By 1970’s Gooner
A significant victory that not only keeps Arsenal on top of Manchester United but pushes Chelsea further behind in the title race.
Our creativity was back and it was obvious in the first half that our technique was superior to their strength and direct way of playing.
As the returning from injury Arsenal players began to tire in the second half Chelsea pushed forward as they had to do. Tiring legs during the second half meant however that fluency was not at its best nor were cool heads ruling our play.
On another day with 15 minutes to go we would have kept our heads and the ball rather than surge forward, sometimes committing five players in attack trying to get that second goal.
Still a wonderful defensive display in the second half gave us the three points and that is what matters in games like this.
Almunia
Had a very good game indeed. Probably his best game for Arsenal so far. He saved everything that was thrown at him. Apart from saving a first half shot in a rather strange way he was there when he was needed. 8
Sagna
Another strong and solid display. Joe cole did not get much change out of him. Did not venture forward much. 7
Clichy
A wonderful display of both defensive and attacking football from the best left back in the Premier league.
Outshone Ashley Cole hands down.
Thanks for leaving Arsenal Ashley. 8
Toure
I keep repeating myself every game but this is due to this guy’s consistency and dependability, game in game out. 8
Gallas
Wenger obviously knew what he was doing when he appointed Gallas as captain. What a leader and what a powerful defensive display. Comes up with the goals in the important games. 9
Fabregas
He was not match fit and that was obvious form some misplaced passes especially as he got tired in the second half. Still he dictated play as only he can. 8
Flamini
Played as though he was never away injured. The lung capacity of this guy is amazing. Patroled the midfield and protected the defence very well. 8
Rosicky
Was more involved in this game and his tracking back and defending was excellent. Became more dangerous in the second half on the counter attack (which suits his style) as Chelsea committed men forward. 8
Hleb
Had a good first half holding the ball very well and laying balls off in the forward positions. He is an important player in the way the team builds up its attacking play and when he tired in the second half we lost some of our penetration and ball possession. 8
Eboue
Probably the worst Arsenal player and the second worse player on the pitch after Lampard. He kept giving the ball away and was frivolous in possession. He is too anxious and impetuous to lay the ball off rather than wait for a better opportunity to find a team mate. 5
He was stretchered off in the second half after a collision with Joe Cole and looks to have suffered a medial ligament sprain. It would be assessed over the next 48 hours.
Adebayor
Was much better in this game than at Middlesbrough. Played the lone striker role very well shielding the ball from the defenders and playing his team mates in. Became more dangerous as Chelsea opened up in the second half. He will benefit a lot from RVP’s return to the team and the 4 4 2 system which suits him more at this stage of his career. 7
Man of the Match:
William Gallas
Subs
Van Persie (69 m)
Played well when he came on but missed two clear cut chances to put the game to rest. Yet he provided a goal threat that was missing before. When the rust goes away he will be back to his best. 7
Gilberto (78 m)
Looks slower and for this reason tends to foul more than before. Gave away a foul just outside the area in the closing minutes which could have resulted in the equaliser had it not been for Almunia’s good positioning and resultant save. 5
Bendtner (90 m)
Had just about enough time on the pitch to set up Fabregas in on goal which he missed.
Posts
28 comments:
I'd have to agree with your analysis of the game, although Eboue did ok. Stunning Fabregas challenge on Cashley at the end.
Not a bd rating for all the players with the exception of Eboue, who I thought had a very good game, a great challange on that cheating Terry who tried to do Cesc some damage.
Take of the blinkers when doing the ratings in future because it just showes that you've got in for Eboue no matter what he does!
Spot on your ratings and on lampard too!
AGREE WITH other comments that Eboue had a good game. especially first half. I thought it was his best game for a long while. second half he ran into a few dead ends and then got injured but still good. I thought everyone had a good game. its always chelsea's style to 'ugly' the game up a bit. no game againt chelsea will ever be pretty. see all previous encounters and man u chelsea games. they just have a way of grinding out results all the time by playing very dull football. OK today they could not get the result but their style was still stamped all over the game. nothing has changed since Morinho left.
