A pulsating 1-1 draw with Everton extended our lead to the top of the table to 5 points. How did the players rate?
We think like this.
Wojciech Szczesny: 8/10 – Really had no chance with the goal, amazing some people think he did. Those people need their heads examined. Overall another good, strong performance, making important saves.
Carl Jenkinson: 6/10 – Struggled with Oviedo in the early stages but got to grips with him then. Played pretty well, switched on defensively throughout.
Per Mertesacker: 7/10 – A little hurried in possession at times as Everton pressed, but otherwise his usual unflappable self.
Laurent Koscielny: 8/10 – This bloke really is something. And they say Wenger can’t buy defenders.
Kieran Gibbs: 6/10 – Will probably get blamed for the goal but sometimes you have to just credit fantastic play from the opponent – he really couldn’t have been much tighter. Got forward well too.
Mikel Arteta: 7/10 – Found himself a bit overrun in midfield, often left with two men running right at him, but his 5 tackles and 2 interceptions, helped keep Everton at bay.
Jack Wilshere: 5/10 – Did not have a good day, seemed a bit unfocused from the start and had Wojciech Szczesny to thank when he, for some inexplicable reason, let a ball run to an Everton man on the edge of our box.
Aaron Ramsey: 6/10 – It was inevitable that his hard work and non-stop running would catch up with him at some point. Today seemed to be that day.
Santi Cazorla: 6/10 – Again struggled to find his form, but worked hard charging up and down the left hand side as Seamus Coleman rampaged forward.
Mesut Ozil: 7/10 – Dare we say it? Another slightly underwhelming performance but a massive contribution with the goal.
Olivier Giroud: 7/10 – Battled hard against, possibly, the best central defensive pairing (outside Mertescienly) in the league. Almost won it late on with a wonderful strike which cannoned back off the corner of the bar.
Subs
Theo Walcott: 7/10 – Made an impact, heading back across goal which led to Ozil scoring.
Tomas Rosicky: 7/10 – Provided the ball for Walcott to head back across goal.
Mathieu Flamini: 6/10 – Had a decent effort on goal, but will probably look back at the Everton equaliser and be annoyed with himself that he didn’t stop Barkley by fair means or foul.
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.
And watch out for something new and exciting coming to our player ratings in the next few weeks!
Big decisions for Arsene to make in the coming days with tough matches against city and Chelsea. Surely theo will have to start on the right hand side. But sadly this means Jack will have to be dropped. Also as good as Santi is maybe Rosicky deserves to start ahead of him right. Rosicky lacks end product at times but we seem to play better when he is there.
I think out of them, Cazorla should be dropped. He’s not had a good game since he’s been back.
How does dropping a player altogether improve fitness, form, and confidence? Might give him a kick in the arse but I don’t think it’s necessary.
How does Rosicky keep on performing so well if being on the bench is so bad for fitness, form, and confidence?
Rosicky is special
Wenger is being pretty cautious with Rosicky. We know he is a great player, but can not play 3 games a week (despite his footballing age being 20).
I feel that Ozil and Ramsey deserve a rest mid-week, though it is an important game against Napoli. We should be able to field a side to get the necessary point. For all we know, Cazorla might regain his form with Ozil off the pitch, as he prefers to be the main man.
He is half right. Dropping a player to the bench doesn’t neccesarily constitute to a loss of confidence. (see sir chesney) especially for an accomplished profession like cazorla who knows very well he hasn’t been upto his standards and a brief stint on the bench with cameos on the 60th – 70th minute could do wonders for him.
Cazorla needs to be more central, orchestrating play. He’s wasted on the wings. Ozil on the other hand is great at using the little extra space that he gets on the wings; but boy he does not track back.
Arteta didn’t have the legs to keep up yesterday. Barkley is good. However, Arteta made him look prodigious.
Apologies Sir, but that is Poppy cock. Cazorla played on the wing for Malaga and Spain. Ozil is in the highlights on Arsenal Player, on his own goal line making a clearance ( albeit to an Everton player about 40 yards out ) but he is back there getting stuck in. Arteta has plenty of beautiful legs, our formation was well read by Martinez who played and effective counter to upset our midfield. Arteta was often facing two Evertonians. That’s almost impossible to defend in any midfielders book. The team played a good game. We always knew it would be… Read more »
Rosicky and Theo will start against Napoli knowing Wenger. They must start against City for me. And why mustn’t Jack be dropped? No one is guaranteed a spot in the team.
Sir Chesneys passionate celebration deserved a win. Shame about that half a yard deofleu got…
somebody shut down La masia!
