Arsenal

As the 2015-16 Premier League season draws to a close, it’s time to honor and award those whose performances have captivated us over the course of the last nine months. It’s also a great time to shame those whose performances call into question the morality behind million dollar contracts and the myth of the sporting superhuman. These are the players whose performances will stick with us for all the wrong reasons; the biggest underachievers and flops of the 2015-16 Premier League season. 

After seven largely successful years in charge of France’s AS Monaco, Arsene Wenger had certified his reputation as one of the most promising young managers in football.

He’d led Monaco to the Ligue 1 title in 1988 and a Coupe de France triumph in 1991. They’d also reached the semi-finals of the Champions League in 1994, leading to interest from Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen in the managerial services of Wenger.

He'd built his reputation as an astute, multilingual and forward-thinking coach who was capable of building and nurturing young squads.

Yesterday was Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday, and her alleged favorite football team was in a festive mood. 

The last day of Champions League Round of 16 featured four world-renowned teams. Arsenal traveled to FC Barcelona hoping to make up a 2-0 aggregate deficit, while Bayern Munich and Juventus were tied at two. 

Watford beat Arsenal 2-1 at the Emirates in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup thanks to this astonishing Adlene Guedioura goal vs Arsenal. If you have never heard of the phrase “thunderbastard” or seen one for yourself, you are about to see a quintessential one. 

Hello darkness my old friend.

As an Arsenal fan, waking up at 4:00 a.m. on a Sunday for a sunrise hike with my roommate, only to run out of gas halfway to the trailhead, was a lot like getting home after said hike knowing that I had today’s Arsenal vs Manchester United game recorded, only to accidentally check my notifications and see two Marcus Rashford goals against Arsenal.

FC Barcelona traveled to England and beat Arsenal 2 - 0. Messi scored both goals, the first in the 71st minute and the second on a penalty in the 83rd. While in Turino, Italy, Bayern took a two goal lead from Thomas Mueller and Arjen Robben. Mueller scored the first goal in the 43rd minute and Robben added the 2nd in the 55th. Juventus battled back for the 2 - 2 tie with goals in the 63rd and 76th minute. The first was scored by Paulo Dybala and the tying goal came from Stefano Sturaro. 

Hey Arsenal fans. Remember Andrey Arshavin? The boyish Russian whose career imploded and collapsed faster than Howard Dean's presidential campaign? Well, things haven't gone so well for the one time Russian player of the year.