Hurrah, a win, and a comprehensive one at that, sets us up nicely for the second leg next Tuesday. And how nice to get a win. Here are our player ratings.
Wojciech Szczesny: 8/10 – After a somewhat worrying display against Villa, the big Pole bounced back with very good performance. He was brave, made good saves and showed why his potential is spoken of so often. It’s all about consistency now.
Bacary Sagna: 8/10 – For the second game running failed to finish at right back as he filled in for Koscielny at centre-half. It was like he’d been playing there his whole life. Please give this man a new contract.
Per Mertesacker: 7/10 – Solid, dependable, won lots of headers. Very worrying when he went down injured given he’s our only fit centre-half, but captained the side to a good win.
Laurent Koscielny: 6/10 – Hard to rate but was playing well before Webo tried to kick his head off. Let’s hope it’s not as serious as feared.
Kieran Gibbs: 7/10 – Got up and down the line very well, did his job defensively and got forward to good effect, opening the scoring in the second half. All with a busted up eye too.
Jack Wilshere: 6/10 – His passing is still off and he’s obviously still working his way back to full fitness and rhythm but another 90 minutes will do him no harm.
Aaron Ramsey: 9/10 – Absolutely fantastic, he was everywhere on the pitch offensively and defensively. When the team was crying out for creativity he created the space for Walcott to find Gibbs, and smacked home a Cesc v Milan-tastic second. Playing with real confidence. Great to see.
Tomas Rosicky: 6/10 – Buzzed around, organised things, not as threatening as he was against Villa but played his part.
Santi Cazorla: 6/10 – Obviously still a long way from full fitness but some of his control/touch is astonishing to watch. Great pass for Walcott to win the penalty.
Theo Walcott: 6/10 – At times wasteful with the ball but provides such a threatening outlet. Good assist for Gibbs goal and won the penalty which made the game 100% secure.
Olivier Giroud: 6/10 – Struggled with lack of service at times, and you can see why Arsenal want a new striker, but tucked away his penalty very confidently making it 2 in 2 for this season (on the back of a very good pre-season goalscoring wise).
Subs:
Carl Jenkinson: 6/10 – Slotted in well at right back, got some good balls across the box offensively.
Lukas Podolski: n/a – Surprised he didn’t start, you really have to wonder if there’s something going on between him and Wenger.
Feel free to debate and discuss in the comments, but please read the comment policy first and don’t get angry with each other, or me, about imaginary points.
What would be the riff between Wenger and Poldi? Hopefully its nothing, but I don’t know what else would be keeping him on the bench given our lack of strikers at the moment
Keeping him off the pitch and making him look pretty uninterested when on it
Think that it’s more Podolski is second choice striker rather than first choice winger. Either way improvement is needed
also, who ate all the nachos? monreal seems missing…
Agreed, I think Poldi prefers to play striker than winger. Although if Giroud continues to score goals, Poldi will be seeing much of the pine.
Good point. Maybe a bit of sensibleness keeping podolski out of harms way in reserve? either way I dismiss talk of a rift with wenger mainly because I love lukas
Poldi actually looked very poor when he came on – very slow (must running on treacle again), slowed down play and was slow to react.
Hope he picks up – he’s more quality than that.
i don’t think he got enough time to get in the flow of the game…..
I agree with Harsh, anyone who has been brought on as a sub with 10 minutes left and 3-0 up away from home at any level of football would too
I also think Santi and TR7 were better than 6/10. They both interchanged positions, defended well and drove us forward too. Couldn’t disagree with the rest of the ratings though
doesn’t look good
Poldi did say he’d been struggling with/carrying an injury all last season. Perhaps it’s still not right. Would like to see him on the left and cazorla through the middle at some point.
Tell you what podolski is one rippling net away from enjoying his footie again. Saturday against Fulham would be nice….
much love.
Podolski wants to play up front but doesn’t have the skills to do it, and Cazorla’s first choice on the left. I think we’ve got to remember that he was a teenage superstar (Euro 2004 squad at 19, Best Young Player at home World Cup in 2006), he was the hometown hero at Cologne, and he has over 100 caps for Germany. At Arsenal he’s not even a first-choice player, let alone a star of the club or country. It’s sad to say, and I still think he’s an excellent player, but he’s probably the only one at Arsenal whose… Read more »
eh…… TGTTEL? In own globesized head!
