Has The 2014/15 Season Been A Successful One For Arsenal Football Club?

Hector Bellerin has been a revelation for Arsenal this season

Arsenal are enjoying a very good second half of the ongoing season, a period that has brought plenty of joy to their supporters and already given them major incentives going into the last month of the campaign.

The Gunners, with 5 more games to go in their league campaign, are in a 3-way battle - along with Manchester City and Manchester United - to finish 2nd in the 2014/15 Barclays Premier League season.

They also have made it to the finals of the FA Cup and will be facing Aston Villa at the Wembley Stadium on the 30th of May, definitely starting as favorites to retain the crown they won last May.

With very good prospects ahead of them towards the end of this campaign, can we consider this season a 'success' or has it 'still' not been good enough? Read on...

After lifting the FA Community Shield to kick the season off in grandiose fashion, the North Londoners failed to make a good start to their league campaign and progress beyond the second round of the Capital One Cup.

Arsene Wenger faced a lot of tough questions about his ability to get his side competing with the big boys in the Premier League and also in Europe, where they were pitted with Borussia Dortmund, Galatasaray and Anderlecht in the group stage.

Wenger's wizards had accrued a mere 27 points after gameweek 17 in the Premier League, having been beaten by the likes of Swansea City and Stoke City in the first round of fixtures. However, they still managed to sit in 6th place on the table and keep themselves in touch with the then top four sides.

Also, in the UEFA Champions League, the North London's biggest club qualified for the knockout stages of the competition, getting an enviable R-16 draw that saw them pitted against AS Monaco.

A major reason for Arsenal's poor early season form was because of the injuries suffered by the most crucial players in the Arsenal squad: Mesut Ozil (knee ligament), Mikel Arteta (ankle), Jack Wilshere (ankle), Mathieu Debuchy (ankle sprain and dislocated shoulder), Aaron Ramsey (hamstring) and Olivier Giroud (broken leg), were all out of action for 2-3 months during the first half of the season, making it close to impossible for Wenger to even pick a 18-man matchday squad.

It was Alexis Sanchez's scintillating form before the beginning of 2015, that kept Arsenal in touch with the then top four teams in the league and saw them defeat Jurgen Klopp's Dortmund at the Emirates on matchday 5 of this season's Champions League.

The Chilean had scored 12 goals and registered 5 assists in the league before the aforementioned personnel returned to action from their respective injuries and took up the mantle from their new teammate, who has been instrumental to Arsenal's current standing on the league table.

Wenger's wizards have, however, turned their form around since the beginning of this calendar year that has seen them play a mesmerizing brand of football, lose just 3 games across all competitions and surge into the top four in the league standings.

The unearthing of Francis Coquelin, who has won 57% of his duels in 18 league appearances, as a midfield enforcer has been one of the major positives to come out of this season.

Santiago Cazorla has also been playing a starring role in Arsenal's midfield, scoring 7 goals and creating 67 goal scoring chances in 32 league appearances this season.

Let us also not forget the contribution of the Girouds, Ozils, and Ramseys since their respective returns to action.

The underestimated French striker's goal scoring form has been mighty pivotal to his side's current 9-game unbeaten run in the league, scoring 9 goals in 13 league appearances since the turn of the year.

Ozil, for his part, has made a good comeback from injury too, scoring 3 league goals and creating a whopping 33 chances since returning from his ankle injury.

Arsene Wenger masterminded a victory at the Etihad Stadium earlier this season

As a team, Arsenal also have won at the Etihad Stadium against City in the league and Old Trafford against the Red Devils in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup - something which had been a hoodoo for a very, very long time - prompting us into thinking that good things are on the arisen and some degree of progress has been made by way of those prestigious triumphs.

However, having said that, Wenger has yet to beat Jose Mourinho, who, with the 0-0 draw at the home of Arsenal last Sunday, has now extended his unbeaten run against the Frenchman to 13 games.

It was a perfect stage for the Gunners to prove their mettle and put down a marker, at least for next season, but they didn't manage it although they weren't poor on the day.

