Arsenal 2012-2013 Season Review and Transfer Window Preview

I'm not going to mince words here, the Gunners season this year was disappointing. As great as it was that we came back again to steal Champions League out from under the noses of Spurs once again, we finished 4th...and the players celebrated like they had just won the Premier League title. Old Arsenal sides would have solemnly treaded back to the locker room, wondering how the hell they finished in 4th. That aside though there are several positives to take away from this year.

1.) The Gunners are no longer a defensive mess...

Last season, the Gunners were abysmal on defense, most notably when it came to defending the counterattack. It always felt like they disorganized and the defense of set pieces was shocking. Much of that bled into this year, most notably in an early loss to Chelsea in which both Chelsea goals came off of set pieces. Arsenal were improved defensively for much of the season but displayed a penchant for imploding at inopportune times. Their defensive record was misleading as they didn't concede many goals but the ones they did concede turned out to be lethal. Arsene Wenger's decision to drop captain Thomas Vermaelen to the bench against Bayern Munich was the turning point of the season. After that game the Gunners were incredibly tight on defense. Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker appeared to be much more in sync than either were with Vermaelen and it showed. If the two can replicate their late season form next season, I expect big things from the Gunners.

2.) It appears everyone is staying for the first time in awhile

The Gunners have not had an off season in a long time that didn't feature someone of importance leaving. Over the past few seasons the team has lost Kolo Toure, Gael Clichy, Samir Nasri, Cesc Fabregas, Alex Song, and Robin Van Persie. Teams don't just bounce back from losing such talent. This offseason however, it appears only Bacary Sagna is likely to leave. That's a loss the Gunners can afford as Carl Jenkinson was the better player for much of the season. All of Arsenal's youngsters signed new deals in January which means that for the first time in a while there shouldn't be any high profile exits from the Emirates this transfer window. Having consistency in the starting XI will be a huge help to the Gunners next season.

3.) There is money to spend

If there ever was an off season for Arsene Wenger to finally bring in a big signing it would be this one. New sponsorship deals promise to give him lots of money to spend. Bringing in a star striker would bring the Gunners leaps and bounds forward.

With that said here's my awards from the season:

Player of the Year: Santi Cazorla

This really doesn't even need to be said. The new signing was brilliant from the start. Cazorla always showed up when the Gunners needs him chipping in 12 goals and 11 assists in his first season in the Premier League. Without his quick feet and inventiveness, Arsenal would not have finished nearly as high. He is without a doubt the most invaluable player in this Arsenal side.

Honorable Mention: Laurent Koscielny, Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere

Least Valuable Player: Bacary Sagna

Normally the most consistent player the Gunners have, Sagna's play was atrocious at times this season. Most notably the penalty he gave away against Manchester United when the Gunners were up a goal. He never seemed to be fully comfortable after returning from injury and it was clear by the end of the season that Carl Jenkinson was the better option at right back. Sagna is likely to depart back to France this transfer window.

Honorable Mention: Thomas Vermaelen, Wojciech Szczesny, Andrei Arshavin, Andre Santos

Game of the Season: Arsenal comes back from 4 goals down to beat Reading 7-5

For the first half of this Capital One Cup tie, a rather strong Arsenal side which featured the likes of Theo Walcott, Andrei Arshavin, and Laurent Koscielny in it's ranks, all established Premier League players, was outclassed by Reading. 4 goals within 25 minutes and it appeared the Gunners would once again would face defeat in the cup. However, a hat trick from Theo Walcott and a surprising brace from Marouane Chamakh led the Gunners to a famous victory in the cup.

Honorable Mention: Beating Spurs 5-2 for the second time, beating Liverpool at Anfield 2-0, beating Newcastle 7-3 with a barrage of late goals, 1-1 draw thanks to Koscielny's late equalizer at the Etihad with Manchester City

Worst Game of the Year: Crashing out of the Capital One Cup to League 2 side Bradford City

Arsenal fielded their strongest side for this game, which appeared to be a simple task for the Gunners. Sweep aside a League 2 side and progress to the next round of the competition. Instead the Gunners stalled and found themselves beaten. Easily the worst loss of the season.