Ahaa!
i reckon Poldi nicked Arsene’s bus pass and aint giving it up
He must have had inside information from William Hill about my £5 bet of Arsenal 3-0 poldi to score first. 600 nicker. Oh well we won that’s all that matters. Ramsey was awesome!!
Tottenham
Galasataray
Wolfsburg
Schalke
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Poldoski seems to be a flop in the making, he lacks the confidence to finish and seems indecisive in his passing. I hope he can get some confidence back and start producing.
With the amount of injuries Wilshere’s been having I don’t really expect him to get back to his best for another few months, so I’m pretty happy with his performance.
But rise, Sir Rambo.
one thing I’ve noticed as Ramsey has played more and more is that along with the consistency of his pacing and decision making increasing he has learned or at least improved upon his acceleration. He still doesn’t have the change of pace that Rosicky showed against Villa and Jack showed tonight just before he shot at the keeper, but it certainly makes him more threatening offensively. Seriously, all aspects of his game are improving physical and mental.
Agreed, Ramsey has looked much improved so far this year. Although, I do admit to cursing at him through the TV while he was holding onto the ball before sending Walcott in and when he passed up sending in Wilshire on his goal. Old habits die hard.
if there is something going on wiv POD and AW it could well have to do with him having his Arshavin boots on tonight, looked like he just couldn’t be fucked. I know it’s harsh but it just looked that way to me
I wouldn’t be shocked if he were to still leave before Sept 2nd
I really hope that doesn’t happen. A dip in performance surely?
Ashavin must have pinched Poldi’s boots then played well Tuesday night.
3-0 up when poldi came on hence game over.
Amazing Ramb coming into his own. The words he’s making people eat is too much it’s coming out their own arse. ….
Yup. Me for one. Seems to be starting to click.
Ramsey’s crap has never tasted so good
Wish people would stop addressing the Ramsey “haters”. Bottom line is for a while he simply wasn’t playing up to Arsenal standards and now he’s playing like the player we all hoped he’d be. Yes some people never doubted him but its not as if lost of the criticism he received was unwarranted. Now let’s just celebrate him now that he’s playing we’ll and skip the “I told you so”
I fucking told you so….
Lol. I’m actually surprised at all the thumbs down for that one…oh well.
Happy we won but now we still need to sign a goal keeper.
5 tools here. maybe they think if szczesny had an injury, fabianski would be title-winning material. heh
Wrenger buys them and benches them. That’s becoming a trade mark. I just hope he signs world class players before window closes
and benches them?
Wenger buys?
I wonder why do most people think there’s something going on between Wenger and Podolski? He isn’t playing for one simple reason: Cazorla is better, and in our game of the season best player starts
Back on the game, i agree with your ratings, now if only we keep going like this and add Suarez, he is just what this team is crying for because Giroud with all due respect isn’t that class. Suarez would have had 2-3 goals if he was there today
I agree Carzola is better but he was totally off the pace on Saturday and Pod was still warming the bench, seems strange , maybe he is carrying an injury?
I think AW is treating him with kid gloves as he is the only other fit experienced CF at the club at the moment. I expect that he will start on the bench until we get another striker in, the he will probably rotate with Theo and Santi
Yaya sa-no no, u just wait your turn boy.
Wenger’s noises at the beginning of last season was that Poldi was signed as a Striker. Given Giroud out performed him in that area no wonder he is isn’t playing when Cazorla plyed his trade on the left at Mallorca…
Blogs you’re abit unfair on walcott he was directly involved in 2 of our goals, how does that not warrant atleast an 8? yes so he did not quite hit top gear but to give him same rating as cazorla or Rosicky both whom had mediocre outings is ridiculous.
I thought he was a close second to ramsey for motm,terrorised the fenerbahce LB.
