The Gunners pushed hard once again but came up short, ending a challenging campaign without silverware. Yet their season was shaped by several standout individual displays that kept them in the title race and added fuel to their almost incredible Champions League journey. We spoke to Jack Abela of LondonWorld to highlight Arsenal’s key contributors throughout the season.
00:00The Gunners pushed hard but once again came up short, ending a challenging campaign without a trophy.
00:09Yet their season was shaped by several standout individual displays that kept them in the title race and added fuel to their almost incredible Champions League journey.
00:21Declan Rice was a dominant presence in midfield, blending defensive steel with real quality on the ball.
00:27William Saliba anchored the back line with maturity beyond his years.
00:31While Bako Saka delivered goals, assists and relentless work rate from the wing, despite having missed a large chunk of the campaign due to injury.
00:41Despite the disappointment, the core of a top class team is clearly in place.
00:46We spoke to Jacobello of London World to highlight Arsenal's key contributors throughout the season.
00:52Let's just look at Arsenal's player of the season in terms of a standout name.
01:00For me, from a neutral perspective, I think Nico Marino deserves a lot of credit, you know, being asked to do what he's been asked to do essentially and sort of change the way he's played.
01:09And he has actually had some success going forward, you know, amid the massive striker issue that Arsenal have been going on about trying to fix.
01:17In terms of names, in terms of standout players, who's, you know, come close to being possibly the player of the season for Arsenal this campaign.
01:26Yeah, you're right to shout out Michael Marino.
01:30I mean, what an auxiliary striker he's turned out to be.
01:34I mean, in many ways, it's kind of similar to what happened with Kai Havertz.
01:38I mean, you'll remember we kind of signed him as a left number, a left eight.
01:43And, you know, he struggled in that position.
01:45And Gabriel Jesus got injured and Kai Havertz went up front and really made that position himself.
01:51I mean, he'd obviously played there before, but saw it in a similar way with Marino, the same thing happened, which was, you know, much more strange because at Sociedad and for Spain, he's been more of a defensive midfielder.
02:04So it was definitely more of a move, but he's got great technique.
02:08I mean, some of his goals have been fantastic and he showed great instincts.
02:11I mean, the one at Anfield, he was following, following a shot in off the crossbar, got a rebound.
02:17It was a real poachers goal. Do I think he's going to stay up front long term? No.
02:22Has he been a good addition to the squad and kind of permanently inked himself into Arsenal fans' hearts?
02:29Yeah, definitely. It's got a kind of whiff of a Matthew Flamini at left back kind of vibe.
02:36But yeah, he's definitely in with a shout.
02:41I mean, I think Arsenal fans would go for Declan Rice, to be honest.
02:44You know, the moment of our season has been those two free kicks at Real Madrid and he's just so consistent.
02:52He's been really incredible. And for me, the player of the season has been Declan Rice.
02:56But definitely another shout out to the two young boys that have come through the season.
03:01Ethan Maneri, who hopefully we'll see more of next season, but mainly Myles Lewis-Skelly,
03:06who has really made that left back position his own.
03:09You know, he's got an England call-up, he's scored his England debut.
03:13And I think Arsenal will really look at, you know, he might not have any trophies this season,
03:18but the trophy for Arsenal fans is having potentially a new left back for the next 10 years.
03:24And I wouldn't surprise me if he gets a lot of the vote as well.
03:28So between Myles Lewis-Skelly and Declan Rice, I'd go for as Arsenal's players of the season for their game against Real Madrid.
03:36And I think that 3-0 victory and the 2-1 at the Bernabeu as well will live long in the minds of Arsenal fans.
03:44And, you know, that in itself was an incredible performance, an incredible team display and a kind of snapshot into what this team can do.
03:52And I think once the season ends and Arsenal fans can look back and reflect when maybe when emotions have simmered down,
03:59that Arsenal, you know, have made a semi-final of a Champions League.
04:02The club and the squad gave fans that special moment against Madrid.
04:07You know, that is a positive. However, you know, it was a chance to win some silverware.
04:11It's not every season you can get yourself into the semi-final.
04:15You know, teams like Man City and Liverpool, you know, big rivals for Arsenal had been knocked out.
04:20We were the last English team in it and it felt like it could be a season, despite our league form dropping off,
04:27where Arsenal could go and have a good crack at the Champions League.
04:30But I think where the disappointment really comes in is how the Premier League form has dropped off.
04:36And I think that it made the Champions League knockout a little bit more sour for Arsenal fans.
