So another season draws to a close, one that promised little, then promised much, and then ended in routine disappointment. In a way things might have been easier if Arsenal had comfortably coasted through the season in third place without threatening to challenge for the title or drop out of the top four, but events conspired to give us a whiff of a first championship for six years. Our hopes were dashed quite expertly however, first by Spurs and then by Wigan, and in the absence of trophies we can reflect on the 2009-10 season without any great fondness.

Whilst results in March and April effectively prevented Arsenal from staying in the hunt for the title, it was an incident in November which did the most damage; whilst on international duty for the Netherlands, Robin Van Persie was injured by a reckless sliding challenge and the Gunners were deprived of their most effective attacking weapon. Prior to his injury Van Persie had been having far and away his best season in an Arsenal shirt. Leading the line in Wenger's 4-3-3 he was scoring and creating goals at will, and was the absolute lynchpin of the Arsenal offence. We were averaging over three goals a game with him in the side, and just over one and a half without.

Now I'm not saying that if VP (and indeed Fàbregas) had stayed fit for the whole season we'd have won the league, but it would have gone a long way towards helping us. Of course Man U had to deal with more than a few defenders being out at various points in the season, and Chelsea had to compensate for the lack of Michael Essien, but it just feels that when it comes to Arsenal and injuries, it's not just some of the time, it's all of the time. Someone important is always missing, and it's reaching the point where you have to wonder just how they're treating injured players. Aren't we as a club supposed to be at the forefront of sports science? Don't we have a billion trillion pound training facility to help combat fatigue and injury problems? Just what the hell are they up to?

Of course it didn't help our cause that we conceded a frankly embarrassing 41 goals. Several players can be held to account on this on this one: Vermaelen had a great début season, but a poor sense of positioning combined with overeagerness led to goals. Clichy and Sagna were exposed far too often for which we have to look at the players on the wing: Arshavin and Walcott both seemed either uninterested or simply not good enough at tracking back to help out, and crossing was far too easy for opposition wingers faced only by the fullback. Song showed great promise in his role as defensive midfielder but also displayed naivety and like Vermaelen was out of position far too often.

The goalkeeping problem deserves a paragraph of its own. Manuel Almunia, the Arsenal no. 1, was never a world-class keeper, but he was good, good enough for the premiership certainly. With Jens Lehmann glaring from the sidelines, Manuel demonstrated good shot-stopping skills and was at times only let down by his lack of assertiveness in the area. It's said that a good goalkeeper will save you ten points a season. By the same token a bad goalkeeper will cost you ten. Let's have a look at some Almunia stats:

2007 – Save Percentage 87.2%
2008 – Save Percentage – 75.7%
2009 – Save Percentage – 69.1%

A theme starts to develop. Obviously Manuel only got the starting berth in the 2008-9 season but it's plain to see that he's getting worse. The problem is compounded by the fact that his deputy, Lukasz Fabianski seems incapable of catching the ball, his most embarrassing moment coming in the away leg of the Champion's League tie against Porto. He first turned a harmless cross into his own net before picking up a Sol Campbell back pass and then handing the ball straight to the referee, allowing the opposition to take a quick free kick and score. Last week Blackburn went after poor Lukasz and Arsenal conceded two goals from two corners. In short, we need a keeper, one who can stop shots as well as command the area. Man City's Joe Hart has been linked with a move to Arsenal, and I think that would be a great signing. Wenger seems keen to remedy this problem ASAP, so expect someone new between the sticks next season.

In terms of bolstering our strike force, Marouane Chamakh seems almost certain to sign in the next couple of weeks, and he will be a welcome addition. William Gallas's contract is up this summer and from what he's been saying it's sounds like he wants to move on, so an experienced centre-back to partner (and perhaps tutor) Thomas Vermaelen seems more than necessary. A midfielder would also be nice; I like Denilson and I think he'd be a good player to keep in the squad, but we won't win the title with him starting every match, and to keep Fàbregas this summer I think we need to prove our intent by making a big signing to play alongside him in the middle. A winger might be nice too, as Walcott's development seems to have hit the buffers, and someone needs to challenge Arshavin's spot in the team, otherwise he'll continue to stroll around the pitch looking bored.

Whether we'll get the players we need is uncertain. That said, Wenger has made it clear that he intends to recruit at least a couple of new faces for next season, and it really feels as though that's all we need to take us to the next level and really start challenging for the league. Besides, Spurs need to be put in their place and resume their role as the butt of our jokes. It's really all they're good for.

I will be writing up stories for Group C this World Cup at www.soccerladuma.co.za so have a peek if you fancy.