Arsenal fans are pretty pleased with life at the moment, with Arsene Wenger’s men having all but secured a top four finish at the weekend following their 4-1 thrashing of Liverpool at the Emirates.
The Gunners will now be setting their sights on finishing as high as possible, and although the title seems out of their reach, a runners up spot should be a realistic target.
Arsenal remain the favourites to retain the FA Cup they won in dramatic fashion last May, and doing so would ensure the 2014-15 season is looked back on as a successful one.
With just seven league games, an FA Cup semi final and possible final remaining of Arsenal’s season, we have identified five things we have learnt from their 2014-15 campaign.
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Click on Arsene Wenger to reveal the top five things we’ve learnt from Arsenal’s season
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Olivier Giroud is top class
Bar that horror show in the first leg clash against Monaco, Olivier Giroud has been superb for the Gunners this season.
There are many supporters who reckon had he not been injured for the first three months of the season, Arsenal may well have been able to mount a serious title challenge.
Giroud has managed 18 goals in 28 appearances this season, and has been the driving force behind the Gunners recent fantastic run that has seen them establish a place in the top four.
Many Arsenal supporters were undecided on the former Montpellier man going into this season, but his form since returning to the first team in late November should have won most of the doubters over now.
Jack Wilshere is not the great hope we once thought he was
Jack Wilshere’s injury record has gone way past the point of a bad joke.
The 23-year-old was on a role, having made 22 appearances for club and country until injury struck in the home defeat to Manchester United in November.
Wilshere has not featured since, and faces a battle to make his way back into the Arsenal first team any time soon.
Santi Cazorla, Aaron Ramsey and young Francis Coquelin will feel the midfield spots are pretty much their own, and there has even been talk of Wilshere being sold to Manchester City in the summer.
The England man was once tipped as the Gunners future saviour, but his fitness record and lack of consistent performances over the past couple of years have been so disappointing. This season could be looked back on as a defining one in his Arsenal career.
Mesut Ozil needs a run of games
Arsenal fans may not have seen Ozil become one of the Premier League’s finest as Arsene Wenger had predicted last season, but the signs in recent weeks have been promising.
The German missed a large chunk of the season through injury, but has started to show the kind of form that Wenger must of seen to pay a club record fee for him in the summer of 2013.
Ozil has five goals and four assists in 14 Premier League appearances this season. Hardly a spectacular record, but one that proves he is a player capable of producing the goods if given a run of matches. Shortly prior to and during his injury, there was talk Ozil may well return to Germany with Bayern Munich at the next available opportunity.
Since his return however, he may well have just done enough to have saved his Arsenal career.
Champions League naivety is embarrassing
Arsenal simply ran out of excuses for their terrible Champions League record this season.
The Gunners were given the most favourable draw of the competition, and inexplicably crashed out of the competition following a 3-1 home defeat to Monaco.
The manner in which they lost that game – conceding a 93rd minute goal having got themselves back into the game at 2-1 just seconds earlier – was a terrible demonstration of how to perform in European competition.
The naivety was simply unbelievable, and it was no surprise to see the Gunners go out as ‘heroes’ following a 2-0 win in the second leg which saw them exit on away goals.
The campaign this season simply proved Arsenal are never going to win the Champions League for as long as Wenger remains in charge.
Wenger has pulled the wool over our eyes again
It looks now as though Arsene Wenger may well finish the season with an FA Cup and a top two finish.
When in reality, Arsenal have the players, the resources, and the finances to be competing for one of the two major prizes.
Arsenal should have won the Premier League last season, but threw it away with their trademark collapse as winter turned to spring.
Their slow start this time around was simply not good enough, whilst their Champions League campaign was shameful.
Wenger will end the season with a smile on his face, but Arsenal have not won or even really challenged seriously for a title for more than 10 years now.
How long will the Arsenal manager keep a hold of his job without doing so? Looks set to be one more season at least thanks to their strong finish this term.
