Mid-season report card: Who's near the top and who's been a flop for Arsenal this season?
Mid-season report card: Who's near the top and who's been a flop for Arsenal in the Premier League this season?
By Adam Le Roux
We’re over halfway through the Premier League season, and for Arsenal it has been a campaign full of ups and (mainly) downs, with the Gunners sitting 11th in the table after 23 matches played.
Mikel Arteta’s side have had their woes at both ends of the pitch since the 2020/21 season got underway back in September, with a dawdling defence and misfiring frontline contributing to a below-par performance to date.
But individually, there have been some reasons to be cheerful this campaign, with a number of players performing solidly when they take to the field, so it hasn’t been all doom and gloom around the Emirates.
Here we take our first look at just who has impressed in this weird and wacky season, and who has room to improve heading into the final 15 matches as Arsenal look to end the campaign by progressing further up the table.
Bukayo Saka: A
In a season that has been pretty bleak from start to finish, there have been one or two shining lights that have given Arsenal fans reason to be optimistic for the future, and one of those has been the performances of Bukayo Saka.
The England international has once again led by example down the left flank for the Gunners, with his boundless enthusiasm and energy causing problems for many a Premier League defence this year.
Although only 19 years of age, Saka has played with a maturity beyond his years at times, as he leads by example when others around him seem to be letting the pressure of the struggle to obtain precious Premier League points get to them.
But especially since Christmas, the academy graduate has come into his own, with four goals in eight league matches since Boxing Day, including a well-taken strike in last month’s 3-1 victory over Southampton at St Mary’s.
For that reason, Saka deserves an A for his endeavours, and there a lot more in the Arsenal dressing room who could learn from the mindset of the young talent.
Pierre Emerick Aubameyang: C-
Everyone has a bad spell in their career, and it looks as if Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang has finally come through the worst of his this season, with the Gabonese striker firing blanks for the early part of the campaign.
A goal in opening day victory over Fulham made it look like Auba was set for another rampant season at the Emirates, but it was a much different story to the one we all expected, with his next goal from open play not coming until December.
The vigour, the ingenuity, it all still looks to be there, but the goalscoring touch had eluded the former Borussia Dortmund man for much of the latter part of 2020, with just three league goals to his name before the New Year.
But an FA Cup goal against Newcastle at the start of January before a brace against the same opponent nine days later proved just how much quality the striker can possess on his day, despite some personal issues that are blighting him at the moment.
Eight goals from 22 appearances domestically and in Europe isn’t a terrible return by any stretch of the imagination, but for someone who has set the bar so high for himself in recent seasons we always expect more. C+ for him, could do better.
Thomas Partey: C
The jury is still out on this one, purely for the fact that the Ghanaian has barely been able to take to the pitch since his £45m move from Atletico Madrid last summer.
Even this soon into his Arsenal career, Partey has suffered from a number of injuries that have kept him on the sidelines - playing just one game between November 8 and January 14 - meaning we are still yet to see the best of him in a red and white shirt.
When he has been on the pitch he has looked impressive, such as the stellar performance at Old Trafford last year where he patrolled the centre of the park consummately, as Arsenal secured their first away league win against Manchester United in 14 years.
But his unforgivable choice to leave the pitch in the North London derby against Tottenham, just as the hosts were breaking to score their second goal of the game, left a sour taste in the mouth, although he has done admirably to win over a lot of Arsenal fans since then after his return to action.
It’s another C for the Ghana international, but if he manages to keep himself fit and get a good run of games under his belt that could well improve by the end of the season.
Emile Smith Rowe: B+
From not even being considered as part of Arsenal’s Premier League squad to becoming one of the first names on the team sheet, it has been quite the journey for Emile Smith Rowe.
The academy graduate got thrown into the first-team squad for the first time this season in the 3-1 Boxing Day victory over Chelsea at the Emirates, and hasn’t looked back since.
A number of barnstorming performances have followed since then, with the 20-year-old galvanising a side that looked to be lacking confidence for much of the current campaign, and helping the Gunners to a seven match post-Christmas unbeaten run.
The academy graduate plays with so much freedom that is a joy to watch, and is showing the creativity that has been sorely missed from much of the team to date, as he starts to form an understanding with his colleagues.
The one thing stopping him from ranking higher would be the lack of a Premier League goal so far, with just a single strike in Europe and an FA Cup strike against Newcastle to his name, but once he gets among the goals there will surely be no stopping him bagging more this year.
Willian: E
This move really hasn’t worked out the way we were all expecting has it?
There were a number of Arsenal fans who were buzzing when the Brazilian agreed a three-year deal at the club after making the move from Premier League rivals Chelsea in the summer - but it looks like it was the Blues who have had the last laugh in that particular piece of business.
Things started so brightly for the 32-year-old at the Emirates, with three assists on his debut for the club in the opening day victory over Fulham, but things have largely been downhill from there after a string of mediocre performances.
That flair and verve that we all became so used to seeing at Stamford Bridge has long since disappeared, and now we see an ageing winger severely lacking in confidence trying in vain to influence matches, but more often that not coming up short.
It’s no surprise that he has failed to find the net in any of his 23 appearances so far this season, but the real surprise is that he still manages to get game time.
Kieran Tierney: A+
Tierney’s loss from the squad at the moment due to injury has proved just how influential the Scot is to this team, with the Gunners’ form dropping off almost instantly after he has had to sit games out.
The flying full-back has impressed at both ends of the field this year, with a number of composed performances at the back for Mikel Arteta’s side, as he looks to keep a ramshackle backline in check from the left-hand side.
And going forward, the combination with Bukayo Saka is growing more and more dangerous by the match, with the duo forming a type of telepathy on the left flank that will only improve further over time.
During Arsenal’s run of 10 Premier League matches without a victory there were only a handful of players that emerged with any real credibility, and Tierney was one of them, as you could tell just how much getting the three points meant to him.
His no-nonsense, heart-on-his-sleeve style is something that endears himself to many an Arsenal fan, and if there was anything higher than an A+ he would achieve that as well, because he has been simply superb.
Pablo Mari: B-
Why oh why can’t the Spaniard stay fit for longer than three games? Because if he did the Gunners would be much higher in the table than they are currently.
The ex-Flamengo man’s return to Premier League action on Boxing Day was a key moment for Arsenal fans, as they thought they would get another glimpse at their January transfer, after injury kept him out for six months.
But no sooner had he returned to the team, and kept three clean sheets from his four appearances, was he back on the treatment table with another setback, leaving Arteta to resort to playing David Luiz at the back - and we all know how that turned out.
But when he does take to the field Mari looks a breath of fresh air at the back for the Gunners, with his composure on the ball and decision making setting him apart from his shaky looking teammates.
His performances in defence were integral to victories over Chelsea, Brighton and West Brom just after Christmas, and added an extra amount of sturdiness to the Gunners’ backline.
Game time is the obvious issue here, but even in his brief cameos, he has impressed just as much as anyone this campaign.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
