Aaron Ramsdale: 8/10
When Arsenal signed Aaron Ramsdale for around £30M in the summer, just a season after selling academy graduate Emi Martinez for roughly half of the price to Aston Villa, a large portion of the fanbase were displeased to say the least. The Englishman had recently been relegated from the Premier League with Sheffield United and had prior relegations on his record with AFC Bournemouth and Chesterfield, which rival fans were quick to bring up across social media as soon as the club officially announced that Arsenal had acquired his services.
However, the young goalkeeper was quick to dispel the discontent, and quickly made his £30M price tag look like a bargain, coming straight into the first team and keeping 6 clean sheets in his first 10 Premier League games. The 24-year-old Englishman ended the season with a very respectable 12 clean sheets in 34 appearances, and made several world class saves in the process, with the pick of the bunch coming from a James Maddison free-kick at The King Power stadium.
Overall, Ramsdale injected some requisite enthusiasm and excitement into the club at a time where things were completely flat. He was probably our top performer in the first half of the season, making some exceptional saves and showing off his excellent distribution. Having said that, his form did dip noticeably in the second half of the season, and the youngster conceded a string of goals that truth-be-told he should’ve done much better on (see: Jota’s opener in our 2-0 Carabao Cup defeat, Jota’s goal in our 2-0 league loss, Sissoko’s goal in our 3-2 win at Watford etc.).
All in all, it’s still been a great year for the youngster who has proved to have been a shrewd signing by the club and not looked out of place as Arsenal’s number one. If it wasn’t for a slight decline in performance levels, he would’ve got a higher rating and we could’ve been looking at Arsenal’s Player of The Season 2021/22.
Bernd Leno: 6/10
Bernd was between the sticks for the start of the season horror show which saw us sit bottom of the Premier League table after the first three games, conceding nine goals in the process to Brentford, Chelsea and Manchester City.
After the arrival of Aaron Ramsdale, who came straight into the side and as aforementioned injected some much-needed vitality into the team, Bernd was reduced to our substitute goalie for the remainder of the season.
When the German shot-stopper was called upon through rest or injury to Rammers, specifically in our league win against Villa and our Cup wins against Leeds and Sunderland, he performed well and showcased his impressive shot-stopping ability.
Bernd gets a 6 for being a dependable squad member who remained professional throughout what looks to have been his final season in North London.
Kieran Tierney: 7.5/10
On a positive note, the 2021/22 season was another season where KT showed his class and consistency. On the flip side, it was another campaign for him that was hampered by injury and one that saw our best left-back miss large chunks of the season through his continually poor injury record.
Stand out performances from the Scotsman this season came in our 5-0 demolition of Norwich at Carrow Road which he marked with a well-taken goal, and our 3-0 home win against the Saints which he capped with a smart assist. Tierney kept a respectable 11 clean sheets in the 24 Premier League games which he played this season, and we visibly missed his reliability and quality, particularly during the final stretch of the season which saw us surrender 4th place to rivals Spurs.
Let’s hope our future captain returns as good as new for the start of the 2022/23 season, and that he may be able to go a full season without serious injury. Fingers crossed.
Nuno Tavares: 5/10
While it may be hard to believe now, there was a time this season when Nuno Tavares was the reason that Mikel Arteta was benching a fit Kieran Tierney.
Not lacking in energy or effort levels, the left-back’s enthusiasm and work rate cannot be questioned. However, his defensive frailties and susceptibility to error-making were exposed on multiple occasions, which saw the Portuguese youngster being hooked off at half-time on more than one occasion by the manager this season.
However, time is on Nuno’s side. At only 22 years of age, there is enough time for development and improvement, and part of his defensive shakiness and rashness may be put down to his youth and inexperience. Despite the evident fragilities, the Arsenal left-back has shown enough attacking threat, promise and desire to merit holding onto him for at least another season. He would probably benefit largely from a loan spell in the 2022/23 season.
Gabriel Magalhaes: 7.5/10
All in all, the 2021/22 season was a great one for Arsenal’s Brazilian defender, who ended the campaign as the highest scoring centre-back in the Premier League with 5 goals.
Gabriel was a staple in the Arsenal defence who kept impressive clean sheets at the likes of Anfield, The King Power, Molineux Stadium and more as the season went on. His strength, consistency and physical prowess means he remained one of the first names on the team sheet throughout the season and formed a sturdy partnership with new boy Ben White. He popped up with important goals when the team needed him and was a strong presence and leader at the heart of our defence.