Agree with gazzap Chelsea are still the same under grant. but they are efficient and hard to beat
Have to say that I agree with the other comments about Eboue. Not as bad as you suggest, though he does have a propensity to be a bit casual at times, especially near the wrong penalty area. Otherwise a good summary of the game.
I thought the whole team showed the qualities for a real title challenge today.....some of the tackles by Flamini especially were crunching but fair. I do think eboue was a bit of the weak link but I also was getting quite frustrated with Adebayor giving the ball to chelski almost every time....Im a huge fan of Bendtner and would love to see him more. BUT TONIGHT I SLEEP HAPPILY AS THE BEST TEAM IN LONDON SHOWED TRUE CLASS TODAY
I would say Ade was far worse than Eboue. He offered very little up front by himself and looked very lost on the ball. His first touch was again weak and he never seems to win the one on one battles. For the measely few minutes that Bentner was on he looked the more superior frontman, made a couple of good runs. The one where he cut inside and squared it to Fabregas was superb (and should've been put away first time)! Ade did none of that! Man of the match for me was Almunia, with Flamini a close second! All in all a great game and a great 3 points!
I agree, I thought Eboue was better than Adebayor. Ade is a handful for a defender, but on the other hand he gives the ball away more than any other Arsenal player (and not usually because he's trying to beat a man, more that his passing is off target). Eboue's antics are annoying.. but maybe a slight injury will be a blessing. It will give Theo a bigger chance to get some starts... and maybe Eboue can get his head straight with a few weeks off. Wonder if this injury puts his African Cup of Nations status in jeopardy...
I found the rating agreable with the exeption of Eboue and Clichy. I would say Eboue played very well . His faults were trying to penetrate a chain of defence while he could have send a thunderous shot or pass it to his mate. He should be conditioned to strike when he got the chance.Clichy was super as he outshone Cashley Cole. I rate him as the man of the game . Arsenal could have scored two or three. They have to keep up their supremacy.
in no way am i eboue's biggest fan but i disagree with your comments about him. ok, he did fake a bit with one or two tackles on him but i felt he had one of his better games in a while last night and was disappointed when he was stretched off.
Good call on all the others though.
I didnt think ade had such a bad game but would have liked to have seen bendtner a bit earlier.
Loved cesc's challenge on cashley right at the end!!
Hope RvP Starts with Bendtner up front vs Spurs! Cnt w8!
I do like your honest(as you see it) analysis of the games. Yes you show your bias against certain players but we all do. My take on the game is ;- The whole team deserve an 8. Eboue was as cynical with his foul as were at least five Chelski players who seemed determined to cripple Fabs & Hleb from the start. They are not a nice club any more, which is sad.
Eboue had a good game but he made some important decisions wrong.This is his major fault. He has pace, good feet, lungs, buy little brain. Many, Many times he tried to thread a ball when a good old fashioned blast would have produced much more.
If I have one complaint it would be that we looke liked the Gunners of last year at times "trying to give that one more pass inside the box ". At the start of the season we were amazed at the shots from Hleb, Fabs, AdeB, VP & Rosicky from out side the box... some went in others were deflected or we got rebounds. In the past 3 matches we have lost that weapon....please Arsene start it up again. If you dont shoot you dont get the deflections or rebounds....just ask Lampard.
Agree with u 1970's, especially when u summed up Clichy as the best left back in the Premiership! Love it! I dont like late challenges but I liked Eboue's on Terry, especially Terry tried doing Cesc. Great permance and it was only the 15 minutes that Chelski could involved when Arsenal had tired legs. SAY WE ARE TOP OF THE LEAGUE!
Agree with u 1970's, especially when u summed up Clichy as the best left back in the Premiership! Love it! I dont like late challenges but I liked Eboue's on Terry, especially Terry tried doing Cesc. Great permance and it was only the 15 minutes that Chelski could involved when Arsenal had tired legs. SAY WE ARE TOP OF THE LEAGUE!
