Arsenal closed the gap on leaders Liverpool to just two points after battering West Ham 6-0 at the London Stadium.
First half goals from William Saliba, Bukayo Saka (pen), Gabriel and Leandro Trossard put Mikel Arteta’s men into a commanding position, and in the second period Saka struck again before Declan Rice iced the cake with a brilliant goal against his former club.
It was an outstanding performance, and one that could even have been more emphatic had we really turned the screw … but no complaints!
Here’s how the players rated this evening.
The ratings are hidden by default until you vote, but if you just want to view the ratings and the comments, flick the switch at the top above David Raya. Also, please give the ratings a few seconds to load.
Read the West Ham 0-6 Arsenal match report and see the goals here
Forgive me blogs, but I am in the mood to dish out 10s today…
10/10 whatever the boys did on the winter break!
10/10 whatever set piece god, Jover, is doing with them on the training piece.
10/10 “boring, boring Arsenal” chants from our immaculate away support in that first half.
10/10 Øde finally getting assists he deserves.
Who else wants a 10?!
Cedric 11/10
Reminded us why we still believe in him. Glad he didn’t go to Turkey 😂
You get a 10, you get a 10, everybody gets a 10!
Barman, a round of 10s for everyone please!
Arsenal were also in the mood to dish out 10 goals today which we easily could have if we wanted to! This has helped our GD immensely!
So glad Fabianski wasn’t playing.
I love the guy!
Flappy was blameless for once
6 is the new 10 😉
Well, West Ham never got started, but the way Arsenal played Sunday afternoon, it is doubtful any team would beat them.
10/10 there was more bobbles in the stadium than Westham fans.
*bubbles
10/10 – Roy Keanes secret rage that he couldn’t skate us for not having a striker
you’d need an absolutely cavernous anus to be able to stick a bubble up there
So they’d have to be massive arseholes? Can’t see a problem.
lol literally thought about this comment far to long
Take six, and take this….. haters
work it harder make it better
Odegaard, Rice, Gabriel immense. Everyone else excellent.
is immense better than excellent? If so I think Trossard might be insulted to be merely excellent and not quite immense. Personally I feel like his pass to Saka to create the 2nd goal was immensely excellent
The deeper Ode looks so much more impactful than the shooter Ode. Like Bernardo, no one even bothers to close him down. His scanning and range is best utilised facing the goal. So classy, so secure..
Saka?? Trossard???
Great stuff lads , delighted with all but Leo and kai interlinked superbly, up to Jesus to get his place back and that may even be on the wing rather than 9, when kai and Leo doing so well.
Delighted for kiwior who looked confident against a dangerous kudus . Showed his range of passing to , proper solid game .
Credit to Raya , he’s well settled and an attacking threat no doubt with his distribution but well happy with his claiming of crosses too
If there is any upside to the lengthy Tomi absence, it’s the emergence of Kiwior. He’s got something.
My feeling was always that both Trosser and Kiwior just needed a run of games to show what they could do. Confidence is the most powerful drug in existence!
There’s so much talk about Saliba being incredible (he is) but I think I appreciate and value both him and big Gabi equally. They’re a world class pairing. Both of them scoring on the same day is just perfect.
Trossard or Havertz up top makes much more sense to me than putting Nketiah up there.
Looks like it takes being 6 goals up for Arteta to give subs more than 3 minutes on the pitch… I kid……. 😛
This boy Nwaneri has Arsenal DNA written all over him.
Yeah–unlike Blogs, I thought he was on long enough to rate and he looked quite good to me.
It’s actually not how long he was on, normally there’s not much you can do in 13 minutes but it feels like he managed to get as much touches in them as most players do in a full half. Really impressive, could’ve even shot it a couple of times but his passing was crisp and he looked tenacious and unafraid, and physically he looks way beyond his 17 years and pretty much ready for this league
Totally agree. I hope we invest minutes in him and groom him behind Saka…the ceiling looks considerably higher than Nelson.
The skirting board looks higher than Nelson.
Still only 16!
I fink he turns 17 next month. But sure, until then he remains 16, because that’s how it works 😉
Perhaps if you had paid more attention in maths lessons? Round up or down to the nearest whole number 😂
Haven’t looked at the stats but he might have as many touches as Bowen for the entire game.
Great shame that he … a) didn’t get more minutes & b) didn’t get to play alongside Saka, Martinelli & Rice.
It felt like odegaard was purposely feeding him touches, keeping him in the game so to make it the most valuable cameo possible.
Odegaard is a good captain.
Martin Ode-God
My captain!
Re-watch the end of the game and notice how many times Cedric pointed out where Nwaneri should go, to maintain the team structure. Maybe that’s his role.
