By 1970’s Gooner
Almunia
It feels nice to type out Emmanuel Almunia’s name when giving the ratings for an Arsenal performance. He was called to the rescue twice and he was equal to it.
The first from a long range shot from Downing which he saved at the second attempt and the second from old boy Aliadiere who found himself with only the goalkeeper to beat.
I am not sure if Fabiansky would have saved Aliadiere’s effort from such a close range and the whole game would have taken a different turn at 1-1. 8
Eboue
Good going forward but positionally naïve when defending. He was often caught out with the attacker finding himself with loads of space on Arsenal’s right.
The first such occasion was with Marlon King when his cross thankfully found no one but the second nearly resulted in a goal by Aliadere (as described above). Provided an excellent assist for Fabregas to score the second goal. 6
Gibbs
Growing in stature with every game and was cool and collected throughout today’s encounter. Defended well and came forward a la Clichy mode.
I am not sure however how he will cope, if he plays, with a Manchester United team that will put pressure on him like Liverpool did the other night nor how he will cope with the quick movement of the United players.
Still if he gets the support from the left sided midfielder he may grow in stature again. 7
Toure
Has been consistently good as of late, marshalling the defence both on the ground and in the air. 7
Silvestre
Coped well with King who is a big and strong player but who is not blessed with pace which always helps with slow and ageing defenders.
How Silvestre will cope against United’s movement will go a long way towards deciding the goals against count for Arsenal. 6
Djourou
On the other hand Wenger may have thought for opting for Djourou at Old Trafford but not after this display. He came on for the second half and did nothing to help his cause.
He was off the pace, gave the ball away, dangerously at times and provided the cue for Boro to take the initiative and look for that equalizer for a short while.
Still Johan is the type of player that needs a game or so to get into his stride as he proved after a very average performance against West Brom away which was then followed with a good run into the side. 5.5
Denilson
I hope he does not start against Manchester United. He had a much better game today but it was against an opposition that was not that physical or adventurous enough to put him under sustained pressure. Even so his passing still failed him at times and did nothing but pass the ball sideways all game. 6
Fabregas
If he can score two goals and play in second gear like he did today then I will take that.
He was at the heart of Arsenal’s creative play and dictated play like we have grown used to see him do.
He was also at the centre of Arsenal’s exquisite first goal receiving Bendtner’s flick on and immediately releasing the little Russian demon down the left wing into space. He then followed the play up receiving Arshavin’s pass and unleashing an unstoppable shot.
Took his second goal very well rounding another young keeper who, like Fabiansky against Chelsea, made the mistake of mistiming his run out of the area. 8.5
Nasri
For a player so young he often amazes me by his maturity. He hardly makes a wrong pass, his decision making is very mature and is also good at tracking back. He did all these today although he faded a little bit in the second half. 7
Arshavin
Well, he couldn’t repeat that scoring performance against Liverpool could he? He did not get on the score sheet but was much more involved in play than at Anfield.
He was part of all Arsenal’s attacks and posed a real threat all day long. His part in the first goal was excellent.
Pitty he can’t play in the Champions League as he provides that spark, pace and devilry that the team lacks when he is absent. 8
Walcott
If only he could get his final ball right he will be the perfect winger.
He uses his pace and new found body strength to get past defenders with ease but today he often chose to go for goal instead of passing across the area. And when he did cross, the ball usually hit the first defender.
I am sure he will get this right as it comes with more experience and he is an intelligent lad after all. 6.5
Bendtner
Was more purposeful today, getting up for headers and directing them to a team mate as best as he could. His play on the ground was also good, an example of which was the first time pass to Fabregas which eventually led to the first goal. 7
Adebayor
If he is going to look as disinterested at Old Trafford as he did today and frankly as he has looked in his last games for Arsenal then I would seriously urge Wenger to consider dropping him on the bench.
Really, he contributed nothing when he came on in the latter stages of the game when the Boro players were on the ropes. 4
Posts
26 comments:
Eboue 6???? he actually played ace 2day!! cant believe he did but he sure did lol
Get onto Arsenal.com and learn how to spell the players' names!
sell Ade this summer and bring in a real forward (Gomez or Dzeko?) and we'll be favorites in every competition next year. I'm sorry, I want to root for him, but he's sooooooo lazy.
TO ANONYMOUS 5.51 PM
You must be dyslexic mate as there is nothing wrong with the names of the Arsenal players from what I see above and I am a teacher who ususally picks up these mistakes... So go to another blog to pester with your stupid comments
You must hate Eboue very much. How can you give him only 6 for all the football he played today? He was very good IMO. Surely how you can give Gibbs 7 and Walcot 6, the unproductive winger, is beyond me. Yes, Gibbs played well but surely not better than Eboue. Yes, Walcot palyed well also but not really better than Denilson. Your English bias is too obvious to hide. I agree however with your analysis of Walcot's game in general. His poor decision making is sometimes beyond understanding. Sometimes you wonder if he will ever learn.
Eboue was class today. There is a hell of a lot to come from this ald and I hope we hang onto him during the summer. Song and Eboue will blossom next season. Mark my words, very talented boys.
If you continue rating players based on your personal agendas rather than what real happened on the pitch, a lot of people will stop bothering reading your stuff soon. Eboue 6, Gibbs 7 ?? U must be absultely mental. Eboue was at the center of most of our moves not Arshavin. He is a good contender fo MOTM. As fo Ade, how do u expect him to run like a crazy horse when the useles game was already won? Arshavin was ok but he could have done better. Eboue is provin all of you haters wrong and there's little you can do about it. If I were you I would swallow my pride and simply admit that I was wrong bout th man.
