Arsenal didn’t have the best start to the season. We looked a bit down on our luck and far cry from the season before when we spent 138 days in the top position in the league but from January onwards we have completely turned it around. It was down to some stellar performances by the team and now we are chasing Chelsea and looking at second place maybe dreaming slightly of first place. During this turnaround there are some players who truly deserved to be nominated for the PFA awards.
Mesut Ozil
Depsite being intensely criticised this season Mesut Ozil has been one of Arsenal’s best players this year and possibly one of the best midfielders in the league too. He seems to be winning people over with his recent performances but the truth is he has been good the whole time, he’s just improved more on certain aspects of his game on return from injury. He is sublime in his passing and the accuracy of his crosses are very defined, he covers positions no-one else does as well as reading his team mates well. Moving forward is so much easier when Ozil is in the team, he has proved his worth and deserved the nomination.
Santi Cazorla
Despite a slightly weary start to the season Cazorla picked up pace and soon found his form towards the end of the year earning him Player of the Month award for December and January respectively. He has been influential in nearly all of the games he has played but his performances in the Man City game and also the 5-0 win over Aston Villa in February. He has made it very hard for Wenger to pick anyone else over him when everyone is fit. He definitely deserved this award, at least ahead of Philippe Coutinho who has been mediocre compared to Cazorla.
Olivier Giroud
As a former critic of Giroud’s I have to admit he has really changed my opinion of him this season. Since he returned from injury early, Giroud has been the best version of himself to date. Never have we seen the focus and drive that he seems to possess since injury and he has improved no end. He has been one of the most in form strikers in the league scoring 9 goals in 11 games and as a result won player of the month for March. He has also created bundles of chances as well as improving his finish and utilising crosses better. We’re finally seeing a decent forward emerging and he has improved an endless amount from last year. After seeing such a dramatic change he also deserved a nomination mainly for just changing my mind on him.
In terms of PFA young player of the season award it would have been nice to see Hector Bellerin mentioned this season. He has been phenomenal in first real season as first team player. He really could be one of the best right backs Arsenal have since the famous four and he has been an integral part of the team this year, probably the best defender we currently have.