained in January kept him out for six-weeks forcing Arsene to buy Nacho.

Season trivia: The only man to pick up a ‘cold’ after partying on a yacht in Dubai. Ooooh suspicious.

Next season: A real fight on his hands to keep Monreal out of the team but shouldn’t be scared of the challenge with Wenger happy to pick him for big games at tail end of this season.

Carl Jenkinson – 7/10

Arguably the Gunners most improved player this season, he manfully stepped up to cover for the injured Sagna at the start of the season and firmly established himself as a first team squad member.

Highlight of the season: That equaliser to cap the miraculous recovery against Reading in the COC was pretty sweet (even if it was later awarded to Walcott) and so too was signing a new deal at the Emirates, but has to be debut for England capping amazing journey from non-league football to international in space of two years.

Lowlight of the season: An awful slip against Swansea in the 2-0 defeat at home and the red card in a rusty performance away at Sunderland underlined impetuosity of youth.

Season trivia: His dad is a well known…(you know the score by now)

Next season: He’s already made clear he wants to takeover from Bacary Sagna should the Frenchman leave, nothing to suggest Arsene won’t give him the chance.

Bacary Sagna – 6/10

Started with a whinge in the French press, has admitted his future at Arsenal is unclear, but still a dependable figure (for the most part) when he’s on the pitch. There’s no hiding though that this was far from his best season at the Emirates.

Highlight of the season: Shifted to centre-back against Sunderland he was a defensive colossus alongside Per Mertesacker after Jenkinson’s red card.

Lowlight of the season: Got taken to the cleaners by Gabriel Obertan in the 7-3 win over Newcastle and the 148 crosses which hit the first man and bounced for a throw-in. UPDATE - we forgot the 7 seconds of madness vs United which culminated in RVP winning a penalty.

Season trivia: Driven to dance when he cleans his Range Rover. And what moves he has.

Next season: Strutting his stuff in front of a partisan 10,000 capacity crowd at Monaco’s car park stadium. Possibly.

Andre Santos – 5/10

There aren’t many players with whom Arsene Wenger has lost patience as quickly as Santos. He made six starts and six sub appearances before the boss was forced to give up his smiley, stabby-tackling ways in January.  Hasn’t done too badly at Gremio since and even got a re-call to the Brazil squad.

Highlight of the season: His goodbye message to the Arsenal support was a nice touch.

Lowlight of the season: Getting arrested in August for driving at 300mph to training set the tone of things to come. Oh, and something about a shirt, we can’t remember the details.

Season trivia: Appears to have signed sponsorship agreement with a possible pyramid selling scam.

Next season: He’ll be hoping to stay in Brazil although whether that’s on loan or a permanent deal remains to be seen.

Thomas Vermaelen – 6/10

Made captain when van Persie left, and it seemed the obvious choice. The Belgian would likely be the first to admit his performances have fallen below the standards he’s set, and found himself benched for the run-in.

Highlight of the season: Proudly leading the team out on the opening day of the season

Lowlight of the season: The assist for van Persie at Old Trafford in the third minute of the game.

Season trivia: Recorded a Flemish language rap album with local hip-hop star Pugnacious D

Next season: It’s a big test of character now. Does he stay and fight for his place or look to move on having fallen down the pecking order. Let’s hope it’s the former.

Per Mertesacker – 8/10

The most consistent of our central-defenders this season. Adds calm and assurance and wonderful reading of the game. Pace can be an issue at times but has become hugely important.

Highlight of the season: That ‘Oh not you don’t’ goal to equalise against Sp*rs, what a header.

Lowlight of the season: The sending off at West Brom put the team under huge pressure, but thankfully it didn’t prove too costly.

Season trivia: Websites and blogs ran out of ‘Per’ related puns for their headlines. It’s imperative they find more.

Next season: More of the same, please.

Laurent Koscielny – 7.5/10

The end of season form masks the fact that he did struggle in the early part of the season, picked up a silly red card against Man City, as well as picking up some ill-timed injuries. Came back to show his stuff though, and for the second year running got the winner on the final day.

Highlight of the season: The goal mentioned above, and all those acrobatic clearances he makes.

Lowlight of the season: A really poor display against Chelsea early in the season contributed to his benching.

