Posted on Sunday, 2nd September 2012 by Tony Merakli
Here are my Arsenal player ratings from today’s 2-0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield (feel free to argue or agree with me):
Vito Mannone – Had a fairly comfortable afternoon in goal for The Gunners. Pulled off a wonderful save late in the second half. Looked a little nervous when Liverpool whipped balls into the area, but dealt with what was thrown at him. Another clean-sheet for the young Italian. 7/10
Carl Jenkinson – Misplaced one or two passes early on but found his feet as the game went on. Was defensively solid and kept Raheem Sterling quiet. Got stuck in and was positioned well throughout. Growing with confidence which is great to see. 8/10
Thomas Vermaelen – Yet another solid performance from the Belgian defender. Worked his socks off, cleared a certain goal off the line after Mannone fumbled and got forward well as well. Was subbed in the 90th minute after a challenge from Steven Gerrard. 8.5/10
Per Mertesacker – A lot of people were worried to see the German start against Luis Suarez, but proved his critics wrong. Got booked early on but was positioned superbly, intercepted well and made some vital challenges throughout the 90. 8.5/10
Kieran Gibbs – Got forward brilliantly, providing an overlap and another option for the forwards, and moved the ball around neatly. Definitely first-choice left-back, just needs to stay fit. 8/10
Mikel Arteta – Doesn’t get enough credit or recognition for what he does for the side. Kept things nice and tidy in midfield, got stuck in and tracked back well. Got booked, but another tenacious performance from the 30-year-old. 8/10
Abou Diaby – Probably the best I’ve seen him play in a very, very long time, and I’m not a fan of him! Made some powerful runs forward, displayed his skill and moved the ball around nicely. Hopefully he can replicate this performance for the next 35 games of the season. 8.5/10
Santi Cazorla – Great movement throughout from the little Spaniard. Shifted the ball around superbly and always threatened when he pushed forward. Created Arsenal’s first goal after playing a lovely through pass to Lukas Podolski. 8.5/10
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – Done alright, but I’ve seen him perform much better. Did well defensively, covering Jenkinson when he got forward, but lacked the cutting edge today. 6.5/10
Lukas Podolski – Scored Arsenal’s first goal of the new season then set up the team’s second after playing a lovely one-two with Cazorla. Was always a threat and showed why Arsene Wenger brought him in this summer. Quality performance. 9/10
Olivier Giroud – Didn’t see a lot of the ball, but hassled Liverpool’s back-line well. Won a few headers and held up the ball adequately. Perhaps should’ve scored a goal but its encouraging to see the Frenchman get in goal-scoring positions. 7/10
Subs:
Aaron Ramsey – Came on for ‘The Ox’ on the 73rd minute. Held the ball up nicely, movement was good and found space effortlessly. 6/10
Andre Santos – Came on for Podolski in the 82nd minute. Touched the ball a few times. 5/10
Laurent Koscielny – Replaced Vermaelen in the dying minutes of the game. Touched the ball a handful of times, but good to see ‘The Boss’ back. 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.
Looking for some cool, cheap T’s? Then click on the banner below!!!
Related posts:
Tags: Aaron Ramsey, Abou Diaby, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Andre Santos, Arsene Wenger, Carl Jenkinson, Kieran Gibbs, Laurent Koscielny, Lukas Podolski, Mikel Arteta, Olivier Giroud, Per Mertesacker, Raheem Sterling, Santi Cazorla, Steven Gerrard, Thomas Vermaelen, Vito Mannone
Posted in View From The Sphere | Comments (31)
Arsenal News 24/7
Loading ...
September 2nd, 2012 at 4:53 pm
?????? observations today ; We did well in terms of our defense but one thing we need ???? put into consideration is our attack. Three matches i have seen Giroud played, he lacks the presence,ability ???? threaten defenders (wonder ??? he became the top goal scorer) and also the strength ???? push forward. Let’s A????ll hope he won’t turn out ???? be the next Mouranne Chamack or maybe he still needs time ???? adapt. ( Take a look at his first game against sunderland, where carzola played a fantastic thru pass but he played out wide. Todays game, Diaby neatly game him a thru pass which obviously he played out wide. This is not what we want frm our top 9.
Mannone made a nice save frm Shevleys shot, he still needs ???? work hard.
Jekinson was very solid, showed a lot of energy in keeping the young sterling frm threatening us.
Mert and Verm did great. Gibbs was quite decent but more work needs ???? be done in the area of defending.
Arteta, i so much love this guy, was very very solid in stopping liverpool’s attack, made brilliant tackles, sliding and kept possession. His experience is vast and that’s a ?Öö? plus for us. Protected the back four pretty well….
Now a point for concern is our Top 9 (Giroud)….. Playing Podolski frm flank is something i’m against. Let’s forget the fact he plays that role pretty well, i see him as someone who will do better if given an opportunity as our central forward. ?ã†? i love about him is his strenght (very strong), very capable of bullying defenders (just like drogba did) and takes shot at every slight opportunity he gets and that’s very ?Öö?…. Hope wenger sees this
[Reply]
September 2nd, 2012 at 6:29 pm
Not great ratings to be fair.
