august isn't too far away

I know the season isn't technically over, but for us it might as well be. If Chelsea screw up enough we may be able to steal third place, and we could also take revenge on Man U and possibly even keep them from winning the title, but there's really nothing else for us to do for ourselves. We've secured fourth and there are no trophies for us to win (again), so all we can do now is look towards next season.

I'm no expert of course (I haven't even played soccer since I was about 13), but I've noticed some things that the team can work on for the 09/10 campaign.

Defence: Gaël Clichy and Bacary Sagna have been immense all season. Gallas, now that he's stopped complaining and being petty and started concentrating on playing, has been very good too. Silvestre...well, he's more hit-or-miss. He's had some good moments for us, but overall he's just not that great. And with the constantly being injured thing, he's really no help to the team at all. Djourou and Gibbs are young and have made some mistakes, but they are both shaping up to be talented players who will do well for us in later years.

One specific thing the defence can work on is not falling down. Yes, I'm talking to you, Clichy and Gibbs. I love you both, and you're both extremely hard workers, but a few (literal) slip-ups have led to goals being conceded at very inopportune moments, i.e. to start Spurs's comeback last October, and Man United's first goal on Tuesday, respectively.

Theo Walcott: I've been a bit underwhelmed by his performances this season. I know he's a striker at heart rather than a winger, but really, it's not like Wenger is putting him on defence. It shouldn't be that big of an adjustment. If you can score precision goals, you should be able to make precision passes, but his passing has been off lately. And with Robin van Persie, Eduardo, and Adebayor healthy and on form (not to mention Vela, and yes even Bendtner sometimes), the striker position is pretty well covered, so he should do his best to adjust to the wing.

Theo, I love you, so work hard this summer and be even more awesome next season.

Cesc Fàbregas: Cesc seems to be having trouble showing up to the big important matches lately. He hasn't been playing badly, per se, but he hasn't been playing particularly well either. I barely noticed he was on the pitch for the first half of Tuesday night's game, and the lack of Arshavin was even more apparent as a result. He never really had any issues before his injury, save for a few bad games, but everyone's got one or two of those. So I don't know, maybe it's a confidence thing?

Whatever it is, sort it out please Cesc. You're one of the best midfielders in the world, and you playing well usually means that the rest of the team plays well. And then we tend to win.

Nicklas Bendtner: Stop talking and getting shitfaced/dropping your pants and start playing. I know people mention the goals scored statistic as an indication of how he's not actually a bad striker (14 by the way, only two less than Adebayor and four less than van Persie) but imagine how much higher that number would be if he didn't keep missing the easy chances. I don't hate him, really. I've been frustrated with him, and I wouldn't be devastated if he left over the summer, but I don't hate him. I just want him to play to his full potential.

Manuel Almunia and Andrey Arshavin: Have been fantastic lately. If they keep on doing what they've been doing, I will be a very happy girl.

Emmanuel Adebayor: Incredibly talented, but often looks apathetic or bored. Everyone has bad days, but I think he can put more effort into his game sometimes.

Denilson, Alex Song, and Emmanuel Eboue: Ah, what to say about this bunch? They are just so unpredictable. Solid in one match, then making horrible mistakes in the next. Eboue in particular needs to a) not dive, b) not make bad tackles, and c) not whine. To his credit, he's cut down on all three and his game has subsequently improved. In fact, I think each one is improving. Song particularly has been doing quite well lately. I really don't know what else to say about them; they're all relatively talented, and each has had their moments of greatness, they just need to be much more consistent.

Tomáš Rosický: He is still an Arsenal player, right? Tomáš, get healthy and play, please.

Arsène Wenger: Buy a central defender, please. And a defensive midfielder. (I still want Xabi Alonso...any way to make that happen?) As you can see, Silvestre did not solve the problem. We can get by somewhat when our whole team is healthy, but when we have an injury (or two, or three, or four...) our defence suffers abominably. Gibbs will be a great player one day, but right now he's young and inexperienced and not really ready to start big matches like the Champions League semifinal against Manchester United. And as this season has shown, we can't win trophies relying solely on creative midfielders and a porous back four. With an anchor in midfield (like Patrick Vieira or Gilberto Silva, remember them?) the creative players are free to roam as they like, and that's when we play our best football.

I know I haven't gone through every player on the team, but this entry is long enough as it is. Players like Nasri and van Persie just need to keep up the good work and stay healthy.

I'm looking forward to see our youngsters getting more playing time soon too. Vela, Ramsey, and Wilshere have all been excellent when they've gotten to play, and I'd like to see more of the likes of Fran Merida, Jay Simpson, Mark Randall, and Rui Fonte. I believe we're also getting Hårvard Nordtveit back from Norway in August. Of course, there's always the risk of inexperience with the young players, but every time I've seen them play this season they've seemed to play with much more heart and tenacity than the senior squad, who have often looked listless and uninspired (especially in the tail end of 2008).

I'm looking forward to a few more entertaining matches this month, and a great new season come August.

Yay!