The Gunners were coming off the back of last season with a Europa League final defeat to Chelsea, and missing out on a top-four spot by one point to bitter rivals Tottenham.
This, therefore, set the Arsenal squad and Unai Emery on a mission of redemption ahead of the 2019/20 season, which saw the North London outfit invest heavily in their defence during the 2019 summer transfer window, as well as breaking their transfer record on Ivorian winger Nicolas Pépé.
After just three months into the season, however, Emery was sacked after failing to win a game for almost two months – and was eventually succeeded by former player Mikel Arteta less than a month later.
The club had a strong finish to the season, reaching the FA Cup final in which they will face city rivals Chelsea, but failed to climb their way up the table and finished in a measly 8th place.
Here, we will take a look at Arsenal’s season, with a FootballFanCast review…
Player of the Season – Pierre-Emerick Aubamayang
The Gambian international was incredibly unlucky not to win the Golden Boots this season, finishing just one behind eventual winner Jamie Vardy despite scoring an impressive 22 goals.
The striker has been Arsenal’s go-to for goals since joining the club at the beginning of 2018 and has scored 22 goals in two consecutive seasons in the Premier League.
The 31-year-old is a massive influence on Arsenal’s attacking outlet, with a lot of their forward play being emulated through him – the Gunners will need to tie him down to a contract extension and Arteta could do with keeping hold of a player of his ability.
Goal of the Season – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang vs Man City, Jul 18th ’20
Initial thoughts went towards Alexandre Lacazette’s effort against rivals Tottenham on the 14th July – but this unbelievable team goal against that Manchester City side in an FA Cup final takes the pickings.
A total of 18 passes between ten different players, including a sumptuous first touch and pass wide to Bellerin from the aforementioned Frenchman, led to a fantastic cross towards City’s back post that was pocked in oh so acutely by Aubameyang – a goal fit for the start of Mikel Arteta’s reign at the club.
Breakthrough Player – Bukayo Saka
The Arsenal faithful would all agree, the fans of other clubs would all agree, even Saka himself would probably agree. There is no other player to take this accolade at Arsenal apart from him – the 18-year-old has been a breath of fresh air for the Gunners, and alongside Mikel Arteta, it seems like a match made in heaven.
Having played 26 games in seven different positions in the league this season, Saka is as versatile as you could ask – and his ability with the ball at his feet is as good as they come, especially for a player of his age.
The Gunners have made the right move too and tied the young England international down on a new ‘long-term’ contract, meaning the North London outfit have plenty more years to come watching this fantastic young talent.
Flop of the Season – David Luiz
The Brazilian defender signed for the club before the start of this season from city rivals Chelsea, for a fee of just under £8million.
It seemed at the time a smart piece of business from the club, an experienced head with years of experience at all levels of competitive football, but for some reason, it just hasn’t quite clicked for him yet.
The 33-year-old has made two errors that have led to goals in the league this campaign, as well as only managing a 57% tackle success rate.
Overall, it hasn’t quite been the debut season that many would have expected from Luiz, and there is hope that next season will be different for the Brazilian.
Defining Moment – FA Cup Semi-Final victory over Man City
If you were to say to Arsenal fans at the end of November that they could finish this season having won the FA Cup – they would have laughed in your face.
Since Arteta has come into the fold, there has been a real change in the belief and ability of this Arsenal squad, so much so that they pulled off a fantastic victory over Arteta’s former side Man City with a comfortable and professional 2-0 win.
This game alone could define the whole of the club’s season – initially many would feel that Arteta’s appointment defined the rest of their season, but to be in this position with the chance to win a trophy just seven months since he joined is phenomenal considering the state that this Arsenal team was in prior to Christmas.
Signing of the Season – Kieran Tierney
The Scottish left-back joined the club during the Summer of 2019 for a fee of £25million, making him the most expensive Scottish footballer in history.
The 23-year-old has brought his determination and professionalism with him to the Emirates, with some Arsenal players even reportedly complaining about how intense the Scotsman trains.
He has been a welcome addition to the side and provides a fight and desire to win that the Gunners need desperately if they want to contend with Liverpool and Manchester City again. Tierney will likely be the club’s first-choice left-back from now on given that he is finally fully fit having experienced injury setbacks in his first half of the season at the club.
Hit Expectations? – NO
Given the amount of investment into the side at the start of the season, as well as coming off of the back of a Europa League final and finishing just one point outside of the top four, there should have been hunger and desire for the Gunners to make the top four this season – as well as contending for a piece of silverware.
Although the club still has an FA Cup final to play – the sacking of Emery and poor finish in the league means the club would have nowhere near met their expectations for the campaign and will have time now to look towards the new season in September to right those wrongs.