Honorable mention: 2-1 loss at White Hart Line, 3-1 mauling at the hands of Bayern Munich, 2-1 loss to Manchester United with the opener scored by RVP, the loss to Blackburn in the FA Cup

Best Surprise of the Season: Theo Walcott

Over the past couple of seasons Theo Walcott has been an enigma. At times showing he can be a world class player with his pace and trickery. Other times he disappears during games and his finishing is poor. Towards the end of last season, he showed signs once of finally putting it all together, resulting in this season. Walcott finished as Arsenal's leading goal scorer and contributed several key goals down the stretch. It appears that Walcott has finally arrived and could take an even bigger step next season as he is still only 24 years of age. Arsenal took great steps this season, locking him down to a new deal to ensure his future lies at the Emirates.

Honorable Mention: Per Mertersacker, Lukasz Fabianski, Aaron Ramsey

Performance of the Season: Theo Walcott hat-trick vs Newcastle

Rumors that Arsenal legend Thierry Henry had been working with Walcott on his finishing were confirmed when Walcott delivered this amazing performance vs Newcastle in December. All three goals were scored with Henry like class including a wonder third goal, displayed here. In one game, Walcott showed that he had arrived.

Honorable Mention: Lukas Podolski vs West Ham (1 screamer of a goal, 3 assists), Santi Cazorla Hat trick against Reading, Abou Diaby's Patrick Viera-esque performance against Liverpool at Anfield, Lukasz Fabianski's surprise start vs Bayern Munich, Olivier Giroud's brilliant brace in the draw against Fulham

Top Five Goals of the Season

5.) Lukas Podolski at Liverpool

Not the best goal he scored this season, but in terms of significance it was huge. After two goalless draws to open the season this was Arsenal's first goal of the season. An excellent finish from Podolski and the assist from Santi Cazorla and Arsenal fans began to get over Robin Van Persie.

4.) Santi Cazorla at West Ham

A beautiful curled effort from Santi Cazorla, the best of many cool finishes from the Spaniard this season.

3.) Podolski equalizer vs West Ham

Another world class strike from Lukas Podolski to bring Arsenal level.

2.) Theo Walcott's run vs Newcastle

Brilliant play from the Englishman as the ref called advantage, allowing for a super cool finish.

1.) Lukas Podolski volley against Montpellier

Despite an inconsistant season, Podolski reminds us of how deadly he can be in front of net, smashing in this lovely volley.

Honorable Mentions: Kieran Gibbs volley vs Swansea, Podolski free kick vs Southampton, Olivier Giroud's second vs Newcastle, Santi Cazorla vs Manchester United

So what lies ahead for the Gunners?

This transfer window is a huge moment for the club. If they take steps to bring in a world class player there is no reason why the Gunners can't be back in the hunt for the Premier League title next season.

Transfer Targets

The one thing that Arsenal lacked this season was a striker who can finish consistently against the best competition. If rumors are to be believed, Arsene Wenger will challenge Juventus for the signature of Gonzalo Higuain, who Real Madrid plans to offload this offseason. Such a signing would greatly boost the Gunners front line. Higuain is valued at 22-25 million pounds





As would young striker Stevan Jovetic of Fiorentina. The 23 year old has the size and the ball skills to succeed in the Premier League. Doubts do remain about the player's willingness to leave Italy however and his price (potentially 30mil) may scare off the Gunners.








Another target that has persisted throughout the past few months is Barcelona striker David Villa. With Barca's recent signing of Neymar, the 31 year old appears to be a surplus to requirements at the Catalan club. Originally believed to be close to a move to the Emirates in January, Villa could finally find his way to North London.
















Reports also suggest that Arsene Wenger is looking to add depth to his defense in the form of Swansea City captain Ashley Williams. The defender was in great form this season, leading Swansea to the Capital One Cup title.

Rumors that Arsenal will make a play for Lyon youngster Clement Grenier have gained ground recently after Arsene Wenger dubbed him "The Next Nasri" Grenier's free kick prowess has gained him many admirers this past season.









Wenger has confirmed that Arsenal have signed Auxerre striker Yaya Sanogo. At 20 years old, he appears to be a prospect for Arsenal in the future.









