Season Review: End of Season Awards

Arsenal 2021-22

Season Review: End of Season Awards

By Jack Lacey-Hatton

With the Champions League final and Championship play-off final rounding off the European club season this weekend, it won’t be long before attentions turn to 2022-23.

Some supporters will see the last twelve months as a positive step forward for Arsenal and manager 
Mikel Arteta, while others will be keen to move on after a missing out on the top four right at the end of the season, to fiercest rivals Tottenham.

But before we start assessing summer transfer rumours and counting down the days till the next fixtures are revealed, 18 by the way, first we need to handout the Arsenal FanTV unofficial end of season awards.

Ahead of the club's official Player of the Season award to be announced next week, here are our own picks after a rollercoaster season at the Emirates.

 

Player of the Season

Bukayo Saka

Sometimes you have to remind yourself where Arsenal would be without Bukayo Saka. The 20-year-old has once again shone brightly throughout the campaign and fully deserves to win Player of the Season.

For so long the club's best young prospects either faded away or were sold on. But the England forward has taken his game onto a new level this season, becoming one of the best young players in Europe.

The Ealing-born star may have won the official award last year, but has produced even more consistently on the big stage this time around.

His goal and outstanding display in the derby win over Spurs, virtuoso performances in the victories over West Ham and Manchester United, as well as his penalty to seal a vital three points at Stamford Bridge, were some of the best memories of the season.

At a time when Arsenal have been desperate for real quality in the wide areas, Saka has come to the fore and produced an even better campaign than his breakthrough 2020-21.

His relationship with the fans is also a joy to behold and there is no reason why he can’t by one of the club's key figures in the dressing room over the next decade.

Strong cases could also be made for transformative summer signing Aaron Ramsdale, and a rejuvenated Martin Odegaard. But for consistency over the whole season, we’ve plumped for Saka.

Saka

 

Best Moment of the Season

That late late comeback against Wolves

Many will, probably correctly, choose the October first-half demolition of Spurs as the highpoint of the season and it was certainly the best overall performance.

But when looking back for that one single moment of joy sweeping through Arsenal supporters, the dramatic winner at home to Wolves is hard to top.

It was the also perhaps the first time this season when many Gooners not only believed a top-four was possible, but probable.

In the last six years or so this is the type of game Arsenal have often lost. A goal down at home to a motivated, disciplined opponent who were below them in the table, this fixture that had disaster written all over it.

Mikel Arteta’s team still trailed 1-0 going into the last ten minutes but refused to panic and were continuing to create good chances with noise levels rising.

Nicholas Pepe finally took one after clever play from Eddie Nketiah to level the game, before Alexandre Lacazette forced an own goal from goalkeeper Jose Sa to complete a dramatic turnaround in the 95th minute.

The Emirates erupted.

This felt like this new group of Arsenal players were finally coming of age.

 

Goal of the Season

Alexandre Lacazette V Southampton

A 3-0 win over Southampton before Christmas featured one of the great Arsenal team goals, a reminder of how good Arteta’s team can be on their day.

A flowing move started with Ramsdale finding a pass to beat an aggressive Saints forward press, before a one touch Ben White pass found Thomas Partey.

The ball was transferred to Takehiro Tomiyasu who exchanged a one-two with Odegaard, before finding Saka out wide.

His cutback was finished off perfectly by Alexandre Lacazette to open the scoring. Whilst there were more spectacular strikes from those wearing red this season, none could top this for out and out quality.

 

Most Improved Player of the Season

Eddie Nketiah

The easiest award of all has to be this one.

Eddie Nketiah looks a player transformed from the last two seasons, becoming one of Arsenal’s standout players in final few months of the campaign.

Had Arteta’s team successfully navigated their way to a top four finish, Nketiah would have deserved his share of the credit, seamlessly filling the void created when forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang left for Barcelona in January.

Ever since scoring his first senior hat-trick in the 5-1 EFL cup win over Sunderland in December, the striker has looked like a genuine option for the manager and scored some big goals towards the end of the season.

A brace in a vital 2-1 win against Leeds United earlier this month showcased his maturity in front of goal, and he also got on the scoresheet in the final day win over Everton.

His remarkable improvement is set to be rewarded, with the club thought to be on the verge of offering the 22-year-old a new five-year contract with wages in the region of £100,000 per-week, in the coming weeks.

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