I think the remark in the rating about ‘wasteful’ answers that. I like how he has kicked on a bit since the whole contract palaver last season, but he still needs to cut out silly errors, esp. given our current vulnerability on the counter… The assists and creation are great when they happen, but no point giving with one foot and taking with the other…
“Wasteful” “Giving with one foot and taking with the other”
Er. What? Walcott just gets a raw deal. It’s 2013 and some gooners still can’t see that he is arguably our most important player. Him and Rambo are striking up a real understanding and add another dimension to our tippy-tappy play.
Very true that Walcott deserved more than a 6 for the reasons already given. People don’t realise how important he is to our team, they soon will if he gets injured though. You can tell that Theo is good friends with Ramsey off the pitch…
If Gibbs ever finds a good cross I think it should replace “ramsey scored so someone has to die” The man can’t cross!
Last season I really doubt Giroud was better than Poldi at CF. To me Poldi looked better when he got a decent run at the end of the season. I didn’t follow the pre-season but people generally say they both had a good pre-season. And then this season. Against Villa Giroud was poor in the second half. Why couldn’t Wenger bring Poldi on at 60/65 min.? Then he brought on a clearly not-ready Cazorla for the Ox, instead of Poldi, who he only brings on right at the end for Sagna. There was virtually not time left when Poldi came… Read more »
I’m surprised no one’s yet taken Blogs to task over the 6/10 for Walcott.
Here. I’ll do it for everyone:
Walcott a 6??? wtf? You hate Walcott, Blogs, you Walcott-hating hatemaster!!!
There. That should restore balance in the player-rating universe of Arseblog.
I thought he should had a 8. Threatened their left back all night. His running created 2 goals. Chased back too which he doesn’t always do. No hiding from him today.
Seriously, that left back was terrified of walcott towards the end of the game.
I read hatemaster as hamster originally. Thought that was a bit mean. Blogs is a decent looking bloke.
No one took blogs up with the Waloctt rating because we are bored of doing it lol…he deserved more than 6 though of course.
#britishcore #keepthefaith
#hashtagsarestupid
I’d have scored everyone at 7 as we were comfortable throughout but definitely a 9 for Rambo, an excellent perfornance from the man. Him and Jack will surely progress this year, erm Arsene knows!?
Nice win to shut the critics up for a bit, definitely need to make additions to the squad though especially with the injuries.
Ramsey was great but Walcott deserves a 7. He’s a better player than blogs givs him credit for.
Monreal was solid. I really thought it was great the way he waisted a few seconds by being brought on late.
Good win. Hope wenger doesn’t go to bed dreaming of this lean squad winning him trophies. For goodness sake, spend some money!
Thank Christ for that, fair play to the lads and Wenger on this one credit where credit is due! We seem to be very good at responding to the ‘crisis’ talk, we just need to avoid the ‘crisis’ in the first place now. Down to you Wenger to make these last 12 days in the transfer window make a real difference.
Though Jenkinson was really good when he came on. Should he be our 1st choice right back?
He certainly is still raw defensively but the boy sure can cross a great ball in. Just need someone to get on the end of it
Bacary Sagna > Jenkinson always
It seemed to me a little ill-advised when fans called for him to replace Sagna last season. The boy obviously needs more time. I’m more at ease whenever Bac starts than seeing Jenks at RB.
The engine Rambo has! Not only making the the beautiful pass to Feo, and scoring. But the way he chases the ball all over the pitch. Beast!
6.0 for Giroud? It was one of his worst games for us, barely involved throughout all the 80 minutes he played. Even with a goal (from a penalty at that), a 6.0 seems generous.
6 for walcott ?dont agree there,had the left back in his back pocket for most of the game,got an assist and won a penalty.ramsey is really growing in confidence and is becoming a top class player.a couple of descent signings and push on from here.COYG
Is it just me or at times like this do our boys seem to play better away?
Seems the Emirates is a tense place to be these days..
I share your sentiments.
Walcott is great in attack but he still needs to work a bit harder when we haven’t got the ball IMHO
Monreal – n/a. There.. my job here is done.
In Arsene we trust…In Arsene we trust…In Arsene we trust…In Arsene we trust.
Gooners, stick together, F#$% the media.
MOTM could go either to Ramsey or to Walcott..
This is looking like it might be The Year of The Ram.
The…6? Wake up you twat, did you watch him play???