Mannone – 7: he flapped at three it four crosses
Arteta- 8.5: brilliant. Simple as that.
Jenkinson – 8.5: so solid its unreal.
Giroud- 7.5: his movement allowed Podolski to score
[Reply]
September 2nd, 2012 at 7:03 pm
Giroud has been overated. I think he deserved 5.5/10. He was vulnerable on aerial balls and also missed open chance when put through by Diaby, same way he missed against sunderland. He needs to compose himself or else fans will lose faith in him.
[Reply]
September 2nd, 2012 at 8:54 pm
Diaby will crumble against stiff competition.
Good to get a win.
Wenger and board need to go.
[Reply]
Ryan goon Reply:
September 2nd, 2012 at 10:27 pm
Your a idiot
[Reply]
brigi99jam Reply:
September 3rd, 2012 at 5:54 pm
Yeah, agreeing with Ryan, you are an idiot, and if anybody needs to go, its you John
[Reply]
Tony woodcocksucker Reply:
September 2nd, 2012 at 10:54 pm
I agree . U Don’t know what ur talking about . U r a twat . I don’t like diaby much but he was awesome and although Arsene is struggling the last 4 or 5 he is still a master . Get rid of him for who . A moron who squanders all the money we have been carefully getting together . Fans like u are short sighted and stupid
[Reply]
Weedz Reply:
September 2nd, 2012 at 11:44 pm
WE may as well go and support Spudz, while we`re at it, eh John?
[Reply]
Dadagbon Reply:
September 3rd, 2012 at 6:29 am
You are talking nonsense. Diaby was the king of midfield in this game and he will get better and make Alex Song a joke.
[Reply]
Smudger Reply:
September 3rd, 2012 at 8:24 am
With his hair and his attitude I would say Alex Song is already a joke
[Reply]
Fcukjohn Reply:
September 4th, 2012 at 3:03 pm
Come on… Go home and joins the spuds
[Reply]
September 2nd, 2012 at 9:03 pm
You truly don’t like Diaby do you!!
He was head and shoulders above anyone else on the pitch today. The best he has ever played in an Arsenal shirt.
You are a tv pundit rarer. Always give it to the goal scorer. You should watch what happens elsewhere on the pitch.
Will agree Podolski was outstanding as well but Diaby even overshadowed him!!
[Reply]
September 2nd, 2012 at 9:07 pm
good result, but Giroud reminds me of a french nicholas bentner, needs countless chances and has no pace.
[Reply]
September 2nd, 2012 at 9:12 pm
@ tumaini i agree. He is a 5.5 or 6 for this game but I like his movement and probably needs better crosses too but he looks like a top player to be.
[Reply]
September 2nd, 2012 at 9:18 pm
French Bendtner? Cant trace the good looks or ability to make good runs or the lack of ego in the pink boot wearing pants showing car crashing Diva.
[Reply]
September 2nd, 2012 at 10:31 pm
Mannone flapped, didn’t hold the ball and parried into the 6 yard box, not convincing for me. Also Jenkinson needs to cut out giving the ball away along the back line, a team with a decent finisher in it would have buried at least one of those misplaced passes. That said it was a good result ad another clean sheet (a bit disappointed that AW didn’t give Bouldy credit for the work done with the defence in his post match interview). Pod took his goal well and we looked solid at the back. I still think that we need to get midfielders into the box more when attacking as Giroud was isolated a lot ….. first win now lets kick on !!
[Reply]
September 2nd, 2012 at 11:35 pm
I think some of you should watch the game more closely, Giroux looks like he will be very good indeed his movement is very clever very RVP, it was his movement that pulled the defenders away to help create the first goal, then the movement to create the missed opportunity was also very good. He does need a few weeks/mo.the to adapt to the higher intensity of the pl but he willbe an excellent player. I love LP work ethic and would love AD to stay fit as he offers real drive from CM. We still have TR, JW, BS, EF and WS to come back too. Two important games at the end of the month we need 4pts from city and Chelsea
[Reply]
September 2nd, 2012 at 11:48 pm
Ratings close, Tony.
One point that hasn`t been raised is Lukas`s defensive qualities. I was blown away by his effort and ability to play box to box on several occasions. Great signing, I reckon.
[Reply]
September 3rd, 2012 at 2:43 am
I am verey happy with the way arsenal played and hope that arsen don’t take it any easy for our next home game I think I give 9/10 to the team because I think all the players did well and I am verey happy that arsenal can defend and one more thing fernando did not score for Chelsea for few month and I think we should take it easy on girud .
[Reply]
September 3rd, 2012 at 4:00 am
A good result. If they continue like this, the sky will be their limit.