Coming to the continental assignments this season, Arsenal couldn't progress past the R-16 stage in the Champions League for the 5th year running, despite being handed a very favorable draw.

Failure to progress in the Champions League will have hurt Arsenal massively

Their defence came apart in the first leg against Leonardo Jardim's side that emphatically won 3-1 at the Emirates and made it an arduous task for the English club ahead of the second leg in Monaco.

That is definitely a cause for concern if you are Wenger and you knew it was a golden opportunity to shut the mouths of your detractors by progressing to the quarterfinals.

But Wenger and Arsenal came unstuck once again, and it maybe a difficult task to even progress into the knockout stages of the Champions League in the years to come, with UEFA making changes to the seeding system that will see Arsenal move into the second pot ahead of the group stage draw next season.

Final Thought

First and foremost, Arsenal ought to finish off this season on a good note, by hopefully finishing above 4th on the league table and holding onto their FA Cup.

Finishing above 4th on the league table is paramount to the Gunners, as it will give them something to rejoice during the off-season and definitely be an improvement from the previous seasons.

In addition, there have already been a handful of positives to come out of this season: Coquelin's consistent midfield displays, Hector Bellerin's spirited performances at right-back, Cazorla's renaissance and someone like Nacho Monreal overtaking Kieran Gibbs in the pecking order, have, in a way, made it a campaign to remember for everyone concerned with Arsenal.

On the flip side there are the obvious lows of failing to progress in the Champions League, defeat Chelsea in both the league games and mount a league title challenge that the Gunners have been craving for quite sometime now.

Overall, this season has definitely been progressive, but very less to deem it successful.

Barclays Premier League - Which Player Battles Will Decide Arsenal's Clash Against Chelsea?

Arsene Wenger shoved Jose Mourinho in the chest during Arsenal's visit of Chelsea last October

Chelsea, who are now just two wins away from lifting the 2014/15 Barclays Premier League trophy, travel to the Emirates on Sunday, to take on London derby rivals Arsenal in gameweek 34 of the ongoing Premier League season.

The West Londoners' league form has been consistent all season, and Jose Mourinho's side deserves to be leading the chasing pack by 10 points with 5 more games, after this one, still to ensue.

Arsenal, on the other hand, will be delighted with their own position (2nd) on the league table, which has been achieved on the back of scintillating form since the beginning of this calendar year. The North Londoners have lost just 2 of their 13 league games in 2015, including their current 8-game winning run in the Premier League.

This fixture, over the last decade and more, has continually grabbed the headlines for Mourinho's rivalry with Arsene Wenger, who has never managed to beat his Portuguese adversary in 12 previous meetings between this duo.

Although you expect Mourinho-Wenger rivalry to continue making the headlines prior to kickoff, it will be the player battles on the pitch that will decide which of these two sides comes out victorious when the final whistle is blown.

Read on... to get an understanding of how the sides could lineup tomorrow, and which players hold the key to their respective teams.

Possible lineups

Arsenal (4-1-4-1): David Ospina (GK); Hector Bellerin, Per Mertesacker (C), Laurent Koscielny, Kieran Gibbs; Francis Coquelin; Santiago Cazorla, Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez; Olivier Giroud.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Thibaut Courtois (GK); Branislav Ivanovic, Gary Cahill, John Terry, Cesar Azpilicueta; Nemanja Matic, Cesc Fabregas; Ramires, Oscar, Eden Hazard; Didier Drogba.

Hazard vs Bellerin

Hazard has by far been the best player in the Premier League this season, and few could argue with that assertion. He has scored goals, made assists and delivered in some of the big games during the campaign, making him a strong candidate to win the PFA player of the year this season.

Eden Hazard's performance could have a huge say in this Premier League clash

Against Arsenal tomorrow, the fleet-footed Belgian is expected to start as the left-winger which will see him face off against Bellerin, the 20-year old Arsenal right-back.

In terms of pace, there is not much to choose between these two diminutive personnel. In terms of experience and quality, however, Hazard is head and shoulders above the Spaniard, who has broken into the Gunners' senior squad only this season.

