Perhaps the most improved player of all was Denilson. Opinions seem to be definitively split on our young Brazilian midfielder, but I personally believe he has come on in leaps and bounds this season. The stats show he has actually done better than Flamini did last season. In roughly the same number of appearances, he has made more tackles, more interceptions, completed more passes, and covered more of the pitch than Flamini did last year. The Premier League Actim Index lists him as our best player for this past season.
Now, Arsene Wenger has said in the past that he loves stats. He bases much of his signings on stats, he looks at players' potential through them, and he compares players with stats. I like to do much the same, and when the stats say Denilson is better, who am I to disagree? Denilson and Flamini are two very different players, clearly, both with differing playing styles. And because they are not the same, many gooners mistake this for Denilson being inferior. But if the stats say he has done better, than perhaps the Denilson style of play is better after all.
Next most improved is Alexandre Song. During the first half of the season he looked alright, but not really any better than last season. However, in the second half of the season, when his playing time became more and more common, he started to grow into a much better player. He often partnered Denilson in the centre, and he really took on the role of midfield enforcer. When Cesc returned and Denilson was dropped, Song kept his place alongside him, and I believe this is when he took off.
Song and Fabregas started to develop a real partnership. Song is seems to be bred for defense, so his tackling was always going to be good, but playing alongside Cesc seemed to bring out his passing attributes a lot more. He became a more rounded player, and ultimately I think he could well be Cesc's partner next year without any problems at all. And best of all, when Song was deployed at centre half, he looked comfortable and confident, as good or even better than Kolo Toure. So Song has proven this season to be an excellent defensive midfielder, perhaps even first choice, and a very adequate backup center-back.
So our centre of midfield, then, has greatly improved over the course of the past season. But who else has improved? I could mention any of the younger players, from Wilshere, to Ramsey, to Vela. But the young player closest to the first team this season became our young left back Gibbs.
K. Gibbs was really thrust into action when Clichy was injured. Silvestre could play there, but I think the boss wanted to keep good speed and attacks going on the left wing, so Gibbs was played there instead. He developed slowly, made a few mistakes, including the now infamous one against Man Utd, but otherwise he looked solid. In the first leg especially, he had Ronaldo in his pocket. The Portuguese winger was completely taken out of the game for long periods of time, and Gibbs has to be credited with at least some of that.
By the time the season was over, Gibbs looked quite as good as Clichy, and I believe he could really give our first-choice left back a run for his money next season. Clichy didn't have the best of years, and if Gibbs plays as well as he has been, then Gael will really have to pick up his game to keep his place.
The last on our list of most improved players was a tough one for me to decide. Ultimately it came down to Gallas and Almunia. Gallas of course had the really rough beginning of the season when he was still captain, but after he was stripped of skipper status, he played better than ever before. He looked like the Gallas of old, the one who had played so well at Chelsea before we signed him. But ultimately his antics before December lost him the place in my review to Manuel Almunia.
Our Spanish goalkeeper honestly had a good year last year, but this year he stepped it up again. There were of course the occasional mistakes (Tottenham in October comes to mind), but every major goalkeeper makes those; just look at Petr Cech this season. But if we are comparing Cech to Almunia, I believe the Spaniard was better. He was more consistent, played better, and pulled off more reflex saves than the Chelsea player.I believe this season has seen Almunia change from a decent keeper to a world-class one. He's still susceptible at crosses and corners from time to time, but what keeper is without a weakness? Certainly no human ones. But the moment that I realised Almunia was world class was in his outstanding performance against Man Utd at Old Trafford. I think if we had gone on to win the tie, his performance would have gone down as legendary status to gooners. He was a one-man wall, and single-handedly kept us in the tie with a chance to turn it round at the Emirates. We may have failed to to take that chance, but I won't forget how much Almunia did for us, both in that particular tie, and the season as the whole.
So there you are, our four most improved players: Denilson, Song, Gibbs, and Almunia. Each has proven themselves able to raise their game, and each continue to prove that our current investment in youth development does have its rewards. Don't forget to check back tomorrow for the next installment in our season review series, and be sure to check the Season Review Main Page for a look at what is still to come. Till next time,
Fab 4
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