Arsenal 08/09 Season Review

Best Game

Liverpool 4-4 Arsenal, April 27 2009

The home win over Manchester United was one to savour, as was the second-half comeback which secured all three points at Chelsea. But Liverpool v Arsenal at Anfield had everything. The atmosphere was electric - a colourful card display paid tribute to Ray Kennedy before the game and the Kop were in full voice with their team going full tilt for the title. And of course there was the small matter of eight goals in a game which was played at break-neck speed and ebbed and flowed all night. Liverpool battered Arsenal for the first half-hour but Andrey Arshavin prodded the visitors in front. Liverpool turned the game on its head but a long-range special from Arshavin levelled matters before the Russian completed his hat-trick from close range. Again Liverpool responded but Arshavin seemed to have the final word with another vintage finish before the Merseysiders stole a point in stoppage time. Simply breath-taking.



Best Team Goal

Samir Nasri vs Manchester Utd , November 8 2008


A team which passes the ball as brightly as Arsenal are always going to rack up their fair share of 'team' goals and last season was no exception. There are plenty of contenders but in my view Arsenal's best collective strike came in their biggest home game of the Premier League season. This passing move was already into double figures when a patient build-up exploded in Manchester United's defensive third. When Denilson found Cesc Fabregas 25 yards out, the visitors looked to have everything covered. In the blink of an eye, Theo Walcott's clever run from right to left drew two defenders away from the centre and Fabregas span his marker before finding Samir Nasri in that vacant area. The Frenchman slammed his shot past Edwin van der Sar to put Arsenal two goals to the good.

Best Individual Goal

Andrey Arshavin vs Blackburn Rovers , March 14 2009


Pretty much every Arsenal forward can lay claim to a spectacular goal last season. Robin van Persie's control, swivel and shot against Liverpool, Eduardo's cheeky 'heel volley' against Burnley, Emmanuel Adebayor's scissors kick against Villarreal and Carlos Vela's impudent chip against Sheffield United are all worth a mention. Andrey Arshavin hit a screamer at Anfield but his first goal for the Club - scored against Blackburn - is my pick of the bunch. The Russian appeared to open his account with a close-range finish after 80 seconds of that game but replays showed it was an own goal from Andre Ooijer. Instead, in the 65th minute, Arshavin scored a goal he would be proud to call his first for Arsenal. Collecting a precise pass from Denilson on the left there was little on and much to do, but Arshavin dropped a shoulder, shimmied past Danny Simpson and found the perfect trajectory from the acutest of angles to lift the ball over Paul Robinson and into the top corner. Wonderful stuff.

Best Team Performance

Arsenal 3-0 Wigan (Carling Cup) , November 11 2008

Some would say Man United in November but that game could still have gone either way with chances at both ends. Others might suggest Villarreal at home but the Spaniards were very much in the tie until the last half-hour. So in my view, Arsenal's most complete performance of the season did not feature the usual suspects - on this occasion, the young Gunners were usurped by the even younger Gunners as the Carling Cup kids demolished Wigan. The Latics arrived at the Emirates in decent form and pretty much at full strength - Amr Zaki was one of the top flight's hottest properties and Wilson Palacios, Antonio Valencia and Chris Kirkland were all involved. But Arsenal, with eight teenage starters, produced a stirring display. Jay Simpson scored either side of the break and Carlos Vela added an exquisite chip to finish off Steve Bruce's side. This one really was boys against men - and the boys won.



Best Individual Performance

Andrey Arshavin vs Liverpool , April 27 2009

Robin van Persie is a live contender for this prize after scoring or assisting every Arsenal goal in January, but even he did not manage four goals in one game against a Premier League title challenger. Andrey Arshavin did, although the Russian will be the first to admit that April's epic match at Anfield passed him by for 36 minutes. Up until that point Arshavin quite understandably struggled to cope with this most English of games, played at an unrelenting pace. Ultimately, the little playmaker showed why he is considered one of the world's finest players, scoring four times from four goal attempts to secure a point. His first was a close-range poke, his second a long-range piledriver, his third a smart control and finish and his fourth a dead-eye finish with his supposedly weaker left foot. It was a tantalising taste of what to expect next season.




Best Save

Lukas Fabianski vs Wigan (Carling Cup) , November 11 2008

Manuel Almunia was a one-man barricade at times in the first leg of the Champions League Semi-Final at Old Trafford, showcasing his reflexes with sharp stops from Carlos Tevez, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney. But for all the Spaniard's fine work last season, he is pipped to this prize by Lukasz Fabianski. The Pole had his problems when he deputised for Almunia in the FA Cup Semi-Final but he was outstanding at other times, not least in the Carling Cup victory over Wigan. Arsenal were cruising at 3-0 having outclassed their experienced opponents but the Latics were denied a late consolation by an incredible double-save from Fabianski. Daniel de Ridder slalomed past four challenges and into the box only for Fabianski to push his shot aside at full stretch. The Pole was grounded as Zaki got to the rebound first but he somehow sprang up to tip the Egyptian's goal-bound effort onto the crossbar.



source: arsenal.com