Arsenal FC: 12 Bold Predictions for the Gunners' 2011-12 Season

Arsenal began the 2010/2011 season with hope.

After signing Belgian Laurent Koscielny, the Gunners expected him and Thomas Vermaelen to pair up well at the back, putting an end to defensive problems. After Fabregas made the winning assist of the World Cup, he and Samir Nasri were also predicted to have great seasons. In short, the expectations going into the season were optimistic for Arsenal.

Going into January 2011, everything was going according to plan. Samir Nasri was having the best season of his life, playing at his best. Van Persie was doing pretty well, Jack Wilshere was outstanding and the defense was not doing badly. Then, everything fell apart.

Nasri dropped his form, Vermaelen was sidelined for countless matches, the defense collapsed in crucial moments and Fabregas rarely played. 

That gave Arsenal a disappointing fourth place after being title contenders going into the New Year.

For the 11-12 season, I have a new set of expectations. Here are 12 bold predictions on Arsenal's year.

Wojciech Szczesny Continues to Impress

Before last year, Wojciech Szczesny was pretty much a nobody, as he was Arsenal's fourth string goalkeeper. But when Vito Mannone left, and Manuel Almunia and Lukasz Fabianski got injured, the Pole found himself in the Starting XI. At that point, Arsenal fans were panicking because that Polish guy with the un-spellable name was going to start his first match against Manchester United.

Szczesny surprised in that match, playing extremely well, making nice saves and allowing only one goal which wasn't even his fault. He continued to play very well as time went by, and even when Almunia was fit again, Wojciech had won his spot as Arsenal's No. 1 goalkeeper.

I think that in the coming season, Szczesny will not let anyone down and will continue to play like he did last year, his breakthrough season.

The Defense Improves

As every EPL fan knows, Arsenal's defense has not been top four caliber in recent seasons. First of all, Thomas Vermaelen was injured for what seemed like forever, and without him, the defense wasn't as good. 

Sebastian Squillaci turned out to be an absolute disaster, but Wenger had endless faith in him. Finally, when Arsene tried the pairing of Laurent Koscielny and Johan Djourou, it looked like the Gunners had finally found a decent defense. However, Djourou got injured in the FA Cup quarterfinal match against Manchester United, and Wenger was forced to use center back pairings that had already been proven to not work.

The defense wasn't stable under constant pressure and completely fell apart in crucial moments of a match.

I think that this year, Arsene Wenger has learned his lesson and will sign a good center back and left back, and the defense will improve. Maybe not a huge, dramatic difference will occur, but it will happen slowly.

Jack Wilshere Surpasses Alexandre Song

Last year, Jack Wilshere made a huge splash into the Arsenal Starting XI at the age of just 18. He showed that he could make great challenges, hold the midfield and most of all, use his body to gain and keep control of the ball.

After Wilshere made his breakthrough, Wenger made a formation with two defensive midfielders, pairing the Englishman with Cameroonian Alexandre Song. At that time, Song was a better player, mostly because at 22, he was more experienced than the young Wilshere.

I predict that in the coming year, Jack Wilshere will surpass Alex Song as a better player because he will have gained enough experience. 

Gervinho Turns out to Be a Flop

It is reported that Arsenal have already signed Gervinho from OSC Lille in France. The Ivorian has expressed his interest in going to a big club and his hunger for trophies.

Gervinho, who started for The Elephants in the 2010 World Cup, is going to have a very hard time adjusting leagues. The quality in the EPL is very different from in Ligue 1; many players who have made transitions in to the Premier League have stated that it is a very physical league.

I don't expect Gervinho to suddenly make the transition so smoothly, and I don't think he will do well at Arsenal.

Robin Van Persie Wins Golden Boot

Before 10-11, when people were talking about strikers who could win the Golden Boot, I highly doubt that Robin van Persie was mentioned in any of those conversations. He hadn't done that well in the World Cup, and in the season before that, he had suffered many, many injuries.

