If you was to ask me who I thought was the player of the season before I looked at the figures then I would have said our captain Cesc Fabregas who has contributed to most of our goals this season

At the start of season 2009/2010 I decided to write player ratings after every Arsenal game for the players who started the games, to go alongside my match thoughts.

I didn’t rate substitutes as a five minute cameo can obscure the ratings and give you inaccurate figures. Players who started the games would be a cleaner and easier way of doing it.

I have calculated the average ratings for each of players in all the different competitions. I wanted to know if the average ratings would match my thinking. I wonder if any subconscious bias would show up with my favoured players. I also wanted to know if the lower figures would match those who haven’t been at their best this season.

Two matches were not rated by myself. One because Squid Boy wrote a match review and I forgot to write the ratings for that game and another where I had a power cut in the middle of the Bolton game at the Reebok. I used the Sky Sports ratings for those two matches, their figures seemed to be the closest to my average ratings.

Right, let us get down to the nitty gritty. We will start in the Premier League. I shall do another for the other competitions over the new few days.

The player with the highest average rating is our flying Dutchman, Robin Van Persie with an average rating of 7.25 but he only managed 14 games, missing a total of 24 league games. Van Persie was fit at the beginning of the season when the team were doing well and scoring goals so because he missed so many games, the award will have to be given to the next in line. Alex Song takes the award with an impressive 7.18 from 25 games. Song proved to be a very consistent performer in the middle of midfield but still missed out on 13 league games.

The player with the most amount of games was Thomas Vermaelen who played 33 league games. He and Sagna were the only Arsenal players to manage to play more than thirty games in the season. Given the number of games his average rating of 7.09 is very high and may have been crowned the winner had Alex Song equalled the same amount of games.

Although receiving a high rating, Vermaelen was not rated as the best central defender for Arsenal, That award goes to Sol Campbell who notched up an average rating of 7.15 in ten games since signing in January.

William Gallas has probably ended his Arsenal career having his best season at the club, scoring 7.12 in 26 games. I am surprised to note that William Gallas actually played one game more than Alex Song. It felt as if Song was around pretty much all season whilst Gallas injured his calf a long time ago against Liverpool at the Emirates.

If you was to ask me who I thought was the player of the season before I looked at the figures then I would have said our captain Cesc Fabregas who has contributed to most of our goals this season, including hitting the net 15 times. Playing 26 times he managed a rating of 7.08 which puts him one point behind Thomas Vermaelen.

Disappointment of the year

There are a few disappointing numbers at the bottom end of the table. Theo Walcott who missed most of the early season fun and games took a while to get into his stride this has brought his numbers right down. Walcott only managed 12 league starts and picked up an average of 6.54 in those appearances.

But with 29 league starts and a rating of only 6.55. the most disappointing player of the season goes to Manuel Almunia

Lukasz Fabianski who was thrown in the deep end at the end of the season scored a very low 5.88 in only 4 games.

It is worth noting that record signing Andrey Arshavin, even with ten league goals only managed 6.68 from 25 starts. After watching the Russian come to life after his move last January, we all expected big things from him but we only really witnessed glimpses from him. Perhaps if he was not drafted in to play as the lone forward for a long period of the season then he may have had better performances. His habit of contributing very little to an overall game has been my reasoning for scoring him low so many times even if he has come up with an assist or late goal.

The fight for right back

Many supporters have had their views on who should be selected at right full back between the dependable Bacary Sagna or the offensive minded Emmanuel Eboue. Sagna started in 31 games, 14 more than Eboue. But it was the latter who scored higher with 7.03 compared to Sagna’s 6.89. Part of the reason for the numbers is the selected games that Eboue is given at full back. Eboue usually gets games at the Emirates (11 out of 17 starts) and he usually plays against lesser quality teams who sit back allowing the Ivorian to show his flair without having to think much about his defensive game.

The third man?

Cesc Fabregas and Alex Song have established themselves in the midfield three, three other players have been competing for the final spot in the engine room. Aaron Ramsey was starting to show that he could hold his own before being cruelly taken out of football at Stoke City. In 7 starts he racked up an average rating of 6.71, equal with Tomas Rosicky who started twice as many games.

Abou Diaby and Denilson played the most in that position and both players were rated at 6.87 Denilson started 7 games less than Diaby’s 26. Without the Frenchman’s loss of form at the end of the season, I suspect that he would have joined the likes of Cesc, Song, Vermaelen etc as one of the top performers.

Top Premier League team performances

The players ratings have been counted for each match and an average is calculated. Here are the top five performances judging by the ratings.

1. Tottenham (h) 3-0 (8.59)
2. Blackburn (h) 6-2 (8.5)
2. Wolves (a) 1-4 (8.5)
3. West Ham (h) 2-1 (8.45)
4. Hull City (h) 3-0 (8.41)
5. Liverpool (h) 1-0 (8.36)

Team of the season based on top ratings in each position

Squad List

* Please note these figures are based only on the Premier League season 2009/2010

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