Agree with u 1970's, especially when u summed up Clichy as the best left back in the Premiership! Love it! I dont like late challenges but I liked Eboue's on Terry, especially Terry tried doing Cesc. Great permance and it was only the 15 minutes that Chelski could involved when Arsenal had tired legs. SAY WE ARE TOP OF THE LEAGUE!
Good review mate. I think I would give Eboue 10 for injuring that cnut John Terry. Proper team player, JT tried to injure Cesc so Eboue skillfully takes him out. I like the fact that this team can now play the harder games well. We are no weak team anymore. You want a fight, then bring it on.
I thought Ade had a good game actually. He's getting better and better. When we play 4-5-1 he is tends to look isolated but he works hard up there. When RVP came on he provided plenty of ball for him down the wing. He's getting faster and stronger. Now that Bentner and RVP are back, upfront we are so strong. Cant think of a bigger more capable bunch.
Great effort by everyone, Flamini especially as he had to work that bit harder to cover for Cesc's lack of fitness in the closing moments.
Big shout for the crowd too, I think we managed to win the battle with Cashley. Hopefully he will be getting a ban and fine anytime now.
Great days!
I sort of agree with the people who comment that Eboue had his best game
* Yes, I agree with you, his game yesterday was the best game he's played in a while.
* But being better than Eboue's other recent games is like being less insane than Tom Cruise: Yes, but not exactly a very high bar you're setting there.
Eboue was lively in the first half - showed the one outstanding quality that he posesses [but only applies occasionally] and that is his amazing ability to accelerate over short distances - he's very very quick and can get past anyone with that burst of pace, but his passing and especially his crossing is a bit of a leak. However enjoyable it was to see him get stuck into Terry yet again he has demonstrated how much of a liability he can be. He probably should have been sent off for that challenge. One of these days he is going to get sent off for that lack of control ... basically he's an idiot.
Eboue was really good indeed!!!
good rating analysis, though eboue played well and after his challenge on terry deserved at least a 7or8, i loved it anyway! thought flamini was man of the match too, he is becoming a real general in the middle and gives us the bite in the middle that we've been missing since viera left. Cesc should be known as God from now on as his beautifully terrible challenge on greedy mole at the end was a tackle any arsenal fan would have loved to have delivered, I LOVE YOU CESC!!!!
What about rating Wenger's tactics and substitutions?
I thought starting with the five-man midfield was essential, despite how up for it RvP looks at the moment. The balance of the match, though, hung on who would tire first in the middle of the park - us or them. We ran at them like wild dogs in the first half rather than let the ball do the work and wait to score late in the second half, which was probably a mistake. If Gallas' goal hadn't forced them into a 4-4-2 thus taking Makelele off, then it would have been interesting to see if both Cesc and Hleb could have lasted the pace, or whether Chelsea would have taken control of the match and punished us. As it turned out, by arsenal fighting hard in the early stages we wound up Terry, who provoked Eboue's challenge, and Ben Haim got outfoxed by Gallas for the goal (and of course Cech cocked up). Wengers gamble on his returning players worked out in the end.
I think thats a fair analysis from icky. But Wenger would have made some substitutions to counter Chelsea's dominance as our players tired.
D. Howee:
I enjoyed Eboue's challenge on Terry on one level, sure, but on another he was lucky to be on the pitch for as long as he was.
His temperament makes him a liability if he is unable to control himself.
Eboue - best game at right wing this season.
Wasn't Clichy man of the match and Eboue was better than Ade
How come the referees are always on the chelski's side.It should be 3-0.In the previous seasons chelskis won only on off side goals.Eboue should not kick JT's leg.He should do what Diaby did since JT will be dancing on the table after the match.
Can't believe you have'nt put Flamini in your man of the match survey.
i understand clichy was awarded man of match after the game.
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