To simply dismiss City as a team of money-grabbing mercenaries is to dismiss a team that contains loyal players who play for City's history - nevermind - they are a bunch of money-hording mercenaries. But, one cannot dismiss their talent. From the talismanic David Silva to the brute force of Yaya Toure to the work rate of Gareth Barry and the brilliance of Balotelli, City boast a starting eleven second only to Barcelona. They started the season like a house on fire - absolutely annihilating Spurs and United. What shocked many about City's play is how diametrically opposite it is to how Mancini set them up last year. Last season, City played rather defensive - in a 4-5-1 formation meant to control possession and steal wins rather than to dominate games. This season, City have been unshackled and have terrified most oppositions. Lately, they have reverted to grinding out wins, much like United, and that is a championship winning quality. If City can beat Arsenal at the Emirates, they are in it with a shout - especially with the highly-anticipated visit of United to the Etihad stadium. I still believe that City will fall a couple of points short, but I think we can safely say that United's era of dominance is about to be curtailed.
Player of the season - Joe Hart - best keeper in the league. End of.
Signing of the season - This is a tough one - Can we count Tevez as a new signing?
Flop of the season - Savic - he's young, but his vulnerability has shown through. Perhaps he will go on to become a solid defender (Vidic, for example, was atrocious in his first three months at United), but at the moment it seems unlikely.
Villain of the season - Carlito Tevez - what an absolute plonker. I once had a friend who said this of Tevez - "He's a nice bloke who was just mistreated by United." Go through his history and it is clear that he has mistreated EVERY SINGLE CLUB he has been at - Argentina/Brazil/England - doesn't matter - he has always engineered a move away from each club and has on multiple occasions, played for rival clubs. Having said that, he is a fantastic player - and may just be the catalyst that pushes City to the title. Fucking douchebag though. Also, I like Balotelli, he's harmless (as long as you aren't on the City reserve squad) and he amuses me.
Arsenal
The perennial bottlers, the choke-artists, the nearly-theres. I'm sorry, but none of that applies to Arsenal this season - they were never in the title race to begin with. Their season was over once Wilshere's season was. Their season was over once they watched Rooney play Nani through for a fifth united goal that made Arsenal look like a Sunday league team. They tried to make amends in the Champions League, but their season was over when Ibra and co dismantled their defense at the San Siro. Their season was over when Fabregas and Nasri left to be replaced by Arteta. Their season was over when Vermaelen got injured and Mertesacker showed up ath the Emirates.
I have the utmost respect for Arsene Wenger; I definitely disagreed with those who wanted his head at around christmas time. The man has single-handedly kept Arsenal in the top 4 - and, yes, I'm taking Van Persie into account. Wenger is a man who believes in his philosophy and he should be applauded for that. However, he may be somewhat bereft of ideas as Arsenal do not have a Plan B. I remember Arsenal during the Pires/Bergkamp/Vieira/Henry days. They could absolutely destroy teams 5-0, but they could also get stuck in and win games 1-0. Every single year, Arsenal are capable of the former. It is the latter that Arsenal has problems with. When the tippy-tappy runs dries, Arsenal. cannot. score. I believe Tottenham will pip them to 3rd place this season. I also predict that all Arsenal fans will be yelling "wait till next year" fairly shortly.
Player of the season - Alex Song - The man is a phenom. He has 13 assists from a deep lying playmaker role. The cameroonian midfielder fits Arsenal's gameplay perfectly - he is creative and is always forward-thinking. As soon as he collects the ball from his defense, his first idea is to feed RVP/Walcott/Gervinho. In my opinion, there is only one defensive playmaker, in the world, who compares to him - and that's the great Andre Pirlo. And for his all round play, I give Song the edge above Mr. Van Persie.
Signing of the season - Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain. That kid is exciting to watch. I think the best description of him is - The Ox is Walcott with brains and braun. Signed from Southampton, I think the Ox will far surpass his old and new teammate. He is also at the right club - where Wenger will protect him and nurture him and, this is key, NOT overuse him. He is undoubtedly the best English talent since Rooney.
Flop of the season - Theo Walcott - Just like every year, this was the year Theo was supposed to come into his own. Yes, he'll score in 5-0 routs, but Walcott goes missing in most games, and although his finishing has improved (9 goals), his crossing, despite his 12 assists, leaves a lot to be desired. His temperament also finds his disappear in many big games. Also, it has become increasingly clear that he will never have a functional left food.
Villain of the season - Arsenal fans who booed and wanted their legendary manager to leave the club after a few weeks. And, yes, that definitely includes their most famous 'fan' Mr. Piers Morgan. #Morganplonker should be trending on twitter.