And the as*holes are already looking at Ramsey! Because they are the BEST youth academy in the world! AS*holes!!!
I think that the euphemism is “rested” or “rotated”.
??
Jack played okay, by no means a 5/10 game. Ramsey had by far his poorest game today, unfortunately; regularly out of position, several poor passes, poor decisions. Not getting on his back, but it was a disappointment, as his performance was probably the difference between a draw and victory.
Also just read the rest the article. Ozil underwhelming??? You should probably get someone else to do the ratings in future, no offence mate.
Jack was always in line to have a poor game. Not his usual position. Theo is recovering from illness but soon, I think he’d make that right spot his own, he looked sharp when on today.
Also, need Flamini against City the MOST. You could see how Arteta was facing havoc against Barkley and Mirallas, he’s too easy to get past sometimes due to lack of speed, and Flamini will be essential epecially against Yaya Toure and co.
Also Rosicky. Gotta love how he breezed past Delolfou, who must have like 99 pace in Fifa. 33 years old.
Ozil was disappointing. Yes he scored and when he has the ball he’s phenomonal, no arguing over that but man, the guy refuses to do anything defensively. He’ll let people slip right past him instead of going into a tackle when they’re right in front of them. He needs a change of attitude.
I guess the Getitright was a note to self for future comments.
Choose one mate do you want the assists and/or key passes or do you want frimpong-esque tackles?
At times he tried as hard as anyone (bar Koscielny). He covers a lot of distance, makes space up front, creates chances and defends not in numbers (tackles, interceptions etc.) but with his positioning and senseing the danger. Can’t believe people demand “much more” from him. He’s doing it all. If you don’t see it then maybe you don’t want to ar you read wrong articles. In terms of committment and attitude he’s fantastic. As I’ve said before. Today only player who looked to want to win more than Mesut was Laurent. Both are monsters.
You want to blame the fact we didn’t win on Ramsey not playing well?
You should get someone else to do your comments in the future, no offence mate.
Blame is a pretty strong word, and not one that I used. But yes; our midfield looked very open whilst he was on the pitch, and we weren’t particularly fluid or incisive. Given that Ramsey has been putting in world class performances virtually every game this season (providing incision and fluidity in abundance), and given that his performance was poor today, I think it’s fair to say it probably had a huge effect on the outcome of the game. Not in the passage of play that led to their goal, obviously, but you’d have to be pretty narrow-minded to think… Read more »
Sure, but it seems harsh that after contributing so much he’s questioned for not scoring etc. I think the better question is why others can’t step up when he’s off his game a bit.
I wasn’t questioning him, just saying it was the difference between what we’re used to for this team and what we got today. Every player is allowed a match or two where they look below par physically, and no one’s earned that right if not Ramsey.
Anyway, I suspect a simple explanation for why other players couldn’t step up is because they’re not world-class (or in Jack’s case, not yet world-class). As good as they are, like.
I dont think we fully realize what sort of player ozil is. He brings others into play not by hogging the ball or being the center of moves, but by playing in the space with off the ball movement.
By that I mean judging him on whether he visibly appears to be dominating games is unfair. He misplaced some passes – but hes clearly something special and he showed it even tonight. His movement kept arsenal moving, and his passing while being heavily pressed was excellent.
You could just have easily said “our midfield looked very open whilst Flamini was not on the pitch”. It’s easy to spot one thing and assume it is the base cause of our team underperforming, but it is almost always a number of things that contribute to a result, and one of the most important is “how the other team played”.
Maybe it’s finally time for other players to step up. How about our little magician Santi Cazorla? I know he was excellent last ses but come on. He wasn’t out for like a year so he can say after 5-6 weeks after coming back that he’s not fully fit. As someone said earlier for me he hasn’t got one good game since coming back despite very important goal vs LIV. Ramsey and Ozil won’t win us every game we play on their own.
Glad Podolski is almost back. Seems like competition for Cazorla will do the magic.
I’ve also realised Rosicky likes to leave young enthusiastic players with fresh knees on his wake as he bursts forward.
the other day it was Reus today deofleu. He really is a unique player this one.
That video of rosicky against cristiano is one of my faves.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DlcBr5LZe4
I was personally responsible for 350,000 of the 700,000 views.