There’s not too much more to say about the 24-year-old’s season – it was a solid one defensively and a more-than impressive one offensively. I worry that in a season his head might be turned by a side competing for the PL/UCL.
Ben White: 7/10
Before the season started, rival fans were mocking the signing of Ben White for £50M, especially when Manchester United secured the services of 4-time UCL winner Rapha Varane on a free transfer. However, White ends the season with 13 clean sheets in 32 games, compared to 5 clean sheets in 22 games for Varane at Manchester United. Who would’ve thought it?
After a turbulent start to the season along with the rest of the side, White quickly settled into life in North London and began showcasing his technical ability, calm nature and physicality which helped the club to record its most clean sheets in a Premier League season in 4 years.
The ball-playing centre half is a crucial cog in Arteta’s system and his tenacious mentality adds bite and vigour to a side who have been too soft at the back in recent years. There were below par performances and mistakes along the way, like in away games against Brentford, Watford, and of course that own goal at Newcastle, but overall, the 24-year-old Englishman has been one of our most dependable performers.
The partnership formed with Gabriel blossomed as the season progressed and for the first time in years, us Arsenal fans seem to not won’t be worrying about needing a new centre-half heading into the summer window. It feels like we’re in safe hands at the heart of defence, and Ben White is a big part of that, who has successfully silenced a lot of his doubters with the campaign that he’s just had.
Overall, he’s had a solid debut season in red and white.
Rob Holding: 5.5/10
Rob Holding spent the majority of the season on the side-lines, acting as our first-choice back-up centre half who would stand in when Gabriel Magalhaes or Ben White were either injured or rested.
For the most part, the 26-year-old had a good season. He remained professional and when called upon, he performed well and didn’t look out of place in the starting XI. He even bagged his first Premier League goal in a tough away game at the London Stadium to help us to a 2-1 win which, at the time, felt significant in the race for fourth place.
However, and this is a big however…
In the most important game of the season, he let himself and the team when he got himself sent off in the first half of the game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium which we detrimentally went on to lose 3-0. The Englishman was reckless and just plain stupid at a time when he needed him to remain calm and show his seniority.
Although Son wasn’t 100% innocent himself and arguably should’ve been sent off for a prior elbow, Holding ultimately lost the dark arts battle with the South Korean and picked up a braindead second yellow card for shoving him in the face off the ball. When you’re already on a yellow card, with VAR is in operation, knowing how important the game is, already at 1-0 down, it’s just simply unforgivable to do what he did.
The Rob Holding of that day seemed to be a completely different man to the one who masterfully won his on and off-the-ball battle with Diego Costa, the king of dark arts, in our 2017 FA Cup Final victory at Wembley. Who knows what would’ve happened had we not gone down to 10 men? Maybe we would’ve got a point, which would’ve seen us finish in the top four above Spurs for the first time in half a decade. For that game alone, which cost us so much, he gets marked down to a 5.5/10. It would’ve probably been a solid 7 without that game, which I want to completely erase from my memory.
Takehiro Tomiyasu: 8/10
Consistent, reliable and talented – Tomiyasu has been one of the signings of the season and needed next to no time to acclimatise to English football. The 23-year-old deserves high praise for how he turned an area of weakness in Arsenal’s squad to an area of strength almost instantly, making the right back spot his own in the process.
The Japan International may have scored even higher had he stayed injury free. He reminds me of Nacho Monreal in how you know what you’re getting with him; you don’t have to worry about his side of defence when you see him on the team sheet. An impressive debut season, let’s hope like KT he can avoid long-term injuries in the next campaign.
Cedric Soares: 5.5/10
Cedric Soares probably featured a little more than we expected this season, standing in at both full-back positions through Tomiyasu and Tierney’s injuries, making over 20 Premier League appearances in the process.
The Portuguese right-back is always committed and hard-working, but at the same time lacks the quality and technical ability to be relied on as a first choice full-back. His defensive capabilities were put in question several times this season, with the likes of Heung-min Son and Jadon Sancho exposing him and getting the better of him in their one-on-one battles this season. His defensive limitations also show through the stats, as Arsenal kept 10 clean sheets in 23 games without him, but only 3 in 15 with the 30-year-old starting.