Rumors that Cesc Fabregas is on his way back to North London have persisted throughout the season. Arsenal does hold a buy back clause in Fabregas' contract with Barcelona. Reports that new Manchester United boss David Moyes hopes to bring the former Arsenal captain to Old Trafford has tweaked several Arsenal fans but it's unlikely that he'd move anywhere in England other than Arsenal.

Psych Season 7 Review - *SPOILERS*

Sums up my feelings exactly

This past Wednesday the 7th season of my beloved tv show Psych came to a "thrilling" conclusion and I think it's fair to say...I'm a little disappointed. This season began with such promise and then came to a close with 3-4 clunkers of episodes, not to mention the terrible handling of what should have been huge plot twists. Anyways...here goes...

Let's start with the good...the season opener...

Season 7 picked up right where Season 6's cliffhanger left off and the end product was fantastic. we saw Shawn's character be the most serious he's ever been, kind of on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge, and it was awesome. The episode had drama and probably the most laughs I've ever gotten out of an episode of Psych in awhile (the destruction of Gus's car ranks in my Top 5 for best Psych moments ever). The next 6 episodes that followed were fantastic as well (Jeffrey Tambor's guest appearance in the 4th episode was pure gold.) Gus finally found a girlfriend who was likable (and not a murderer...big plus given his dating history). The 100th episode featured an awesome cast of guest stars and despite the really gimmicky "you get to vote for the killer" deal at the end was a landmark episode. Each episode provided laughs and provided mysteries that sucked the viewer in. It really felt like Psych was hitting it's stride...and then came episode 7...

The episode and reveal that (should have) changed everything

Ok where do I start...let's get one thing straight...episode 7 (titled Deez Nups) is a great episode, fantastic even. It starts out as a regular happy go lucky episode with typical Psych shenanigans and ending with Lassiter and Marlowe finally happily married. Not to mention the hilarious reveal that Officer McNabb had to take up stripping at the hotel the main cast was staying at. Everything looks like it's going to be ok until...Juliet finds damning evidence in Shawn's jacket that he's not a psychic. This leads to the most heartbreaking ending to a Psych episode as Juliet storms out of the wedding. Juliet finding out that Shawn wasn't a psychic was bound to happen at one point and when it does eventually happen it's sad as hell to watch Juliet dump Shawn on the spot. Especially since this season was the first in which we really saw them develop and spend time together as a couple. This moment was handled exactly the way it should have been and left every Psych fan with their jaws on the floor salivating for next week's episode.

So you're wondering; if Jake says episode 7 of Psych was so good than why was he so down on it before? Let's address that: my issues aren't with the episode itself but rather the poor handling of aftermath. Juliet finds out Shawn is a fake and has been lying to her for what adds up to 7 years at this point. Sure, they weren't dating until late Season 5 but still, thats a long time to lie to someone important  to you. So after this big revelation the fans were expecting lots of Shawn and Juliet in the next episode...and well they were disappointed. Instead we get a whole episode where they interact only about 4-5 times and we never really get Juliet's side of things. The writers put in a scene where Shawn and Juliet appear to be getting back together, only it's a just a dream and Shawn wakes up to the real Juliet telling him he has to move out and the episode ends on another sour note. In the words of my roommate "that was the opposite of what I wanted". The next two episodes feature more of same until at the end of episode 10, there seems to be a little reconciliation between the two. Juliet makes a point that they're starting from scratch again...which is then followed by the opening of the next episode where they show that Shawn and Juliet are SLEEPING TOGETHER AGAIN!!! Yea, real slow Juliet...

Don't worry Shawn, you and the other writers hate meaningful character development so you'll have Juliet back in no time.

