Take the positives but don’t think for a second everything is OK

EIGHT WINS AND TWO DRAWS…
From our final ten games is an excellent end to the season and the players and the manager must take credit for it. It is the kind of run that usually wins championships. Last year, we qualified for the Champions League in spite of ourselves: Spurs screwed up one massive points advantage and then screwed up another lead with just a handful of games to go. This year, we actually won that place. Yes, Spurs had a seven point advantage at one stage. But we put together a run that was always going to make it very tight with Spurs and crucially we held our nerve when the pressure was on.

THAT IS NOT TO SAY…
Those final 10 games were always utterly convincing. But the evidence does suggest a greater steel than we’ve seen for quite a while. 14 conceded away from home all season is a fine run and our overall goal difference of 72 scored and 37 conceded is better than you might expect for a fourth placed team.

I THINK ONE MASSIVELY OVERLOOKED THING…
Is that there is a far better matchday atmosphere at the Emirates than two or three years ago. People are a lot less angry. Perhaps that is because they are more accepting of the reality of where we are but I am inclined to think it is actually to do with us getting rid of the players (Bendtner, Eboue, Adebayor, Denilson), who used to rile the crowd so much, who were not perceived as giving it their all. Nowadays the closest thing to a hate figure is (unfairly) Ramsey on a bad day and even then nobody is saying he isn’t trying. In fact the opposite if anything. I’d love to see Theo defend a bit more, but really by and large it is so much better.

ALL THAT SAID…
Let us be under no illusions. There was a lot wrong with our season. We were never, ever going to challenge for the title and so it proved. And we went out of the FA Cup pathetically – seemingly believing it to be below us, yet again. Sure, we can try and build on some of the good things of the past few months but if we think that our squad is, in any way, strong enough, we’re in for more of the same next season. It needs a lot doing to it – most patently up front and in midfield. Arteta, Rosicky and Ramsey all have a place in the squad, but a top draw midfield trio they ain’t.

AS FOR THE MANAGER…
The outcome of this particular season was never going to affect my thoughts on his future. The argument that one failure to qualify for the Champions League is, in itself, reason to sack a manager is just wrong in my book. After all, if Lasagnagate hadn’t happened I don’t think there would have been a lot of people in 2006 who thought Wenger should go. That said, I do think it reasonable to think that even though we keep qualifying for the Champions League, there should be change. I first ventured that thought a couple of years ago on the premise that I didn’t hold out much hope that our existing regime could take us forward. I’m not sure I’ve been proved wrong. I’d be delighted if I was.

I’VE SEEN THE PLAYERS GET SOME STICK…
For the extent of the celebrations at the end of today’s game. Yes, we should be achieving more. But when you’ve just won a 10 game shootout against your fiercest rivals, you’re allowed to take some satisfaction.

A RANDOM THOUGHT ON THEO WALCOTT…
If last year he was consistent in patches (his description), I’d say this year he’s been very consistent in patches.

A FINAL THOUGHT ON SPURS…
Truly, they act as a crutch to us. However good or bad we are, you can trust them to be just that little bit worse. Every year seemingly we are told they are better than us, every year we come ahead of them. If last year was the worst Arsenal side in 25 years beating the best Spurs one in 25 years, this was probably the second worst Arsenal side in 25 years beating the second best Spurs one over that period.

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