Despite playing much of the season without a recognised centre-forward, Arsenal were very much part of the title race – until familiar cases of falling apart when it comes to the crunch struck again.

They bounced back from some heavy defeats and closed the gap to remain in contention on numerous occasions, but losing at arch-rivals Tottenham and a disastrous final ten minutes at Wigan ended their hopes of clinching the title.

 

Their quest wasn’t helped when youngster Aaron Ramsey suffered a horrific injury at Stoke, but the incident wasn’t a major reason why they failed to win anything.

For once, Arsenal had to play without the ball when they faced Barcelona, eventually succumbing to a Lionel Messi masterclass in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Boss Arsene Wenger has been cautious with his transfer budget in the last couple of years, but his aim in the summer will be getting the balance right between big transfers and nurturing the talent he’s got at the Emirates. It would give Chelsea and Man Utd something to think about.