It feels like the writers put themselves in position to have the characters grow or set the seeds for some really interesting plot points but that dance around them because they're too afraid of the consequences. Shawn and Juliet's breakup was a chance for Shawn to grow and mature a little (not too much obviously) instead after a few episodes of Juliet being a bitch, they get back together with no real change on Shawn's part. Not to mention them getting back together happens offscreen, told to us in a simple line of dialogue from Shawn right before he shameless plugs the new Psych product for sale on USA's web store. Juliet and Shawn officially getting back together would be something that you'd think that we'd all want to see. Though I guess the writers figured that ship sailed once it was revealed they were sleeping together again. A later episode in which Shawn and Gus tamper with a crime scene had the potential to be riveting. Instead the two were never implicated in the crime until the final five minutes and by then they had already found the actual killer. The fact that the SBPD took so long to figure it out is a disservice to Lassiter who has shown in the past that he is a lethally effective detective. Rachel seems to break up with Gus by way of care package at the end of the second to last episode only for it not to be brought up once in the season finale. I understand that Psych is not a serious show for the most part but it would be nice to see some actual drama for once rather than dancing around what would be great plots in order to squeeze out what are becoming stale jokes. It's not as if Psych can't handle character development. Each character has developed a bit over the course of the 6 previous seasons so it just seems strange that all of a sudden the writers are backing down because it would seem to affect the status quo. Shawn has to grow up at some point right?

Finally I'll finish with the season finale as this is getting to be a rather long review (thats what you signed up for...I think) After 3 not really noteworthy episodes, Anthony Michael Hall guest stars as a police consultant brought in to assess the effectiveness of SBPD after a disastrous case. His character's name isn't really necessary since he basically plays the same straight man, by the books, bureaucratic character that comes in every few episodes and berates the cast for their poor following of procedure. The episode produces it's share of laughs and the case is interesting, but it lacks the drama and quality of Psych season finales in the past. That being said, the bar is set pretty high from the Yin and Yang episodes and last seasons "Santabarbaratown Pt. 1). The episode plays out just like most Psych episodes do and the crew solves the case. Like any season finale there should be some shocks at the end...and Psych disappoints. Chief Vick gets a 6 month suspension, McNabb gets fired, and Hall's character is the new interim chief declaring that the SBPD will no longer be hiring psychics. These would be big plot points IF Chief Vick wasn't returning in 6 months. Once again, Psych can only go so far with plot twists. Then USA tries to make it up to us by introducing...Psych: THE MUSICAL. Maybe I'd be excited if the previews weren't so campy...

I'm still making up my mind as to whether this is going to be good or not...

The Verdict:

I'm not really sure what to make of Psych's 7th season. It seems like the show can't decide whether it wants to take a more serious route at the risk of pissing off the fans who love it's comedic nature. Every time a plot twist comes up it seems like the writers always seem to take the the route of preserving the status quo so that they don't offend fans who are there for the comedy. This leads to a lot of potentially interesting plots getting swept under the rug and resolved off screen. Regardless, I still love the show and I generally like every episode. It just can't be ignored that the second half of the season felt so unmemorable compared to the first half. Despite my grievances this was still a solid season and I'm looking forward to the next one. Though part of me does wonder if Psych is beginning to show it's age, perhaps Season 8 will be it's last.

My Grade: 3/5

An Introduction is Necessary

Question is...why start blogging now? I've always considered myself one of those people that would work really well with a blog, I always have things to say and I always want people to hear them...hence how quickly I took to Twitter over the past year. I could never bring myself to blog however, for no real reasons actually. I guess I was scared of the potential workload, feeling pressure to post frequently, I don't really know. All I know is that now, as I write this, I am beginning an undertaking that I'm definitely going to enjoy and I hope anyone who reads this will enjoy as well.

So with that out of the way...what am I trying to accomplish with this blog? Nothing really, I just need an outlet to put my thoughts on paper (internet space?) instead of being cooped up in my head. I've always wanted to do things like anime, tv show, movie reviews, sports, etc. So that's what this blog will entail. I only watch three TV shows regularly (USA's Psych, CBS's How I Met Your Mother, and BBC's Sherlock) so I plan on posting frequently about these shows. In addition, being the cinephile I am, I'm sure to be posting about movies, a lot.

Finally, sports, one of my greatest passions. If you're a fan of the English Premier League and Arsenal FC, you'll love me. If you're a Tottenham, Chelsea, Manchester United, or Liverpool fan...you're going to hate me. I'll also post thoughts here about all the Boston area sports teams, especially since the Bruins are in a really exciting time right now.

Anyways, that's about it from me for now. I can't wait to begin this and I hope whoever ends up reading this will enjoy it as well.

With love,
JC

Heres a pic of Jim Moriarty from Sherlock just for kicks...