Actually I thought Nasri in central midfield was absolutely majestic. controlled the tempo of the game, read Boro´s moves like a book and intercepted.
I thought his performance was at least an 8. Hope he plays in this position going on because he could be developing into a real midfield general. Has a good short pass a good long pass and can dribble quite well, strong build also, could give Man U a lot of problems on wednesday
TO ANONYMOUS 6.02pm
Anonymous 5.51 was referring to the fact Manuel as in Manuel Almunia is spelt wrong.
"Good ol' Arsenal we're proud to say that name, while we sing this song your'll win the game"
why the hell doesnt arsene let vela get a run out? he hasnt played in ages and this game was about the last one against a weaker opponent this season.
AND we got CL next week......
your ratings are shocking how can you give eboue a 6 he was 1 of the best players today and bentdner a 7 he was a donkey all game. the reason nasri wasnt seen so much in the second half if becuase he played defensive mid and did that job 10 times better than song or denilson has all season you are a muppet
You're a joke of a blogger. Djourou a 4? What are you smoking and where can I get it?
some of the comments here are ridiculous, if you don't like his ratings just say so, you dont have to call him a muppet or bring up this personal agenda issues and english bias!
eboue was sometimes caught out defensively and often toure or nasri had to cover for him. Marlon king(or some other boro players, can remember) were having all the time in the world to shoot and eboue was supposed to mark him but he wasnt there.
Gibbs was great, when he attacked, he dont just run all the way to blind alleys like eboue sometimes does. And to those who thought that denilson shld be getting higher ratings than theo? All he did was pass sideways, sometimes to an opposition players, gets muscled out of the ball too easily and he only started running ard tackling when the game was comfortably won in the last 10 mins!
Sometimes I wonder why you keep up with your ratings with such assholes consistently insulting you.
I must say I thought Eboue was better than a 6, but I completely agree with you on Denilson. I could do what he does! Not a single creative move, no surging forward, just passing it sideways every time.
I don't like your ratings.
We won two-nil at a canter and still you only give two players more than a seven.
You are either trying to be controversial or simply know nothing about football.
"I am a teacher who ususally picks up these mistakes" - it's Fabianski, not Fabiansky. Pretty shocking that you can run an Arsenal blog and consistently misspell the surname of a player who's made over 20 appearances for Arsenal the last two years
The game was not that important for the home team to haul ass for 90 min (though it was for relegation threatened Middlesbrough.) Two unpunished dangerous tackles on Cesk showed how crucial it is to protect and rest your best players against the desperate minnows of the world, especially at this stage of the season. His response with two goals spoke for itself. The players' ratings and the game itself should be judged in the light of what will happen on Wednesday.
I think the spelling reference might be to 'Emmanuel' Almunia. Unless I missed a joke.
I'm so glad that you are just a 'Monday Morning Quarterback', as what the Americans would call it, rather than somebody who has any real influence in decision making in Arsenal. Your comments lack insight, lack depth, lack analysis, lack objectivity, and reveal lots of personal biases and prejudice. They will generate similar negativism among supposed Arsenal fans who lack the ability for independent critical analysis but they will not do any harm to the performance of Arsenal FC, which all true Arsenal fans love.
I have seen people with the advanced stages of swine flu play better than Ade yesterdy.
And that's a fact.
Yes it seems that non of us can comment without our bias shows through. This time last year I would have given Eboue & Song away for nothing.....I now admit that I was wrong and as usual Arsene was right. Suddenly I want Song in every game along with Eboue (to start games anyway) they have become excellent players. Your ratings are a bit daft with Djourou getting 4...he did mots things right so a 6 would be right...
My fear is that Arsene still thinks Sylvestre is/was a good signing..I dont. I would prefer Senderos any day. I also hate the fact that Vela showed so much skill early on but has been left to rot on the bench.....WHY?
I would love a team like this to start against Manure Weds. Almunia, Sagna, Toure, Djuorou,Gibbs, Eboue, Nasri, Song, Fabregas, Vela, AdeB.
With Nasri & Song breaking up Manure moves and Cesc free to do his thing and Vela given his role to attack.
My fear is that AW will play Denislon/Diaby.
eboue 6 , djourou 4 , walcott 6.5
you might be mad !!!
Walcott and perfect winger are words that just don't go togethter. He has admitted that he doesn't have any skills in a recent interview therefore his only alternative is pace which he exploits far too often. He is just very predictable and is decision making is of a person that hardly plays football. I recently saw robinhos goal against everton and walcott often gets into similar situations but lacks the intel and skill to make the right decision. I hope we get a wc right midfielder next season because I'm tired of coaching this kid and not seeing sufficient rewards.
Granted he might do better with his inconsistent finishing up front but I still feel we can do better with the current crop of strikers we have barring edu
Spot on ratings for once!
I think there's english bias when english writers write players. Eboue underrated, and Walcott overrated. If you go back and watch the match again then surely you'll see how big contribution of Eboue was compared to Walcott's. Gibbs though was very impressive in my opinion and Denilson had a very good match.
A little bit of objectivity is needed for football writers. The problem is that, most of them, decide to follow some individual players rather than paying attention to what is actually going on in the pitch.
Who is Eduardo? He has no injury but I have not seen him playing. Don't you think we need an experienced striker like him against Manchester United?
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