A little surprised to see Kiwior today, who I have to say did not look good on the ball. I like him, but this was not a 7.5 performance. Nwaneri was tidy on the ball and did not force things, which he might have been forgiven for. Wonderful team game. It’s unbelievable how good the close control of Saka, Odegaard, and Trossard is. Is Saka ever offside? What discipline.
Kiwior was a bit sloppy at the start but as soon as we got in the lead he definitely became more confident
Ha ha, lots of Kiwior fans, I guess. Those early giveaways could have been disastrous, but I do think the guy’s a solid defender and was not trying to trash him. Tomi may have been the choice if he were ready.
Not sure what you were watching (or what your agenda is)? He got skinned early on – but had the pace to catch up with play, unlike someone else. He fluffed ONE pass – also early on. Other than that he put Kudus largely in his pocket – the notable moment being where he muscled him down to the goal line and did NOT allow him to simply step back inside… even though Kudus slipped partly around him, he had no angle and the move fizzled out, unlike Zinch who cost us a goal! He was pretty much rock-solid for… Read more »
Kiwior is positive, has good control, passes accurately and uses the ball quickly, which was the key to us taking control after half an hour of huffing and puffing to little effect.
I honestly think we benefited from playing a left back who sees defence as his priority and doesn’t put his foot on the ball the moment he receives it, survey the pitch with one hand on his hip, and light a pipe while deciding what to do next.
Light a pipe may be the best comment of the season.
Thanks, but Harry Enfield deserves the credit 40 seconds into what is still the funniest football parody of all time:
https://youtu.be/lLCZZAheNSU?si=6r3XfdUYpG_T_1cI
Agreed. I think fans really underestimate the whole new club/sporadic playing time thing. Kiwior is solid and could become really good. We don;t miss Tierney and we didn’t miss Tomi.
Zinny has his flaws but in an era of extremely robotic players i really like his randomness and belief he is zidane conducting a symphony..
I’d have Tierney back in a heartbeat. Best left wing back at the club.We just couldn’t keep him fit. Zinchenko couldn’t even conduct the pigeon orchestra.
Noticed few times, White inverted. Thus, Kiwior can focus on tightening the defence vs Kudus. Kinda predictable if Kiwior invert too. More of this please.
Yep – and that moment when Kudus tried to slip around him and he just pushed to the goal-line, refusing to let him come inside. Kudus kinda got around him but had zero angle for the cross. That’s what a left back does!
I’m imagining the guy, who is lighting a pipe, having a hat. Tell me he has a hat also? 👀
Kiwior’s first pass was memorably bad. It went down the line, and was twice ill-advised because the defender was all over the Arsenal player and he under hit the ball. This allowed the defender to jump the passing lane and attack us at speed with it. What other of his passes was problematic? I’m thinking none. As he spends more time on the field I expect him to make better use of the ball and overcome his fars of making a mistake.
Love the bonus rating. I was glad Declan Rice got to put in a performance that said “shove that up your bollocks”.
I wish we didn’t have to have this ‘non-celebration’ thing for players scoring against their old teams, but I guess it’s the done thing at this point.
Blogs – the new rating interface doesn’t seem to be working on the Android app. Or, am I the only one having this problem?
Great win today!
Yep – use a browser for now until we get a fix rolled out!
I can never get the ratings on the iPhone app. Yes I shouldn’t be using an iPhone. But it works ok on the browser. Thanks Mr Blogs
PS When will we get more great content from Mrs Blogs
OF?
Everyone’s movement up front was marvelous. Back four were great. Rice was amazing.
as I have said many times I remain on the fence with zinc. Maybe Kiwior is the right choice going forward because he makes the defense so much better?
arteta 10/10 for the team setup
Kiwior for tough away days and Champions League away days
Good point. Although I would low block teams. Zinc sometimes stops play against them. Kiwior would , I think, get rid of the ball and say to others do something that is why you make the big bucks! Or euros or something.
kiwior is stepping in well, but i still put tomi and timber ahead of him when fit.
Generally agree. Havent seen enough of timber to know
Kiwior has done really well but he’s not a left back and will get rinsed by a quality wide attacking opponent in due course
Not just the defense better, I think it helps our attacking balance to have the left back push up the line to help Martinelli. Kiwior, Tomiyasu and probably Timber all offer this option, Zinchenko does not.
Cedric not on long enough to photo bomb.
On long enough to help guide Nwaneri. Look at the video.
How good was Havertz!
About as good as West Ham
Without both Zinchenko and Jorginho, controlling the play was even more than usual Odegaard’s responsibility. And he did, incredibly well. (With some slightly unexpected–or maybe not fully expected–help from Havertz, who was pretty brilliant himself today.)
