arsenal wrap-up

most valuable player --
without a doubt this has to be theirry henry. how can anyone who scored 30 goals on the year, 25 of them in the premiereship, not be considered the best player of the year. to put it in perspective, wayne rooney only scored eleven. and we all know he's great. but the best part of henry's game this year was his leadership. patrick viera was missing action for most of the season and henry stepped in like a champ. i'm so glad he's on our team.

best surprise --
cesc fabregas. seventeen years old and he's better than rooney. plus, he started twenty games for arsenal this year, showing himself to be more than competent to step in there with the big boys. great things to come from him.

best substitute --
robin van persie. the young dutchman barely started a game. but he came off the bench like a nuclear bomb, dropping ten goals in what amounted to about 240 minutes of football. if scoring rate were measured in minutes he'd be off the chart. ten goals?! here is another proof that arsenal are built to last, and built for depth.

best old geezer --
dennis bergkamp. van persie is being called the next bergkamp, and if it's true arsenal are truly blessed. bergkamp is the heart and soul of the gunners. another leader, this man leads by example. bergkamp is thirty-six, but he ended this season to chants of "one more year." let's hope it happens.

biggest disappointment --
jose antonio reyes. i love the guy despite what amounts to a season of crapness. maybe it's the weather, maybe it's playing out of position, maybe he just doesn't care, but reyes could have been so good. he still can be. i hope next season he lives up to his potential.

biggest jackass --
edu. he of the bruised toe can go. we don't need your whiny shit edu. go play on a crappy team in spain and take your shitty attitude with you.


the unsung hero --
robert pires. i think he is secretly kiki's favourite arsenal player, and for good reason: his always good. even when he's not scoring goals, which he does prodigiously (enough to put him in the top ten for the season), he is a major force in the midfield. there is talk that he's leaving at the end of this season to make room for cesc. i sure hope that doesn't happen. i'll miss pires bigtime.

next year --
second place, but deep in the euros. chelsea have the pieces to keep the league next year, and i can't see them faltering, but arsenal will give them a run for their money, and i think a better run than they gave this year. i think our real glory will be in europe. we're going to the finals.