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
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You say Gervinho needs to step it up in upcoming fixtures.I hope not i dont want him anywhere near the first team.As for Walcott sell him NOW
The shape of the team needs to change.From 4-5-1 to 4-4-1-1 with Podolski as the 2nd striker
Correct 4411. The match showed again that we need only one fast, tricky, flakey winger … NOT TWO.
Neither Pod nor Giroud will be good / strong enough to play isolated … on his own down the middle. That means a different formation but it will take a long time for Wenger to accept he has been wrong.
I am very happy with the performance of the team, even though we didnt win. We deffended very well and control the game as well. I think Podolski shldnt have been subbed bcos he looked the one to bring the goal. Wenger’s changes has always been the problem. Gerv shld have been subbed earlier. Giroud will start scoring and stop the rvp thng. Remember he didnt score in the first 2 games last season
arsene wenger should bring in kaka to fit the final piece in the arsenal attack. Giroud seems good but will take a little time to get to grips with scoring in the epl. i am sure kaka will bring the confidence to the attack and make the gunners forget van persie. thats the marque signing wenger should make now.
You play FIFA Manager too much.
Arsenal will not be able to afford Kaka so don’t even go there !!
This is nothing but an average performance.There are some players that need to be shown exit dor e.g Diabby,Walcott etc.These guys are slow learners.Giroud will be a hit very soon.I’m optimistic
Good call on Arteta as Man of the Match. Everyone is so excited about Cazorla that he’s been getting all the attention but I think you are spot on in rating him a nudge below Arteta.
The defense was solid today and Arteta had a lot to do with that. Having said that, Cazorla looks to be the real deal. Very impressive given he’s had less than 2 weeks with the team, and only 2 games in the EPL.
I don’t agree with those that want to dump Diaby. Once he settles back in (and if he stays healthy) I think we will all be signing his praises.
Same old Diaby who loves to hold on to possession a second more time than others.
I hope we don’t get to extent Walcott’s contract.
Why on earth is diaby still playing for arsenal??
Lets keep calm i believed right thing will come soon.
plz plz plz keep Gervinho on the bench.All he does is get in peoples way and continually loses the bloody ball. Come on Wenger, surely you can see that Walcott and Gervinho blow far too many times hot and cold to make a lasting impact to a game.
So well done Arsenal, after the excellent pre-season and making sure all the transfer business was wraped up early to allow the team to settle. A real pleasure to see all the players knowing what formation they were playing. Good job we have not made the same mistakes as last year. Great to see the Boss play a well balanced side and a special mention to Diaby and Gervinio who both play in the same position and go for the same ball. Good to see Walcott being fair and passing to Stoke to allow them into the game with his only 2 touches…think he needs a pay rise!!! AAARRRRHHHH
Hahahaha I luv it.