Thomas Partey: 7.5/10
It’s fair to say that in the 2020/21 season we didn’t see the best of Thomas Partey, who only started 18 games in the league due to struggles with injury and form. However, this season, the Ghanaian has showed the shades of class, strength and athleticism from his Atletico days which saw him earn the title of Arsenal’s most expensive midfield signing of all time.
Not lacking in self-awareness or the ability to critique oneself, Partey came out and rated his performances since signing for the club a ‘4/10’ back in December, and it’s fair to say that since giving that interview to Sky Sports News at the end of last year that the midfielder took his game up a level. He began to dominate his midfield battles, particularly in home games against the likes of Manchester City, Brentford and Leicester City.
Overall, Arsenal fans will be hopeful to see the best of Thomas Partey on a more consistent basis next season, and be anticipative that the 2022/23 season will be a statement one for the talented midfielder who should now be more than settled in North London.
7.5/10 for Partey – he performed well in the second half of the season, but we know that he’s capable of even more.
Granit Xhaka: 6.5/10
Ah, Granit Xhaka – quite possibly the most divisive figure of Arsenal’s Emirates era. It seems like 50% of the fanbase absolutely hate his guts and the other 50% see him as the best midfielder at the club.
Granit’s season started in frustratingly familiar fashion, as he let his teammates down in our 5-0 loss at Manchester City with a stupid challenge which earnt him a red card – a defeat which left Arsenal bottom of the Premier League table with 0 points and a -9-goal difference. However, once he was re-introduced to the side, his form did admittedly pick up and he began to show a bit of consistency in midfield. His seniority seemed to be helping his younger teammates who often turned to him for guidance.
However, whenever Xhaka’s form takes an upturn, it inevitably comes crashing down, and did so when he got himself sent off for another rash last-man challenge in our Carabao Cup semi-final at Anfield. A fitting quote on the Swiss international came a couple of years ago from Gary Neville: ‘he’s an experienced player who plays with no experience’, which seemed to sum up his showing on Merseyside that evening.
Once again though, he bounced back after serving his suspension and seemed to stabilise the midfield and put in a string of solid performances to help us pick up form and temporarily get back into the top four. This was all encapsulated in what has to be the best moment of Granit’s season – his long-range strike against Manchester United to put us 3-1 up and secure all three points, just days after beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge to allow us temporarily dream about UCL football again.
Overall, Granit ends the season with 1 goal, 2 assists, 2 red cards, 11 yellow cards and 1 player of the month award. The fact that he’s arguably been our best midfielder this year tells you everything you need to know about where Arsenal need to strengthen in the summer. His tackling and temperament don’t seem to have improved over his half a decade plus at the club, and his post-match interview after our 2-0 loss to Newcastle seemed extremely hypocritical and audacious and was quite frankly insulting to his younger teammates. Xhaka gets an, in my opinion, generous 6.5 for his campaign. He shouldn’t be starting for us next season if we want a place in the Champions League. Simple as that.
Mohamed Elneny: 6.5/10
Arsenal’s first and only Egyptian player ever spent the majority of the season out of the matchday squads or sitting on the bench. However, injuries in the middle of the park opened the door for Mo to start featuring in the final quarter of the season.
Once he came into the side, he performed well and even started making a few more atypical passes forward than Arsenal fans are used to seeing. He was a key part of our late season victories against Chelsea and United, which have earned him a contract extension at the club. You know what you’re getting with Mo, and it’s probably a good thing that he’s sticking around a little longer to add experience and reliability to our youthful squad.
Albert Sambi Lokonga: 5/10
Arsenal’s young Belgian midfielder found himself featuring more regularly than expected at the start of the campaign, debuting in our surprise opening day defeat to Brentford and maintaining his place in the side for our 2-0 home defeat to Chelsea.
While he showed glimpses of promise throughout his run in the side, he lost his place in the midfield (as expected) to more senior players as the season went on and struggled to impose his will on games that he did go onto feature in later on in the season.
He’s still young and was thrown in at the deep end during a difficult period for the club. There’s a lot more to come from him and he’ll get better as he matures and the years go on.
Martin Ødegaard: 8.5/10
The 2021/22 season is one which saw Arsenal’s young Norwegian starlet truly come into his own. Ødegaard began to consistently show off the type of talent and football brain which saw Real Madrid sign him as a 15-year-old who, at the time, was being compared with Lionel Messi.