Thanks abunch parisian weetabix. that was trully magical.
spot on. Ramsey plays his worst game all season but he still gets a 6 which is basically average. He was not average, he was poor particualry in the first half. Call it fatigue or call it on off day, but our fluency in attack depends on Ramsey taking care of the ball, and he simply did not do that tonight. Gave the ball away cheaply numerous times and his first touch was just generally poor throughout. When he plays badly we get overrun in the middle as what happened tonight, which means that Giroud can’t get involved and has… Read more »
at least his opening 30 minutes will have put Barca off! Main concern was his 1st touch seemed so flaky..everyone has their off day i suppose – i know he bossed Toure pre-season but flam and arteta looks like a good call for man city
Will look back at this game as a great point at the end of the season when we lift the PL Trophy 🙂 COYG!!!!
I wanted to cry for Giroud after that crossbar shot 🙁
Pretty spot on ratings. Rambo especially was fucked in the 2nd half. Definitely needs a rest against Napoli.
I’d give Flamini an extra point for coming on and barking at everyone.
At one point, having no one near him to bollock, he told told the the East Lower to buck it’s ideas up!
Oddly enough Rambo played a lot better in the second half but agreed he’s the only one who hasn’t been rested recently. Even Giroud’s got a rest. We can afford to rest him in Naples because we’ve got the massive front foot. We need Ramsey for Man City.
This was the most physical game Ozil has been in since his arrival and i have to say he did well. he was not underwhelming like you suggest. i’ll tell you who was underwhelming. Cazorla. Has been for a while now too. Rosicky is due a start as is Walcott.
True, all of it. I don’t think anyone deserves much criticism, tbh. Everton are a good team, they are doing well. It was a hard game but we didn’t crack or do anything stupid, we scored when the opportunity came. Unfortunately, the goal was class and an excellent finish. Credit to them, they deserved a goal for their efforts all game. Our defense still did good despite conceding, and we didn’t relinquish our advantage at the top.
Caz is underwhelming primarily because he didnt have a preseason and then had an injury. Without preseason the best bet to hit top form is generally second half of season.
I though Ozil was one of our best players today, I’m not sure what more people want him to do. He got on the ball, played passes that created space and opportunities, scored a goal and considering where he’s been playing football for the past 4 years, dealt really well with the physical attention. He’s not great going the other way, see Oviedo’s space in first half but he adjusted and that wasn’t a huge factor in the second. Anyone who’s seen much of him before this season will know he’s not a player that dominates games like a Pirlo… Read more »
Kos could easily have gotten a 9 today. So aggressive, yet very composed when needed. Good going forward as well forward. Such a boss.
yeah he was man of the match for me
Agreed. Laurent Koscielny MOTM and the best CB in Premier League. He was out of this world today and not anly at the back. These sprints forward after interceptions…
I love him. And his attitude and desire to win and committment
Strangest boner right now.
Jenkinson is fucking shit. We should sign a rb in jan as sagna will be going soon
hes a gooner tho
Jenkinson looked a lot better today than against Hull. He’s not at Sagna’s level and may well never be, but he improves when given a run of games.
When you make comparisons of Sagns to Jenko he will always come up short. sagna is simply a beast…..jenko is still learning his trade.
Sagna also has a good 10 years of experience on Jenkinson. You just can’t compare the two.
Best crosser of the ball we’ve got
Theo’s learning, though.
I feel it Monreal is the best crosser we got.
And Ozil?
Thought Arteta was pretty poor, especially when he lost the ball late in the game and let Lukaku have a run at goal. Agree that Rosicky should start ahead of Cazorla, he is trying too hard now.
Arteta did fine as usual — though that error at the end could have been costly. So many tackles and intercepted balls.
Can we atleast rejoice the fact that we get to beat sp*rs 3 times this season.
Was really shocked when we conceded the goal. That’s how good our defense has been! Really gutted though. Really wanted us to make it 7 points with city and chelsea coming. Well played everton though. Bring on napoli! COYG
Özil quiet? He ran the show offensively
I guess when one gets what ozil does, it would indicate the next level of understanding of the game.
Interesting to see the team selection against Napoli. Agree that Theo and Rosicky should come in to freshen things up a bit
Gibbs..
You say he couldnt get tighter, i must disagree. Gerrard had a bad touch, and Gibbs should put him under a bigger pressure.
If he got a step tighter, it was a pass to Coleman and a cross to lukaku waiting to happen. Problem started when Flamini got turned, Arteta went for the overload on that duel too late and got caught upfield, that made Rosicky move central to be where Arteta shudve been, resulting in a 2 on 1 against Gibbs. Still Gibbs kept it at a position where it really needed something of a wonderstrike to score (it was an acute angle and keeper was still there), and thats pretty much the best he can do from there, when compromised u… Read more »
I feel so sad, yet so proud.