He surprised the football world by netting 18 goals in 19 games in the Premier League. This year, he is one of the favorites for the Boot, along with Wayne Rooney, Didier Drogba and Carlos Tevez (if he stays at Manchester City).

I think that van Persie will do very well next year, and get support from his teammates, which will make him the top scorer in the English Premier League.

Theo Walcott Becomes a Major Threat

Theo Walcott has been getting a lot of criticism for lacking good touch, a final ball and being a one trick pony. Though these things are sometimes true, Walcott has shown that he can have flashes of brilliance. For example, when he scored a great hat-trick against Blackpool in August.

Walcott does have the ability to use his quickness to get past defenders, but has often failed to deliver a good cross or take a decent shot. But I think that he has the potential to do extremely well, and if he works hard at the final ball, he will definitely pose a huge threat for defenders.

I predict that Walcott will improve his touch, etc. and will start scoring and assisting many more goals, using his quickness as an huge advantage.

Fabregas Will Not Be at Arsenal

Everyone has heard about the possibility (likelihood?) of Cesc Fabregas going to Barcelona. It's been an ongoing question about whether the Arsenal captain will return back to his home in Catalonia. Fabregas has hinted that he wants to go back, and all of the Barcelona players have been urging him to, as well as telling the media that deep inside he wants to go Barca.

I think that Fabregas will go back home to Barcelona, to the satisfaction of Catalonians and to the dismay of Arsenal fans.

Arsenal Will Have a Bad Record Against Manchester United

Manchester United have always been a team who seemed to have Arsenal's number. The Red Devils have a quality where they can be outplayed and still pull out a scrappy win, while Arsenal are the exact opposite (This isn't an attack on United; it's a great quality to possess.).

United, a very strong mental team, always have a psychological edge over the Gunners and are tough players, who can muscle their way to victory. In 10-11, the Red Devils won two out of three meetings, and Arsenal won the other.

Next year, I don't like Arsenal's chances of beating Manchester United, especially with Phil Jones being added to an already rock solid defense.

Nasri Plays Like He Did at the Beginning of 2010/2011

Samir Nasri's beginning to last year was remarkable, to say in the least. He scored some beautiful goals and made excellent runs while being fabulous on the ball. When he touched the ball, there was always a sense of expectation for the viewer because he showed that he could create something out of nothing. Before last year, he was considered a good player, but the past season saw him shoot up in everybody's eyes.

However, after having such an excellent 2010, his 2011 was extremely disappointing. He didn't score many goals and wasn't even close to as good as he was earlier.

I think that next year the Frenchman will play the whole year like he did the first half of last. Though Manchester United and Manchester City are very keen to get him, I predict that he will stay at Arsenal and amaze many, many people.

Arsenal Still Drop a Few Easy Matches

This has always been a trait that each and every Arsenal squad has shown: They have an ability to lose easy matches. In 10-11, they lost many of those, notably to West Brom, Birmingham, Stoke and Bolton.

I can't see next year's Arsenal team not losing a few matches in which they are heavy favorites. There might not be as many as last year, but you can't trust the Gunners 100 percent to win matches where they have the odds.

Champions League Prediction: Quarterfinals

In the Champions league last year, Arsenal made it to the Round of 16, where they faced soon-to-be European champions Barcelona. The fact that these two big teams drew each other was because Arsenal astonishingly finished second in their group, though they were guaranteed to top it.

My prediction is that Arsenal will go to the quarterfinals and lose to a big team. I don't think that the quarterfinals of any competition is satisfying for the Gunners whose players, staff and supporters always set extremely high standards.

EPL Prediction: Champions

Yeah, this is basically why the title has the word "bold" in it.

But I actually do think that Arsenal have it in them to win the Premier League. If all (or most) of the things that I predicted come true, the Gunners will have a great shot at winning it.

Though not the favorite, I really do believe that Arsenal can overcome other favorites like Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City to capture the Premier League crown.

Led by Samir Nasri, Robin van Persie and most importantly, Arsene Wenger, what stops them?