The 23-year-old began running games with his slick passing, creative flair and consistently spot-on decision making, establishing himself as an un-droppable name on the Arsenal team sheet. Throughout the season, Ødegaard created 72 chances in the Premier League for his teammates – the most from an Arsenal player since Mesut Özil in 2017/18 (84 chances created), quickly providing the solution to the creation issues which have plagued the Arsenal squad for the last two years.
Further to this, Martin added more goals to his game – netting 7 times in 36 Premier League outings, with a wonderfully casual finish against Everton on the final day of the season which was microcosmic of the way he’s made football look at times this season – absolutely effortless. The sort of consistent quality and reliability that the Norwegian showed this season even earned him the captain’s armband for the final few games of the season.
There are only two parts of Ødegaard’s game that I would like to see improvement on. Firstly, I’d like to see him impose his will and begin to start controlling games more away from home, particularly against the tougher sides. The top midfielders in the world are as effective away from home as they are at home, and I see slight room for improvement in the Ø’s game in those tougher away trips. Secondly, an improvement in direct goal contributions, particularly in the assists department (where he only notched 5 all season) would be a welcome step-up in the Norwegian’s game, and would massively help us in what is set to be an even tougher season next year. Overall, Ødegaard had a brilliant season in red and white and it was a delight to watch him play.
Emile Smith Rowe: 7.5/10
Emile started the season in slow fashion along with the rest of the team, but slowly began to pick up form and became Arsenal’s key man in midfield for game-changing goals. In the second quarter of the season, the England international really came into his own and justified his ‘Croydon De Bruyne’ nickname, netting in 3 games in a row in wins over Aston Villa, Leicester and Watford.
By the half-way point of the season, the 21-year-old had netted 7 times in 19 Premier League appearances for the Gunners. However, due to fitness issues and the form of teammates Martinelli and Ødegaard, ESR struggled for game-time and only managed to net 3 more goals across the second half of the season. His 10-goal return, which he reached with a smart strike in our memorable victory at Stamford Bridge, makes him the first Arsenal player ever to hit double figures in a PL campaign before turning 22.
One criticism I have for ESR is his ability to drift out of games and struggle to get involved in them. Newcastle away springs to mind, a game which he failed to influence and grab a hold of which we needed our attacking players to. If he’s not popping up with a goal, his overall influence on a game can be minute. However, he’s still growing and with time I’m sure this will improve.
If it wasn’t for an underwhelming end to the season, ESR would’ve got a higher rating. Still, it was a great season for the talented youngster, and he’ll be hoping he can nail down a first-team spot and build on it even further next season.
Gabriel Martinelli: 7.5/10
After a disappointing opening two games along with the rest of the side, Gabi found himself out of the side until November, when a goal off the bench against Newcastle earned him a run of starts in the Premier League.
The young Brazilian performed well throughout his run in the side and for the rest of the season, returning a very respectable 6 goals and 6 assists across all competitions and showing glimpses of magic along the way. Stand-out performances from Martinelli came at home to West Ham where he scored an important side-foot opener in Henry-esque fashion, and at Elland Road where he bagged a clinical brace in our 4-1 victory over Leeds.
Of course, who can forget his performance at home to Liverpool? Despite losing the game, Martinelli was our clear stand out performer, showing flashes of brilliance which had Gary Neville comparing him to Robert Pires and Martin Tyler informing the millions watching at home that ‘he’s got some stardust, this young man!’. Jurgen Klopp, who has previously labelled Gabi as ‘a talent of the century’, also praised him after the game, telling the media that ‘the boy Martinelli is such a talented boy!’.
The boy from Brazil will be hoping that he can nail down a place in our starting eleven next season and return even more goals and assists to elevate himself to the next level, which us Arsenal fans know he is more than capable of reaching. At only 20 years old, Gabi has real world class potential and marries that with a world class mentality and work ethic. We’re lucky to have him.
Nicolas Pepe: 5.5/10
It’s pretty hard to give Nicolas Pepe a fair rating this season considering how little he’s played for the club. The Ivorian started just 5 of Arsenal’s 38 Premier League games and had no European football to make appearances in, which he performed so brightly in last year.
Our record signing’s best cameo this season came in our come-from-behind home win vs Wolves in February, which saw him come on to score an important 82nd minute equaliser and (kind of) provide the assist for Jose Sa’s 95th minute own goal which sent The Emirates into euphoria.
