The 2014-2015 season was a success for Arsenal, almost without qualification imho.
Yes Wenger played fast and loose with defensive depth and it cost the team last fall; yes there was an embarrassing loss at home vs Monaco that de facto knocked them out of the Champion's League; yes the team only took 1 of 6 possible points vs the Spurs; yes the league campaign ended with 3 fewer points than last year. But despite that, there's only one team in England who wouldn't want to trade their season for Arsenal's. That's a success in my book.
Highlights:
- 2nd straight FA Cup
- Retained CL play and seeded directly into the group stage (no more qualifiers in Turkey)
- Wins away to City and United
- Francis Coquelin going from 4th or 5th on the depth chart (and out the door on loan to Charlton Athletic) to becoming a candidate for defensive midfielder of the year
- The solid debut of Barcelona's future RB, Hector Bellerin
- Alexis Sanchez's meaty man thighs
- Ozil's league-leading 3.3 key passes per 90 (minimum 20 appearances)
Not to mention my favorite Arsenal-related gif of all time:
Key questions for next year:
- Will Coquelin regress?
- Will the British core (Wilshere, Theo, Ramsey, Chamberlain, Welbeck, Gibbs, Chambers) finally reach their peak as fans and pundits have been expecting for the last few years?
- Who of Giroud/Theo/Welbeck will assert themselves as CF and will that trio score enough goals?
- With such a crowded roster and few obvious cuts, is there room to bring in new outfield starters without seriously hampering player development?
- Who will play GK? Will Wenger bring in a new starter?
- Will Wenger continue to play a 4-1-4-1 away to big teams as he did this year?
- Will Debuchy wrest his starting spot back from Bellerin?