Here are my Arsenal player ratings from today’s o-0 draw with Stoke City (feel free to argue or agree with me):
Vito Mannone – Had a fairly comfortable afternoon due to Stoke City’s lack of attacking flair and prowess. 7/10
Kieran Gibbs – Got forward well and made some intelligent overlaps. Crossing was poor but the youngster dealt with what was thrown at him today. 7/10
Carl Jenkinson – Was defensively solid and got forward well. Wasn’t really tested by Stoke’s attacking line. Bigger challenges lie ahead. 7/10
Thomas Vermaelen – The captain lead the team well from the back. Struggled a little with Stoke aerial play but got better as the minutes racked up. 7/10
Per Mertesacker – The lanky German kept Crouch quiet and was positioned well throughout the 90+ minutes. 7/10
Mikel Arteta – Kept things tidy in midfield and got stuck in. Distribution of the ball was good but needs to work on his free-kicks. Man of the Match. 8/10
Abou Diaby – Another mixed performance from the Frenchman. Had a fairly effective first-half, making some good runs forward but faded in the second 45. Should have done better with his chance in front of goal. 6.5/10
Santi Cazorla – Always looked to open up Stoke and create something out of nothing. Another performance where the Spaniard showed off his superb passing range but faded from the game in the second half. 7.5/10
Gervinho – Was far too greedy on the ball and never got going. Final ball was poor. Needs to step it up in the upcoming fixtures. 3.5/10
Lukas Podolski – Made some intelligent runs forward and kept things simple. Looks more of a central forward than a winger. 7/10
Olivier Giroud – Chased down the ball well and was very energetic. Competed well in the air and held up the ball confidently. Should of perhaps squared the ball to Aaron Ramsey rather than attempt the spectacular in the final minutes of the game. 7/10
Subs:
Theo Walcott – Came on for Gervinho with 18 minutes left to play. Touched the ball a few times but didn’t have enough time to get into the game. 4.5/10
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – Replaced Podolski. Got forward well and tracked back when needed to. Didn’t have much of an effect on the game due to little time on the pitch. 5/10
Aaron Ramsey – Was brought on for Cazorla in the 81st minute. Made some clever runs forward and managed to find some space to have an effort – unfortunately it went wide of the goal. 5/10
Like what you read? Then follow me on Twitter – http://twitter.com/Gunnersphere
Visit and Join our Facebook page, click HERE to do so.
Gunnersphere is currently looking for new writers to join the squad. Contact via twitter or at Gunnersphere@snack-media.com for further details.
From a chelsea fan but arsenal is my second best team, Arsenal should switch to a 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1 szechney, sagna,mertasacker,vermalaen,santos,chamberlain,wilshere,arteta,cazorla and podolski and giroud in attack, thats a dream team capable of winning all trophies and their bench should look like this fabianski,mannone,gervinho,walcott,frimpong,coquelin,lansbury,gibbs,konscienly,bendtner,yennaris,rosicky,jenkinson and ramsey the rest who are not in this list should be offloaded n by the way wenger should buy one more centreback in mexes,albiol and a defensive midfielder in mvila, biglia,diarra and a younger or back up striker in remy,ba,cuenca
Draw is the answer after two games,maybe after the third match Arsenal it will be a glorious song.
Arsene Wenger should stop deceiving the whole Arsenal’s family and fans. He needs to buy 2/3 quality players & the team ‘ll be a force to reckon with in Europe.