Season trivia: Discretely attended Whitney Houston’s funeral

Next season: See Mertesacker.

Johan Djourou – 4/10

Hardly played, just two Capital One Cup appearances, then shipped out on loan to Germany where he’s done ok.

Highlight of the season: Not having to do the ‘We’ll pick it up in the next game’ videos for arsenal.com – he must have been so relieved.

Lowlight of the season: Struggling in the bonkers Reading game which saw us go 4-0 down in the first half.

Season trivia: Is the best in the squad at Angry Birds

Next season: A loan move could turn permanent as Arsene Wenger looks to strengthen this summer.

Sebastian Squillaci – 0/10

Made one appearance in a Champions League dead rubber.

Highlight of the season: Hahaha

Lowlight of the season: Made one appearance in a Champions League dead rubber.

Season trivia: Spent his free time trying to invent a mind-control toilet flush app for Blackberry phones

Next season: He’s out of contract so wherever it is, it’s not with us.

—

Please note: Ratings as provided by Arseblog and the Arseblog News Hound are based on our overall feeling, rather than an aggregate of their scores in the post-match ratings articles.

Tomorrow: midfield.

After a tight-fought run in which saw Arsenal secure fourth place ahead of perennial losers Sp*rs, Aaron Ramsey has praised the team’s defensive ethic, saying it played a major role in the end of season performances.

Arsenal had been porous, conceding silly goals at silly times, but regrouped and worked hard to put that right, and the margin of most of the end of season victories shows just how important that was.

The midfielder played his part in that, but spoke about the team’s focus to Arsenal Player.

“We’ve shown, especially in the second half of the season, we’re so much more defensively solid as a team and we showed that again today. We got our goal and we saw it out,” he said.

“We’ve gone on a terrific run in the second half of the season. Hopefully we can take that into next season and give it a real good go next year.

“Hopefully now the boys can get a good rest and come back nice and refreshed next season and pick up where we’ve left off, taking our great form that we’ve been in of late into next season.”

Arsenal, remarkably, have ended the season with the second best defensive record in the league, conceding fewer goals than both Manchester United and Chelsea, and only three more than Man City.

It’s a good platform to build on ahead of next season. Keep it up, add more goals to the side, and baby, you’ve got yourself a stew going team that can have a go at the title.

So that’s it. Another season done and dusted, but how did the players rate in the final nail-biting game against Newcastle?

Here’s how.

Wojciech Szczesny: 7/10 - Solid again, not really troubled, did what he had to do well.

Bacary Sagna: 7/10 - Was this his last Arsenal appearance? If so, we’re glad he went out with three points and he won the free kick which led to the goal.

Per Mertesacker: 7/10 - Got ‘megged early in the game by Yanga-Mbiwa, but his calm assurance at the back was as crucial as it has been all season.

Laurent Koscielny: 10/10 - Got the winner on the final day for the second year in succession, and backed it up with an awesome defensive display (yes, there’s an element of goodwill in this mark but hey, I love the guy).

Kieran Gibbs: 7/10 - Preferred away from home to Nacho Monreal for the first time since the Spaniard arrived, got forward well and although exposed once or twice defensively did well overall.

Mikel Arteta: 6/10 - Should never have started, he was clearly nowhere near fit but Wenger wanted his leadership out there.

Aaron Ramsey: 7/10 - This guy would run through walls for the team, his energy and defensive discipline, especially after Arteta went off, was a big part of why Newcastle failed to threaten. Made some great tackles.

Tomas Rosicky: 7/10 - Buzzed around, found it hard going offensively, but when you see a guy sprint from one side of the pitch to other in the 91st minute to close down an opponent, you can’t but doff your cap.

Santi Cazorla: 7/10 - Faded a bit as his first Premier League season drew to a close, but he’s been wonderful to watch this season.

Theo Walcott: 7/10 - A Theo performance: some good bits, some bad bits, but provided the cross for the goal and should have made the game safe late on but was denied by the post. Has plenty of good stuff to build on for next season.

Lukas Podolski: 6/10 - Again found it hard going up front, and looked a little off the pace. Seemed to spark a bit in the second half and put in some good work when we needed it.

Subs:

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: 7/10 - I suppose the best thing you can say is that we didn’t suffer for Arteta’s absence. Ramsey dropped into the deeper role, and the Ox slotted into the midfield without any fuss.

