Over the coming days we'll be presenting nominees for our Arsenal 2019/20 Awards Season, and you can have your say! Your votes will count for 50% with football.london writers making up the other 50%.
With the campaign halted, there is time to reflect on how the Gunners fared throughout the year. Although it has been a rollercoaster of a season, there have been some moments to look back upon with fondness.
From the best player of the season to the best assists and best individual moments of the year, there will be many high points to choose from as the best from the 2019/20 season.
Today, football.london kick the Awards Season off with the nominees for the Most Improved Player category.
Granit Xhaka
Had the Awards Season come at the halfway point in the season, Xhaka being amongst the nominees would have been unthinkable but that goes to show just how much he has improved since Mikel Arteta's appointment as head coach.
Under Unai Emery, the Swiss continued to perform in a manner which divided the Arsenal fan base. Whereas there were fans who felt he played a vital role in the side with his passing ability, others saw him as a liability, too rash to shield the back four. This was the case even more so when Emery decided to use him as a lone-pivot, leaving too much space for him to cover, where he was often exposed when opposition sides countered.
Reaching his all-time low at the club when he goaded the home fans when substituted against Crystal Palace in October, his turnaround deserves just as much recognition.
Arteta has been key to this with subtle yet effective tweaks to the way Xhaka is used in the side. Rather than exiling him in the middle of the park with to spin more plates than he could, the Spaniard has stripped Xhaka's game down to basics which directly benefit him and the side as a whole - as analysed in detail here.
His evolution to drifting between the left-sided centre-back and left-back has been key to the way Arsenal attack up the left and in offering the side more security in defence. Although he may not be racking up goals or assists like some of the league's top midfielders, his resurgence has proven essential for the Gunners' improvement post-Emery.
Calum Chambers
Returning from his loan at Fulham having won their Player of the Year last season, Chambers hit the ground running at Arsenal and particularly excelled at centre-back, even though it took him a while to play there consistently.
Starting their alongside Sokratis,the pair saw that the Gunners secured their first away clean sheet of the season. Moved to right-back after a substantial drop in form from Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Chambers remained steady. By no means was he the elite, all-purpose full-back that the Premier League has become littered with but he did the basics of his job to a respectable level.
Establishing himself in the side by playing to his strengths while in a slightly unfavourable position, it wasn't a surprise when Freddie Ljungberg moved him back to the heart of the defence where he continued to flourish, his best performance coming at Everton.
Having to cater to Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin that day, he led by example, which couldn't be said for Luiz. In fact, his six clearances, three tackles and two interceptions on landed him with the Man of the Match award while Arteta was watching from the stands.
Suspension [through yellow card accumulation] delayed his first game under Arteta in which he lasted just 23 minutes. Sustaining an ACL injury against Chelsea, his season was over but the role he played in defence before that moment should not be underestimated. Unlike previous seasons, he had stood out among the rest in his position.
Shkodran Mustafi
Considering the final few months of Mustafi's 2018/19 campaign, on the whole, his response on the pitch has been commendable.
Going from a player whose first thought was to shift blame upon others [like in the 3-2 loss to Crystal Palace], to one that has led by example throughout a string of matches, his rise has to be acknowledged.
Left out in the Premier League by Emery, Mustafi was much steadier than many were used to seeing in the cup competitions. Not on the losing side [in 90 minutes] in his first six games of the season, the only real blip up to that point was his own goal at Liverpool.
Once he was brought into the Premier League squad by Ljungberg and Arteta, the increased pressure seemed to get to him and mistakes began creeping into his game again. But with Arteta sticking by him, the 28-years-old seemed to blossom. He was much more decisive in defence, calmer on the ball and appeared much more sturdy than he did previously.
The fact this standard hadn't dropped by the time the enforced break rolled around was impressive and with fans singing his name from the stands regularly now, his improvement has not gone unnoticed.
Bernd Leno
Last season, Leno was already an incredible option for Arsenal in goal and deserved to take the No.1. spot from Petr Cech, but this season, he has taken his game to another level.
Granted this may because the leaky nature of the defence kept him busier, but he still had to stand up to the challenge and has done immensely well. Before the turn of the year, he was crucial in keeping the Gunners away from real danger and since then, his commanding performances have helped Arteta in his mission of 'turning draws into wins'.
As the first choice goalkeeper, Leno could still improve on his distribution - as displayed against Olympiacos - but his judgement of when the wrong and right times are to take chances has also improved.
For less than £20million, the German has proven to be one of the most valuable signings made by the club in recent seasons.