I hate to say it but Jack seems to be our weakest midfielder at the moment. I have no doubt he’ll refind his form but he hasn’t yet. Rambo is definitely knackered but I feel he’s better when given the freedom of Ozil’s role i.e. behind the striker with Ozil on a flank.
gibbs jenkinson arteta wilshere ramsey santi need to step up
I agree. Jenkinsons inexperience was exposed today at times. But he’ll learn. He’s still young. Let’s believe in him guys.
And still it was the other flank where most shots against us were taken from inside the box 🙂
If gibbs wasnt to blame for the goal why did he only get a 6?? I dont think he put a foot wrong and got forward at every chance.
I taught chez was poor for the goal it was straight at him.
Here come the thumbs downs !
Don’t think Chez saw the ball until it was passing him. Credit where it’s due the lad used Gibbs well then smashed it home.
Blaming Szczesny for the goal is mental.
Did you also see a ‘ puddy tat ‘ ?
It was a great strike, hardly any back-lift and Gibbs was right on him. Fair play to Deulofeu, he looks like a fantastic talent, he was always going to be a danger. We can’t say we weren’t warned.
Gibbs was at fault for their goal, it’s not like their player done anything particularly tricky or anything. Maybe if the shot flew in at the near post you could say good goal, Gibbs was hard done by, but that he created enough space to hit it across the keeper suggest he wasn’t doing his job defensively well enough. I’m sure the same thing happened against Southampton from a little further out too (?). Gives an otherwise solid player something to work on.
Imagine if that last shot by Giroud went in… I’ll definitely be dreaming about that tonight
Özil and Koscielny our best performers on the day. Özil ability to play in tight situations took alot of pressure off us
Thought Kos deserves an additional one point for keep Saurez silent the other day and doing same for Lukaku today.
I’d switch Jack’s and Rambo’s ratings, maybe even a 4 for the latter (he was hard to watch), and give Kos a 11/10 for letting “baby drogba” do absolutely nothing of note or anyone else when it was his calling. 5 points clear, some breathing room ahead of our two toughest games. Start Bendter for Napoli, Giroud took advantage of his rest over the week. (The shot off the bar at the end was inches from being the stuff of legends.) COYG!
Disagree about ozil, thought he looked a lot sharper today. Good side Everton and a good point
Gibbs I think had no chance. Had he got a little more tight, the full back was available on the overlap. Credit to Everton for not giving up.
I agree.
I do not think we can really fault Gibbs for Everton’s goal. Had he been too tight, that barca kid would have released it to the overlapping runner. I think that is why Gibbs hesitated besides it,was a semi- wonderstrike
Rosicky could have helped him a bit more, Gibbs was dealing with 2 attackers in the box and could not over commit to the man with the ball.
There is reason to think maybe Rosicky should get a chance instead of Cazorla, Santi seems to struggle abit at the moment and Rosicky have been quiet good when he have been introduced from the bench.
I was peed off with Sceszny who kicked the ball out at one point when most of the arsenal team were in or around his area. This gave Everton possession and I think led to their goal.
I was also peed off with Theo! They’d just equalised, we’re legging it up the pitch and he’s jogging! I’d like to see that boy put a shift in one day!
Still, a points a point. And 5 clear can’t be bad. COYG!
Özil at times showed glimpses of sheer quality, the type that Santi showed last season. A deft touch to maintain possession , a slight body feint that a boxer would be proud of etc. A bit of quality when the rest of the cylinders are struggling.
Koscielny made Lukaku his bitch for the most part but that lad is still dangerous, a frightening prospect and could develop into an annoying striker to deal with if his confidence is high. Hopefully going back to Chealsea will ruin his confidence and render him ‘as harmless as a Torres’.
Is Ozil finding it difficult to really shine with the faster English game and the much closer and more persistent marking and fouling than he would have seen in either Germany or Spain? Not an accusation, just a question, because if he is finding it hard to adapt then just think what he’ll be like in his second season with us, when he flowers like Giroud did.
I thought Ozil was very good, he worked hard and took he’s goal well. It’s reassuring for the team when he gets the ball because no matter how tight an area his in he usually keeps the ball. Unlike Denison or some cunt of old…
Ozil was awesome considering almost all other midfielders had a bad day due to various reasons. If even Ozil had a bad day we wudve been overrun for all the 90 mins.
On a positive, we played poorly , they played out of their skin and couldn’t win, can’t be mad at that
Giroud should get an extra point for that clever dummy to allow Ozil to score.
I thought that shot took a slight deflection off Gibbs’ leg
If you would have asked me Friday if I’d have been happy to be 5 clear come Monday if have taken your hand off!
cant win every game peeps….great game good point….city be shittin 1…bring it
Wilshere couldnt be arsed today that was frustrating.