Olivier Giroud: 6/10 - Held it up well at the end when we need needed him to, got stuck in defensively in the final few mins.

Jack Wilshere: n/a - Not on long enough to rate

Bonus rating:

Alan Sugar: He gets HAHAHA out of 10, for this. Thanks!

Sterile Domination

395 - Passes by Newcastle
365 - Passes by Arsenal
7 - Shots by Newcastle
1 - Shots on goal by Newcastle
10 - Shots by Arsenal
2 - Shots on goal by Arsenal
51 - Percent of possession Newcastle enjoyed
44 - Percent of territory Newcastle enjoyed
49 - Passes Newcastle completed in the Arsenal final third
7 - Passes Anita completed in the Arsenal final third to lead Newcastle
45 - Passes Coloccini completed (2nd on Newcastle)
92 - Passes Arsenal completed in the Newcastle final third
25 - Passes by Aaron Ramsey in that area (led Arsenal)
3 - Shots created by Theo Walcott (led both teams)
1 - Shots created by each of Coloccini and Taylor (led Newcastle along with 5 others)
27 - Tackles by Arsenal (of 31 attempted, season high)
15 - Tackles by Newcastle (of 20 attempted)
18 - Fouls committed y Newcastle
1 - Yellow card issued to Newcastle by Howard Melton Webb

Newcastle dominated possession (especially in the second half) and yet it was Arsenal, with the 1-0 lead, who ended up creating the most chances and forcing Newcastle back into their own half for the majority of the match. The stats above show that, especially the fact that Newcastle only managed to get 44% of the territory despite owning the majority of the ball, plus the fact that Tiote and Coloccini led them in passing, and Anita, who came on in the 57th minute, was one of Newcastle’s most effective attackers in the Arsenal box (Debuchy was in the Arsenal final third the most for Newcastle but only completed 6/17 passes and didn’t create a single shot). But a few other stats are interesting here too.

Arsenal forced Newcastle to attempt more clearances than the Gunners 24-17 overall and 11-10 in the second half. Remember that clearances often show how attack-minded a team is, even if they aren’t getting shots off. But then when it came to actual shots, Newcastle only managed two in the 50+ minutes from the 40th minute to the end of the match. The Gunners had 7 shots in that same time; one goal, and Walcott’s unlucky miss.

The Bould Effect or the Koscienly Effect?

Arsenal finished the season with one of the better defensive performances of the year but it was simply an extension of all the hard work that the club had put in all season as The Gunners finished with the second best defensive record in the League.

Arsenal only allowed 37 goals this season, which is the first time since the 2008-2009 season that Arsenal averaged less than a goal conceded per game. It’s also the first time since the Invincibles that Arsenal finished in the top 2 teams defensively. And it’s an astonishing turnaround from last season’s 49 goals conceded which put Arsenal in 8th place defensively — Wenger’s worst defense of his tenure.

Much of that good defensive record, however, came since the 2-1 loss to Spurs and subsequent dropping of captain Thomas Vermaelen and starting keeper Wojciech Szczesny. Including that ignominious loss to our London rivals, Arsenal conceded 1.14 goals per match on average. Since then, the defense has tightened considerably and in those 10 games, allowed just 5 goals for an average of 0.5 goals per match.  And Arsenal kept 5 clean sheets.

Interestingly, Arsenal have also scored 1.90 goals per game in that 10 game run, which is the same as their season average of 1.89. Arsenal also only had one scoreless draw in hat 10 game run, compared to the 6 they had in the 28 games previous. They also converted shots and shots on goal at roughly the same rate as they has all season, converting 12% of all shots and 35% of shots on goal. But again, the opposition’s conversion rates dropped from 9% on all shots to just 5% and from 26% to 19% for shots on goal.  So while there were a lot of concerns about Arsenal concentrating on defense at the expense of offense, it didn’t seem to be the case.

Though I will admit that six of those last 10 games were tighter than a hipster’s corduroys and we could have done with a couple dozen goals to give Arsenal some breathing room. But still, the only thing that went on a “downward spiral” was Arsenal’s rate of conceding goals.

As for whether the credit is more to Bould or to Koscielny, I leave that to you all.

7am