Hazard, with his incisive running and ability to beat his man in 1v1 situations, will fancy his chances against the inexperienced Bellerin.

It will be intriguing to see how Bellerin handles Hazard, as he will need to stand up and not lunge into tackles, which will only play it into the 24-year old Belgian's hands.

Also, with his propensity to bomb forward to support Arsenal's attacks, Hazard could run into plenty of space left behind by Bellerin and pull someone like Mertesacker out wide, making space for the likes of Oscar through the middle.

Ozil vs Matic

In the middle of midfield, Ozil's tussle with Matic will be crucial in the way that this game takes shape.

Matic, with each passing game, is getting better and better, and playing that No.4 role to perfection. He takes up good positions ahead of the Chelsea backline, and does most of his work when opposition have the ball.

Against Arsenal, he should, in all probability, go up against Ozil, who is expected to operate in that advanced midfield role, not exactly the No.10, for the home side.

The German playmaker has been in good form of late, scoring 1 goal and creating 20 goal scoring chances over his last 5 league outings. His performance against Liverpool was particularly impressive, with which he proved that he is no slouch when it comes to these big games.

However, having said that, he is yet to come good against Chelsea, in particular, and Sunday's clash presents him with the ideal opportunity to do just that.

Matic, though, will not make things easier for Ozil, as he is more powerful than the former Real Madrid man and is a good reader of the game. The Serbian may not be in the best moment as Ozil, but he will hope to get his act together once referee blows his whistle to get things underway.

Ivanovic vs Sanchez

Similar to Hazard's duel with Bellerin on the Gunners' right-hand-side, Sanchez's tussle with Ivanovic on Chelsea's right will be an interesting one to watch.

Alexis Sanchez has been the standout player the Gunners this season

The Chilean has made a seamless transition from the La Liga to the Premier League, scoring 14 goals and registering 8 assists in his first season in the English top flight.

When Arsenal were struggling for results during the early stages of this campaign, it was Sanchez's form that kept them in the hunt for a top 4 finish.

The Chilean's form has dwindled since the beginning of this calendar year, when he has scored just 4 goals and created 14 chances in 11 league appearances. However, on Sunday, expect Sanchez to be on top his game.

The former Barcelona winger, though, will know that he will not have an easy ride against Ivanovic, who is up there amongst the best right-backs in the Premier League.

Unlike Hazard, Sanchez might not have a lot of space to operate in because of the defensive discipline Ivanovic exudes, but that is the task concerning the 26-year old.

Sanchez is quick across the turf and is forward-thinking more often than not, but Ivanovic, for his part, is good on the tackle and doesn't get dragged out of position easily. Sanchez will be crucial to Arsenal's chances of winning this game, and that is why his tussle with Ivanovic could be a game-deciding player battle.

Coquelin vs Oscar

Much of Arsenal's success during the second half of the season has to be attributed to the defensive solidity rendered by Coquelin, the North Londoners' midfield enforcer.

The Frenchman is in the same mould as Matic, and he brings plenty of energy to his side's engine room. In 17 league appearances this season, Coquelin has won an impressive 58% of his duels, winning the ball in critical positions of the pitch and man-marking opposition players in his zone effectively.

Against Chelsea, Coquelin will have the task of nullifying Oscar's threat. The Brazilian is Mourinho's main creative man, and this Coquelin-Oscar tussle will be an interesting player battle to witness, as well.

Oscar does like to play from a deeper position, and covers good ground during his time in the middle. Coquelin, therefore, needs to be very meticulous about Oscar's movement and not let him get out of his sight.

Final Thought

Though there will be other player battles - Giroud vs Terry and Drogba vs Mertesacker, for instance - that could also hold the key to this London derby, the aforementioned quartet of player battles will carry more significance.

Hazard, given his form and talent, will be the man to watch out for as far as Arsenal are concerned, and the Belgian's performance could have a huge bearing on how this mouthwatering Premier League encounter pans out.