Through a mixture off illness and sheer boredom of sitting at home, I’ve decided to analyse each individual player’s season so far. I’ve come up with highlights (and in some cases, lowlights)

Player Review so far…

Through a mixture off illness and sheer boredom of sitting at home, I’ve decided to analyse each individual player’s season so far. I’ve come up with highlights (and in some cases, lowlights) and where I see their Arsenal careers headed. So read on, McDuff…

JENS LEHMANN

Highlight – erm…

Lowlight – seeing as he has only played two games, and doesn’t have any highlights, I think it’s fair to say that both his gaffes in the Fulham and Blackburn games are low points. In a way, his error against Fulham is understandable because we know he has a penchant for trying to be too clever with the ball at his feet, but the one against Blackburn was unforgivable, because it was a basic handling error which no keeper should make. Maybe it was down to a lack of concentration rather than waning technique, either it was a howler.

Future prospects – with the continued good form of Manuel Almunia and the potential rise of Lukasz Fabianski, Jens’ future at The Arse looks bleak. And with Euro 2008 round the corner, he might wanna leave in January to get immediate first-team action.

LUKASZ FABIANSKI

Highlight – captaining the team to a clean sheet victory at Bramall Lane. If I’m correct, he has yet to concede a goal for us, right?

Lowlight – nowt so far.

Future prospects – his shot-stopping looks good, his command of the box looks good, his position looks good, his handling looks good…but he’s only had two matches, so it’s a bit early to tell. If we don’t sign a keeper in the summer then that tells us that Wenger reckons he is a future no.1.

MANUEL ALMUNIA

Highlight – finally displacing Jens as no.1. One save that stands out for me was from Crouch (I think) at Anfield.

Lowlight – some people have criticised his part in Ronaldo’s goal at the Emirates when he rushed off his line. I don’t agree, but it wasn’t his greatest moment.

Future prospects – people say you can’t win things without a great keeper. Bollocks to that, look at Valdes at Barcelona. While the fans may feel that he is still a bit error-prone, the defence certainly look more comfortable with him behind them. I don’t think he’ll be a long-term solution though.

BACARY SAGNA

Highlight – his assist for Cesc’s initial equaliser against the Mancs. Showed plenty of desire and commitment. Also made Willy’s opener against Wigan and Ade’s winner at Villa, amongst others.

Lowlight – getting rid of his braids for the Sunderland game, where he proceeded to have a mare. Samson anyone?

Future prospects – so much for not needing another right-back eh? He has been awesome, combining Lauren’s defensive tenacity with Eboue’s offensive power. And he has allowed the former to push on into midfield, the two combining very effectively as well. Here to stay.

KOLO TOURE

Highlight – King Kolo is famed for getting forward and having a crack or unleashing a free-kick from 30-yards. I never thought he’d score one, but he did to open the scoring against Bolton.

Lowlight – can’t think of any right now.

Future prospects – see above for Cesc. The way he skippered the side in Willy’s absence shows he’s gonna captain this side eventually.

PHILIPPE SENDEROS

Highlight – a last-ditch clearance off the line from Oba Martins when he was captaining the kids in the Carling Cup against Newcastle. Tony Adams eat your heart out.

Lowlight – the rickett against Sevilla last week. Thankfully it was in a semi-dead rubber, but he is liable to make them at any time. Pascal Cygan eat your heart out.

Future prospects – ah Big Phil, I’ve always been a huge fan of his. He was a rock at then end of the 2004/05 season (after which some were saying he should get the armband following Paddy’s departure), and was equally rock-like in the run to Paris. But like the Neville’s did to Jose Reyes, I fear Didier Drogba has done the same to Senderos. January will be vital for him with Kolo gone. Will Wenger have the confidence to start him? And if so, will Phil perform?

WILLY GALLAS

Highlight – I’ve picked three because they are all equally important: the last minute block of Gerrard’s shot at Anfield, the last minute equaliser against the Mancs, and the opener against Wigan.

Lowlight – injuries, he seems to be quite prone to them, not surprising seeing as he is one of few in the squad over 30.

Future prospects – Willy isn’t about the future, he is about the present. And right now he is doing a damn fine job at the helm of the Club.

ALEX SONG

Highlight – a solid stint at the back against Newcastle for the Kids, surprised a few Gooners.

Lowlight – having THE worst effort in the crossbar challenge.

Future prospects – with the depth in central midfield we have, he won’t get a look in there. May evolve into a decent centre-half, but more a utility man than anything else. Still, having a Grimandi or a Remi Garde in the squad isn’t a bad thing, and he seems to be good for team morale as well.

JOHAN DJOUROU

Highlight – beating Tottenham at the Lane on Sunday. Get used to it my son!

Lowlight – giving away a penalty in the same match. Less of that please!

Future prospects – should come back in January, and his medium-term future will depend on whether he is selected in place of Kolo or not. People believe that he has better tools for the job than his Swiss mate Senderos in the long-term, and I tend to agree with them now. If any Birmingham fans are reading this, a review of his performances thus far would be most welcome.

GAEL CLICHY

Highlight – yet to grab his first goal in the red and white, Gael has nonetheless made some vital assets, the most important of which being his cross for Willy’s late show against the Mancs.

Lowlight – I’m sure he’s made the odd defensive error, but that should be ironed out with experience.

Future prospects – very good, although he may start to feel Armand Traore breathing down his neck soon. Competition for places is a good thing.

ARMAND TRAORE

Highlight – a sumptuous cross for Bendtner in the Kids’ game against Newcastle. Oh and taking knuckle-dusters to the Lane.

Lowlight – getting rinsed at Sevilla, which wasn’t his fault seeing as he had no protection in front of him. He should emerge stronger for it.

Future prospects – if the insider reports are anything to go by, he has a sparkling future at Arsenal. Apparently he has developed into one of the quickest and strongest players in the squad and supposedly has a fearsome shot. He is crossing is none too bad either, as evidenced by his cross for Bendtner as mentioned above. With Gael blocking his path though, I foresee an Eboue-ish switch for him: pushing him forward into midfield to dovetail with Gael.

JUSTIN HOYTE

Highlight – hmmm…

Lowlight – hmmm…

Future prospects – I feel sorry for Justin. Not only has Sagna frozen him out at right-back and Traore become the second-choice left-back, but nowadays he can’t even represent the Under-21s. Last year he made in excess of thirty appearances, this year he has barely made five. Fair play to him, he has come out and said that he wants to fight for his place rather than swanning off to a team lower down the league for guaranteed first-team football. I hope he stays and is successful, not only because he is English and having him in the side keeps the press slightly off our backs, but because he seems like a good bloke and is a Gooner through and through. Hopefully he can bu
ck the trend of Arsenal only producing English players who were arrogant, money-grabbing, cocky gits.

Thoughts? Agreements? Disagreements? That’s what the comments section is there for, so drop us a comment.