Arsenal season review 2011-12.

Having finished 4th with 68 points in 2010-11, Arsenal lost their two most influential players with the new season about to begin. The departures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri threw the club into chaos and led to their worst start in nearly 60 years. Indeed, the 8-2 defeat at Old Trafford at the end of August was their heaviest loss since 1899 and they slumped into the bottom four.

Yes, that really was the score!

After 16 years in charge, Arsene Wenger was at a crossroads. Fans were losing patience as the glory days of the early 2000's were now just a distant memory, and the press were saying the club were in crisis. Under pressure, Wenger went into the transfer market on deadline day - bringing in Mikel Arteta, Andre Santos and Yossi Benayoun - but many felt these were the actions of a desperate man.

Yet slowly the new-look team began to gel. A run of only one defeat in 12 Premier League games from October until the turn of the year - including an incredible 5-3 win at Stamford Bridge - sent the club back into the race for a top 4 finish. The only disappointment in this period being a 1-0 Carling Cup quarter final defeat at the hands of Manchester City.

Arteta, in particular, was proving to be an inspired signing as his performances in midfield eased the loss of Fabregas and Nasri, while the form and goals of new captain Robin van Persie suggested the crisis had been averted.

Mikel Arteta - an inspired signing

It was van Persie himself who illuminated the club's 125th Anniversary match against Everton in December with a sublime volleyed winner, impressing the watching Thierry Henry - back at The Emirates on the day his statue was unveiled outside the ground.

Henry was back in the news in the New Year when he returned to the club on loan from New York Red Bulls for six weeks. The clubs record goalscorer made an immediate impression with the winner against Leeds United in the 3rd round of the FA Cup, although the month also saw three straight league defeats to put a top 4 finish back in doubt.

The master returns

But with the injury problems that had blighted the season finally beginning to ease, the club hit top form. Blackburn were beaten 7-1 - van Persie striking a hat-trick and Henry on target again - while Henry then grabbed a last minute winner at Sunderland to lift the club back into the top 4 again.

Teenager Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was making an impression of his own with a series of fine performances in midfield, but just as it seemed the corner had been turned, disaster struck.

A dreadful performance in Milan in the last 16 of the Champions League all-but ended their interest in the competition, while the FA Cup run was brought to an end in the 5th round at Sunderland three days later, where Oxlade-Chamberlain scored an unfortunate own goal.

Oxlade-Chamberlain celebrating a goal at the right end!

Despite being out-played for long periods at Anfield, another brace from van Persie secured three points before the turning point of the season arrived in the shape of the North London derby at The Emirates in late-February. Arsenal started the day 10 points behind their neighbours and defeat would have put the pressure back on Wenger and his team.

After a terrible start, which saw Spurs go 2-0 up in twenty minutes, Arsenal really turned on the style. Bacary Sagna and van Persie - with a wonderful strike - brought them level before the break, while an inspired Tomas Rosicky and a brace from Theo Walcott secured a memorable, and significant, 5-2 victory.

Tomas Rosicky celebrates putting Arsenal 3-2 up in the North London Derby

With confidence restored, Arsenal almost staged the greatest comeback in Champions League history. A wonderful first half performance, led by the superb Oxlade-Chamberlain, saw the club come close to over-turning the 4-0 first leg deficit against Milan, although they bowed out of the competition with their heads held high.

Three more league victories followed to lift the club up to 3rd and ram the 'Mind the gap' chants from the Spurs fans back down their throats. A 2-1 defeat at QPR showed the inconsistencies from earlier in the season had not completely disappeared, but a late Arteta goal brought three more points against a Manchester City side who would go on to lift the title. Three days later, a 3-0 win at bottom side Wolves sent Wenger's men five points clear of Spurs in 3rd place with just five matches remaining.

But an early injury to Arteta in the home match against Wigan Athletic threatened to de-rail the season. That shock 2-1 defeat led to a run of four matches without a win just at the wrong time. Third place looked to have gone when Norwich hit a late equaliser at The Emirates in the final home match of the season, but Spurs could only draw at Aston Villa the following day so a win at WBA on the final weekend would secure Champions League football for the 15th year in a row.

In a tense afternoon at The Hawthorns, Arsenal got the required result - with a little help from stand-in Albion goalkeeper Marton Fulop - in a match that summed up the season as a whole. After taking an early lead, the Gunners soon found themselves behind before coming back to win 3-2 - the 6th time they had turned a deficit into a victory - and it proved vital as Chelsea's subsequent Champions League triumph meant 4th place would not have been good enough.

So, a season of highs and lows, ups and downs, actually finished with the club winning two more points than the previous campaign and finishing one place higher. Van Persie become only the second Arsenal player to score 30 Premier League goals in a season, landing him the Golden Boot along with the Players' Player and Football Writers Player of the Year awards.

The team may not have won a trophy but the skipper certainly did

But where do the club go from here? The signing of Lukas Podolski shows early intent, but with van Persie's contract now into it's final year, has he been brought in to replace for the skipper or play alongside him? Other signings are also needed, especially in defence and midfield, although new first team coach Steve Bould should help sort out the defensive frailties which have prevented the club really challenging over the last few years.

The coming two months could have a massive baring on the future of the club. Losing van Persie now would show a lack of ambition and surely condemn Arsenal to another trophyless season. But keep the talismatic Dutchman and add the extra quality around him and maybe, just maybe, the long wait for silverware could finally be over.