Caz needs some confidence and he’ll be banging in the goals, he’ll come good end of the season.
Gibbs crossing was much better today, probably feeling the pressure of Nacho which is good. Monreal still offers more in the final third.
Ramsey and Arteta were 5/10 today along with Wilshere and Caz. Ozil only midfielder that was alright.
Start Rosicky V them Italians and them cunts on saturday.
I actually thought Wilshere had a better game than Ramsey. Shocked by the comment on Ozil, thought he played pretty well too. I don’t blame Gibbs or Sczcney for the goal; at first it looked like Sczcney could have stopped it but in full motion, the shot was clearly too fast. Finally, impressed with Jenkinson today, hopefully he’ll keep the consistency going
Don’t forget you must not say anything even slightly negative about Ramsey here, he’s having a dream season but should have been subbed after 20 mins, totally overrun and kept giving away the ball.
Ozil was out of this world at times, Ozil 7 Ramsey 6 , Joke!!
My god its you again.
Grow some balls sheep, it’s ok not to follow the leader sometimes!! Baaaaaa
Santi was poor as well as Wishere.Theo and Rosicky need to come in in midweek and the weekend too. I still feel a world class striker in January won’t hurt.
Ozil underwhelming today? Are we talking about the same match mate? He was excellent today, Wenger acknowledged it in the post match comments.
Özil best player by far today, 8/10 for sure. Arteta not good enough. Giroud great hold-up play but no end product, and for some time, needs to get his shooting boots on fast! Everton played well but after going 1-0 up we should have seen the game out, couldn’t keep possession and we were punished for it. 2pts dropped.
My ideal lineup for Napoli:
Chesney
Jenk – Mert – Kos – Monreal
Flamini – Arteta
Wilshere – Ozil – Rosicky
Giroud
I’d like to rest Ozil for Cazorla but I think his presence is important. Give Ramsey a break, and probably bring on Theo and Cazorla for Ozil and Wilshere after 60 or so minutes if we’re not losing.
Start Gnabry instead of Wilshere and maybe Cazorla instead of Ozil, I think he needs a game in that No.10 Spot with Ozil off the pitch to find his feet.
Little bit harsh on Jenko, I thought he did his job well all game and also got forward quite well. Also, I thought Ozil looked more involved and influential today than he did in almost any other game, bar the Napoli game. Just don’t see how Ozil and Cazorla got the same rating when Cazorla really couldn’t find his feet all game, meanwhile Ozil was arguably our best player apart from Koscielny.
Overall I agree with your ratings but I thought that Ozil was better than a 7. Everytime he touched the ball, players gathered around him and somehow he still managed to draw a foul or get passed them and play an incisive ball. His goal was just reward for his hardwork.
I think maybe Ozil got marked down a point due to the level of expectation the rater has for him (naming no names, to protect the identity of the Blogger);
I fail to see how Giroud gets the same rating as Ozil. His chance:goal conversion rate is pretty poor. We might as well play with a false number 9. At least we would be able to keep the ball.
You only rate him on the shots he takes?
For me Koscielny was outstanding. Physically contained the beast, and read the game brilliantly. The amount of times he read the cross and calmly controlled the ball to play it out from the back.
Also, I felt the rating for Flamini was a tad harsh. Like a jack russell, tearing shit up, chasing everything. As always he wanted it more than anyone else, lifted the team and crowd as well as nearly scoring, which isn’t in his job description.
Lets fuck up the sp*ds in the FA cup! COYG!
Cazorla a 5, Giroud a 6. Otherwise, spot on. Would really like to see Theo back out there starting, and maybe give Nacho some starts.
Mertesacker was immense today, especially the first half when we were being overrun. 8/10 at least.
Also, I brought deulofeu into my fantasy football team this week. Not sure how to feel about that…
Feel happy while kicking yourself in the bollocks for being unfaithful.
Santi and jack where pretty poor today. I hope Santi finds his form again. Thought Ozil did really well today actually not underwelming at all
Don’t know if its a good or bad thing but y’all need to understand Everton is one of the in form teams. I say, with the way they played today especially in the first half they could have beaten any team in the league but arsenal. It’s just one of those days we need to credit the fact that they were good and also the fact that we were unlucky with that Giroud shot and just revel in that. We are still 5 points ahead if we dont lose to city we will be fine i have a feeling we… Read more »
Most encouraging thing, Everton brought their A game, we weathered then got on top. Unlucky with the equaliser and giroud hitting the bar, but a point that takes us further clear is the best type of point.