Lurking around with no real purpose or intent = brilliant?
Think you watched a different match. Havertz was good.
Do you think we win 6-0 if one of our attacking players is useless?
He contributed nothing as an attacking threat
Learn football. He drags defenders out of position constantly opening up space for all of his attacking teammates and keeps the ball ticking. His constant running and pressing defenders wears them down also making it easier on his teammates. The box score is not the only thing that matters in this game.
You can add a litany of missed chances to his contribution since he signed. His best position is sitting down
Performances like these might out to bed the rumours linking Kiwior with a summer departure
*put 😆
Slightly disappointed in Eddie, I thought he’d come on and be busting a gut to get on the scoresheet but all he did was foul people
He had a tame shot on goal
He’s a Championship player at best who we need to get off the wage bill pronto
That cameo truly was a microcosm of the Eddie conundrum: first touch to feet – too heavy, got dispossessed and promptly fouled the opposition; second touch, dispossessed again; very few tackles attempts and, when he did, he conceded free kicks; one ineffective shot straight at the keeper. Add to this zero pressing or urgency and then compare it to Trossard’s being all over the pitch, trickery, hold-up play, crafty assists AND brilliantly taken finish… I know who I’d play. Eddie may be the nicest lad in the world but he has had way more opportunity than most Academy lads. Time… Read more »
10/10 for all
Are we better with Havertz up top rather than Jesus?
Our new BFG?
Happy Cedric Soares Awareness Day to all who celebrate! Wishing everyone a meaningful fast and a fertile planting season
How do I revise rankings? Just say mo’s numbers. 107 complete passes five big chances and two assists. 107 completed passes! 🤩🤩
how is that possible?
I noticed it in the Newcastle away game but Havertz has this weird scrappy tenacity mixed with very good technique. His size and languid play just makes for an all round confusing player. To me he is a facilitator. What people in the team does he helps them do it better. Not great on the eye but like Xhaxa there is a reason managers pick him. He is a problem for the opposition even when he is having a ‘bad’ game. Works hard and gets stuck in more than people notice; Hopefully he continues because he has cult hero in… Read more »
Absolutely – had to shoehorn into any traditional category but weirdly effective?
I also feel that once he nicks a few goals, he may well go on a bit of a run. One shouldn’t underestimate how his general ‘nuisance factor’ opens the gaps for the other front players.
He’s stealing a living
Well, this is so well put.
Even if Raya pulled of a blinder and kept a cleansheet he will still get nothing but an average rating from Admin.
He didn’t need to have a blinder, had very little to do but his positioning, handling and distribution were sound so a 7 is accurate.
I was looking forward to this game since the reverse fixture. My West Ham mates gave me some stick, so looking forward to seeing them tomorrow morning 😂
I just had to give Cedric a 10. Won’t be many more chances to rate him, I fear…
Blogs .. what about some stats over the season on all the thousands of player ratings? Who’s the best, worst, most consistent etc
Nwaneri made a really positive impact, I think bit harsh not to give him a rating!
When those low-life, gissus-a-free-stadium-wot-the taxpayers-funded, scuzz-buckets started booing their thoroughly decent, nice-guy ex-hero, I thought to myself – how sweet it would be to bang 3 past these numpties, with Declan getting the third? WHAT A TONIC!!!! Some random observations: Saliba and Big Gabi are now pretty close to the most impregnable CB combo in the EPL; Benny Blank inverting into the right midfield was interestingly effective – albeit hard to really evaluate against the Hapless Hamheads; Kiwior showed good steel, after an iffy first 10 mins – there’s a proper defender in there and he just needs a run.… Read more »
At the risk of sounding churlish after a resounding 6 NIL win, Havertz was invisible and yes, Kiwior played well but is NOT a left back and will get rinsed by a quality wide attacker in due course.
‘churlish’ is an understatement, mate.
The player rating has stopped working on the app on my Android phone, but works on the webbpage.
Awesome game and blog as always.
Fantastic performances all round. Big ups to all the players, manager & our travelling fans. At a point it seemed like we were the home team, with our fans cheering every single pass.
Beautiful to see!
Burnley up next!
Onwards & Upwards! COYG 💪
I was a bit worried when I saw the line up and bench but Arteta completely out maneuvered
Moyes with players alternating positions and rotating great stuff. Trossard was stand out and should make Jesus work hard to get his place back. I try to be impressed with Havertz but he is clunky compared with the rest of our skillful boys…just a superior performance all around.
“His glistening, walnut-tinted thighs powered up and down the touchline to tremendous effect”
Uncertain whether I am impressed or horny, reading that!?