[Reply]
September 3rd, 2012 at 4:07 am
Honestly what I’ve seen the whole season so far is that Arsenal’s midfield 3 are the best in the league. This is where the game was won. Diaby was simply amazing, Arteta was brilliant and Santi was average. But his average is everybody else’s amazing lol. The defence was shaky and Vermaelen bailed us out a number of times. I like Mertesacker cos he reads the game well and his positioning in the box is very good. But he really stuggled today, especially in the first half. His passing was poor and was lucky not to give away a penalty on 2 occasions. Yes, he got the ball on the first one, but he should never commit like he did on Sterling. Also in the 2nd half he got a bit lucky on Suarez, even though that rat f…er is the biigest cheat in the world. I though Jenkinson was a bit iffy early with his passing, but overall was good. Gibbs was excellent, ran Borrini ragged and I could see the Italian’s face when he came off, he looked relieved. Vito still has a lot to learn, but looks good competition for Schesny. Ox was a bit quiet, I expected him to shine around our midfield trio, but I keep forgetting he’s only 18. Still a better choice than Theo and Gervinho. Podolski’s work rate is incredible, I’ still can’t believe that we could sign him and Santi for so cheap, it’s ridiculous. Giroud didn’t have the best game, but sometimes you have to give credit to the opposition because Agger and Skrtel were very good and they teamed up well on him, yet he still broke through a couple of times and almost got on the score sheet, so I think he will be a hit very soon. Overall ratings Vito – 7, Carl – 7 Per – 6.5, Gibbs – 7.5, Ver – 8.5. Diaby – 9, Mikel – 8.5, Santi – 8.5, Podolski 8.5, Ox – 7 and Giroud 6.5.
[Reply]
September 3rd, 2012 at 8:25 am
I agree with most ratings, but Mertesackers’ is to high. He did his defensive work brilliantly but he miss-placed to many passes from which one or two could have ended in a goal for ‘pool!
[Reply]
shockandawe Reply:
September 3rd, 2012 at 1:35 pm
Really? When? The only missplaced passes were coming from Jenkinson (who I think played well by the way) who tried to play across the back four twice. What were you watching?
[Reply]
RedRich Reply:
September 3rd, 2012 at 2:52 pm
No Per did make a couple of really poor passes, all forward passes but still poor that went to the opposition. He was still awesome though, just a couple of small mistakes, nothing the new best defence in the league can’t handle. Oh yeah and on a side note I think I love Arteta.
[Reply]
September 3rd, 2012 at 9:36 am
Honestly, i really dont no hw to xpress the wonder of game. I was over joy and suprised the way they handled the ball as if it was their property only. I pray dat they should keep it up and in the rating i agree wit u but per own is low should b 9 bcos nobody xpect that performance 4rm him likewise diaby. So Tanx
[Reply]
September 3rd, 2012 at 11:10 am
Giroud had a good game, his off the ball movement is incredible and is unfortunate with his finishing. Don’t lose faith in him! Give him a few more games and I’m sure his goal scoring and assist rate will drastically improve.
[Reply]
September 3rd, 2012 at 12:40 pm
All Giroud knockers out there can I just remind you it took the Great Dennis Bergkamp 7 games before he scored for Arsenal!
[Reply]
September 3rd, 2012 at 1:31 pm
Girouds movement up front was a constant thorn in the side of Skrtel and Agger. He kept pulling them apart which left huge gaps. Look at the first goal, his movement was the catalyst for Cazorlas run through the middle. I can see good things from him and I reckon it’ll be a case of once he breaks the deadlock he will be a consistent threat (certainly not a 30 a year man but maybe 15-20).
[Reply]
September 3rd, 2012 at 2:48 pm
Leave Giroud alone guys, he did well. Dragged the defenders away with good movement for the first goal. He made a number of telling defensive headers,
He finds the space brilliantly, ie he has a football brain. Alright he missed a couple of glaring chances, but that is why the premier league is so tough, its not so much the speed of the game but more the lack of time allowed on the ball. Thats what makes it so too and fro. Correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t VP miss a couple of sitters yesterday as well as missing a pen. Give Oliver some time he will come good, and when he does, mark my words- he’ll be immense. Rant over.
[Reply]
September 3rd, 2012 at 5:25 pm
I still dislike RVP for leaving but was I the only one who felt he would score at every chance he got during that game? Maybe its still the way I felt during his time for us that I carried over. Hope Giroud turns out fine and fast too. Follow on twitter @ Stanley_93. I follow back.
[Reply]
September 4th, 2012 at 10:00 am
I was also expecting AW to mention the Bould-effect during the interview but I think it was a smart move not to. Its still too early to praise any individuals amongst the coaching staff for anything. For instance, suppose the defence begins to flounder then should he mention Bould as the one responsible? Also there is Banfield and others amongst the coaching staff so its team effort. I personally like SB and I was very impressed to see him take a few players (including Capt. Vermaelen) on a warm-up drill before the game. Can’t wait for the next game.
[Reply]