Theo
BBC reporting we’re chasing Benzema AND Di Maria from Real Madrid. Still would have liked to see us in for Willian but interesting all the same. Seem pretty sure of their info too. Also suggesting we want a GK and defensive addition – Kondogbia would be good. Big, strong, good passer, very disciplined. As for tonight, well done boys, club needed that. More of the same on Saturday please. COYG and Arsene, do your job, make us competitive.
So to put 2 and 2 together…….. Wenger says no chance of Suarez….as BBC reports Arsenal in for Benzema and Di Maria…..just as things start to happen with Bale to Real……. so we know Real are getting Bale AND Suarez….. and we get Benzema and Di Maria? Sounds convenient but you never know.
I was just going throug all the comments and @ a point i thought everyone agreed with theo’s rating.. Even theo said it himself that all he does are considered a lowkey, we seem not to be appreciating this guy, his 21goals last season went unoticed and i’m not happy about that, if gareth bale played exactly the same way theo played to night he would have undoubtedly grab the headlines. Theo walcott is undervalued yea but what pains me most is that its by his own fans. IMHO if ramsey gets a 9, then theo deserves a 9.5.. He… Read more »
A strong win! Nice! It definitely helped that Fenerbocceball had a real clanger. You could see the frustration in Meireles and Kuyt’s eyes…I don’t think the return leg will play out as easy as that one seemed. Good show for the boys though. A confidence booster that the team needed.
Right! Let’s get our injury crisis out of the way early this year then. It’s a long season. With some good signings we’ll be right in there.
I think our boys better get used to playing against 12 in the EPL each week. How refreshing is it to have the rub of the green occasionally instead of every 50-50 going against us and some…eventually our quality can shine through and allow us to overcome our competition. But not when we get arsed by the EPL refs.
Seems like the Walcott rating is generating some talk. I’m not sure why. Nobody would say this was Theo’s best performance. Those are the outings for which he deserves a 9. In today’s match, he did some things very well (the assist for Gibbs, the run and take-down which won us the penalty), and at other times he just stood there and let the game pass him by. Pay attention to our players when we don’t have the ball – Rosicky and Ramsey chase like mad to close down, Santi positions himself intelligently, and Theo just kind of jogs. He… Read more »
Think we’d all agree that ‘consistency’ is the last remaining quality Theo needs to attain before we can call him an undoubted top-class player.
C’mon Theo, after seven years at the club where Wenger has stuck with you and believed in you, you’re almost there. Don’t stop improving now!
Maybe a red thumb or 2, but your are spot on.
Ramsey was quality but I don’t see how he was THAT far ahead of Theo or Santi. Both had solid performances. Both deserved a 7 if Ramsey gets a 9.
Rambo = LANS
@andy_murray: Think arsenal deserve some serious praise for the way they handled that match…
I think you’re being a bit harsh on Wilshere. According to whoscored.com he completed 90% of his passes as well as 8 successful dribbles which isn’t that bad at all.
good work from all! season starts now!!! bring in a keeper a dm and another striker and we are in for a good run at silverware.
Was a great performance by all involved. Theo was sloppy but deadly so should have got a 7 perhaps. Giroud struggled to get involved but battled hard – I really hope he improves and becomes more clinical this season.
Szezchny done well and everyone else done us proud, but RAMBO…. what can you say, they guy just won’t stop. Improving in all areas constantly!
Why are we letting Sagna’s contract run down too? SIGN HIM UP!!!!!!!!
You gave a 6/10 to all the players that scored. I think Gibbs deserves an 8 for showing great pace for the 1st goal and Walcott a 8 for assisting on the 1st goal and drawing the 3rd goal penalty. Szczesny in my books should have got a 6 for almost picking up a red card on that challenge where he got stomped on his face. His challenges are reckless and he needs to know how to read the game, on the up side though he did make some nice saves. Good game for Arsenal hopefully this will be the… Read more »
Doesnt matter what score they get. Everyone deserve full praise after villa nightmare. COYG!
Good effort and skill all around. Walcott > Rosicky, thus 7 or more for him. Made two goals, and more. 6 too low for Theo.
All I gathered is that Blogs is a Theohater, a Walchater.