There’s a lot of talent there, but it’s clear as day that Mikel Arteta just doesn’t fancy him. He’s a flair player who doesn’t suit the Spaniard’s management style or system. I fully expect Arsenal’s top scorer of last season to depart this summer, and I wish him well wherever he goes. It’s lazy journalism to rate him anything lower than a 5 out of 10 and make him out to be the scapegoat of this season.
Bukayo Saka: 8.5/10
After Euro 2020 heartbreak in the Summer, and some shocking online abuse that followed, questions were being asked of how well Bukayo Saka would be able to bounce back heading into the 2021/22 season.
However, it’s more than fair to say that Arsenal’s star-boy had another phenomenal season in red and white. Saka ends the season as Arsenal’s top goalscorer with 12 goals and second-top assister with 7 assists across all competitions. He is also expected to become the first player at the club to win back-to-back Player of The Season awards since Thierry Henry in 2004/05.
Arsenal’s star boy carried the club through difficult moments in the same way that he did last season, demonstrating his dribbling ability, pace, technical quality and eye for goal in the process. The 20-year-old prodigy even added ‘big-game player’ to his list of qualities, scoring important goals against the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham and Manchester City. When the team was struggling for ideas, his teammates would often look for him to execute a driving run forward or produce a moment of magic in the final third to get us out of trouble, and he so often delivered.
Bukayo’s season earned him a nomination for the Premier League Player of The Season Award, making him the first Gunner to make the 6-man shortlist since Alexis Sanchez in the 2016/17 season.
Eddie Nketiah: 7/10
Eddie was given his first Premier League start of the season with just 6 games left in the campaign, playing 90 minutes in our 1-0 loss at Southampton after Lacazette’s weak form offered the young striker the chance to show his worth.
After three miserable losses in a row to Palace, Brighton and Southampton, Arsenal needed to respond with some goals, and Nketiah was able to help with that. The 23-year-old became the first Arsenal player to score more than once in the same game at Stamford Bridge since Robin van Persie’s hat-trick in October 2011, helping us to a memorable 4-2 win against Chelsea. He bagged another impressive brace at home to Leeds a couple of games later and scored again in the final game of the season against Everton. To add to his league goals, he continued his spectacular Carabao Cup form this season with 5 goals in 5 appearances, including an excellent hat-trick at home to Sunderland, taking him to a total of 10 goals for the season.
Although Eddie still lacks the presence and experience that I’d want in an Arsenal striker, he is still young and has proven with his 5 goals in 8 Premier League starts that he can deliver at the top level. The rumours suggest that the youngster’s late season form is set to reward him with a new 6-figure-a-week contract to keep him at the club. While that may be a bit steep, I’m not adverse to the Hale End graduate staying at the club, as long as he is our second or third choice striker, especially with the club set to return to the Europa League. It is imperative that Arsenal sign a top-class striker this summer.
Alexandre Lacazette: 4.5/10
Arsenal’s French forward started the campaign as second-fiddle to close friend Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but was quickly elevated to being the man up top once the Gabonese striker left for Barcelona in January.
At his best this season, Laca was linking with our exciting young Guns extremely well and was acting as a focal point to bring the likes of Saka, Martinelli and Smith Rowe into play more effectively. However, at his worst this season, Laca really struggled to hit the back of the net and be the clinical goalscoring forward that the club needed to get over the line in those crucial moments.
Laca ends this season with only 4 Premier League goals (2 of which were from the penalty spot), making it his worst goalscoring league campaign ever in red and white, and his worst overall since 2012/13. The Frenchman infuriatingly missed several golden chances to either win us games which we were drawing or to put us two goals up in those tight games which we didn’t always have a strong hold of throughout the season. Two of the worst misses which spring to mind came in our extremely disappointing 0-0 draw at home to Burnley and our scrappy 1-0 win away to Wolves. The sort of finishing displayed in those crucial moments may have cost us a place in next season’s Champions League. A clinical striker buries those chances without hesitation.
Although his leadership skills and dedication can’t be questioned, Lacazette’s on-field limitations were exposed this season. Whatever way you look at it, 6 goals across all competitions is unacceptable for an Arsenal striker. Eddie Nketiah (5) outscored Lacazette in the league this season and only really came into the team in the final third of the campaign. Gabriel Magalhaes (5) also outscored the Frenchman, and he’s a centre back. We needed big goals from him, and he didn’t deliver.
I think it’s the right time to thank the 31-year-old striker for his contributions to the club and wish him well. Thanks for the good times, Laca, all the best for wherever you go.
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