By 1970’s Gooner
Fabianski
Didn’t have much to do in the first 20 minutes or so when Arsenal were dominating the game. He couldn’t be faulted for their first goal but he was at fault for the next two.
Anelka’s shot did swerve but still went past very near him. He should have done better on that one. Again for their third goal he showed lack in decision making for he came out too far forward from his line and Toure’s mishit clearance just rolled into an empty net. 5
Sagna
Much better today both defensively and going forward. His crosses also improved a lot especially for the one that Bendtner scored with. 7
Gibbs
A much, much better performance from the young left back. Showed no signs of being affected from his slip up against Man Utd. He is learning at a very fast rate; a faster rate than Clichy was learning and this is very encouraging for the future. 8
Silvestre
Was at fault for Alex’s goal as he was left unchallenged to head the ball into the net. And he was also at fault for Anelka’s goal as he was left to run and shoot at goal without being challenged at all! 4
Toure
He tried both in defence and going forward and this is the Toure I like. 7
Song
The undisputed defensive midfielder for Arsenal now. What an improved player he has become. He was breaking up Chelsea’s midfield play and laying the ball off well. He had a much better game than Essien or Mikel. 8
Fabregas
Looked much better in his natural role in midfield, being at the hub of most of Arsenal’s good moves. He did however misplace passes again and what I worry about is that he is not showing leadership qualities when things begin to go wrong. 6
Nasri
Played well and looked lively as we have grown used to him. He was started behind Van Persie and was very active around that area connecting the midfield with the attack. He will be massive next season. 7
Walcott
Was very lively in the first 20 minutes and was one of the reasons Arsenal dominated in that period. He had the better of Cole beating him thumbs down every time they came face to face.
But he lacked in his finishing, often snatching at his shots and unfortunately most of Arsenal’s chances fell to him during that period. He will come good and when he does he will be lethal. Faded in the second half. 6
Diaby
What a shambles once again from Abu. He has not learned anything this year. He is probably the only Arsenal youngster who has stayed static in his development. He holds on to the ball too long, gets surrounded by the opponents and invariably loses it, much to the annoyance of everybody on the ground and outside it. 4
Robin Van Persie
A much improved performance for RVP today. He was really not fit enough to face Manchester United as he was coming from an injury lay off but today he was able to play that front role much better than lazy Adebayor has done this year.
Connected well with Fabregas, Nasri and Walcott to create the chances in the first half. Missed one himself in the second half though as he wanted to bring the ball to his left foot which gave time for Cech to get into the right position to save it. 7
Bendtner
Came on as a sub on 70 minutes and his influence in those remaining 20 minutes almost proved catalytic in an unlikely Arsenal revival. He rejuvenated the team with his well taken goal and looked lively coming in from the left wing. Why didn’t Wenger start with him rather than Diaby? 8
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10 comments:
How is it that Song gets an 8 when he is our DM and we concede 4. He has improved but surely not that much. I forget, how crap was he before?
I wonder what ratings the manager would get.
I would give him 0.5
He is responsible for the mess yet loud mouthed like Ricky Hatton.
Gunners have to brace themselves for another embarassing defeat against MANURE next Saturday. And to think they will win the Premiership on that day.
Its so sickening, I feel for the players.
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Mr. Usmanov should provide the whole squad with a travel package to Siberia for the whole summer to train against some mean-ass Eskimo hockey players. Making railways and cutting down trees in the tundra between practice sessions should be a must. This shall be done after every trophyless season because hell is repetition.
You've gotta be kidding me. The scoreline is 1-4, and we have more than half of the team rated 7,8? What a joke! Then how can we rate Chelsea player? 11 and 12?
You've gotta be kidding me. The scoreline is 1-4, and we have more than half of the team rated 7,8? What a joke! Then how can we rate Chelsea player? 11 and 12? -- > don't get upset. This is one of the least objective and analytical websites that I have ever seen and you should not expect anything meaningful here. If you are looking for objective, critical analysis, look elsewhere.
Yesterdays game in the grand scheme of things was not that important however it did demonstrate exactly what is wrong with the current team.
1) Mikel Silvestre is an embarrassment. That a team like Arsenal even has him in the squad is a disgrace. The fact that Wenger persists with him highlights the blind spot that he has when it comes to defenders. I have watched Arsenal for 30 years and I cannot remember a worse defender play for us. In comparison he elevates such carthorses as Willie Young, Igor Stepanov, Pascal Cygan to a level of respectability they do not deserve.
2) RVP should be sold. Unpopular as it may be because most of the Arsenal blogs seem blind to the effect his presence has on the team. Undoubtedly he is a player capable of world class moments but is in no way a world class striker. These world class moments simply mask the fact that he is generally ineffective and misses far more than he scores. For example against Chelsea what did he do? Adebayor rightly has been taking criticism but RVP has been less effective and yet seems above the flak.
Arsenal are not that far away but these two players have to be replaced by world class players before we can move forward.
As much as I like Walcott and Fabregas, both were crap yesterday. They should not get more than a 5. Also Silvestre is completely useless! Why replace Djourou?
Felt you were a bit kind to Rvp and Sagna too.
I agree with most of your ratings except the one for Song. He is our 'undisputed' defensive midfielder because arsenal are very poor in this position.
The problem with song is that although he improved this season he does not have enough in his game to be regular in this team. He is too slow and not quick enough when closing down the oposition. This is especially important when defending counter-attacks as the team is stretched and thats when pace is crucial - watch how Macherano eats up ground for liverpool. I can never remember an arsenal team so vulnerable on counter attacks than this current side.
Another issue i have with song is very basic really, HE DOESNT WIN ENOUGH BALLS IN MIDFIELD; and when he does, he usually commits a foul. Take the game against chelsea, for example,and have look at stats for tackles won in MD.
Arsenal:
Alex 'too slow' Song ===== 2
Nasri ==================== 5
Abu '2 long on ball' Diaby 2
Fabregas ==================3
Compare with chelsea:
Essien ============7
Mikel =============4
Malouda ===========4
Lambard ===========2
And there is the problem, collectively arsenals midfield do not win enough tackles. Further more, Nasri and Fab won more balls than our number 1 DM alex song. Therefore, i dont understand how you rated him 8 when hes not doing his main job, which is winning tackles in midfield. That partly explains why we let in four goals against a functional chelsea team.
Song an 8 !!!!!! Where was his positioning in the match. He has improved his passing and is able to give an assist or 2 in the match. His sense of football has improved. But he still keeps running after the ball. He is all over the midfield without actually protecting it.
I dont understand why every Arsenal fan wants a solid tackler as a CDM. Look at what Manchester United have. They play Carrick there. HE is far from a rough player. He blocks most of the time and that works fine.
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