I had such hopes for the Arsenal midfield in the early part of the season, we had Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Grant Xhaka, and on paper that looks fearsome. We had young talent in Emile Smith-Rowe putting in some excellent displays in pre-season, we had players like Mohamed Elneny and Lucas Torreira that had huge potential to do good with us and yet, come to the end of the season, it was the midfield that turned out to be our weakest link.
There has been no leadership at all, no vision, no creativity and worst of all, no passion.
Our midfield looks like a total mess and it needs a massive shake-up but all is not lost, with some changes and minor tweaks there is room for optimism.
A couple of new midfielders need to be bought for sure, there is no way we can go with this lot next season but I do not think a massive clearout is necessary.
Aaron Ramsey is gone, Henrikh Mkhitaryan needs to be sold and so probably does Mohamed Elneny, Alex Iwobi and Gramit Xhaka but I would not go much further than that, ripping out five players and expecting five new players to turn things around just like that is foolish, it needs to be done in an organised manner.
Ozil can still be a huge asset, he possesses a world class touch and his sublime passes can open up teams at will, it is an attitude change that he needs more than anything because his talent is still there.
Torreira has tired terribly but there was a time when he was bossing the midfield, it is easy to forget the long winning run we went on and he played a pivotal role in that and I do expect him to be far more effective next season.
Matteo Guendouzi and Ainsley Maitland-Niles are two youngsters that will continue to develop and I am 100% certain they will be far better players next season.
We also have youngsters Joe Willock, Reiss Nelson and Emile Smith-Rowe if the club decides to give them a chance next season, both could be something special.
So, we have a core but we do need a leader and a creative midfielder and so at least two new signings are required, because if we do not offload the deadwood and bring in brand new talent then another season of disappointment is on the cards.