How Arsenal players fared against Southampton – my ratings

Here are my Arsenal player ratings from today’s 6-1 battering of Southampton (feel free to argue or agree with me):

Wojciech Szczesny – Had a fairly quiet game, as The Saints’ forward line never really caused a threat. Gifted a goal after failing to deal with a relatively simple cross to the back post. Kicking was poor. 5/10

Carl Jenkinson – Another assured performance from the 20-year-old. Passed the ball around well and kept position. Dealt with the threat of Adam Lallana fairly easily. 7/10

Thomas Vermaelen – Made some great tackles early on and was solid throughout. Made a great run forward which resulted in a good effort on goal which led to Theo’s and Arsenal’s sixth goal. 7/10

Per Mertesacker – Like his centre-back partner, the German pulled out another firm performance. His displays so far this season have kept Laurent Koscielny out of the line-up and if he continues to impress then there’s no reason why he can’t keep his place for the foreseeable future. Confident on the ball. 7/10

Kieran Gibbs – Got forward brilliantly. His crosses were accurate and caused Southampton a lot of problems today, two of which resulted in goals. 7/10

Mikel Arteta – The Spaniard kept things neat and tidy in midfield and always wanted the ball which is great to see. Another fine display from Mikel. 7/10

Francis Coquelin – The young Frenchman was full of energy and got forward well when needed to. Done what was required of him. 6.5/10

Santi Cazorla – Despite not getting on the score-sheet, Cazorla pulled off a Man of the Match performance for me. Drifted along the lines effectively and always found space to create and dictate play. Everything came through him. 9/10

Gervinho – Scored two goals and ran Southampton’s full-backs ragged. Needs to release the ball a lot earlier in some instances. 8.5/10

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – AOC showed why he is ahead of Theo at present. Made some powerful runs forward and was a constant threat to his former club’s backline. Lacked killer instinct. 7.5/10

Lukas Podolski – His tenacity and fighting spirit led to Arsenal’s first goal. Was robust throughout and netted a fantastic free-kick. 8/10

SUBS:

Aaron Ramsey – Came on for Coquelin in the 67th minute. The Welshman provided Gervinho’s second after bamboozling Clyne and having an acute effort hit off the post and fall to the Ivorian. 6.5/10

Theo Walcott – Replaced Gervinho in the 74th minute. Netted against his former club with an accomplished left foot curler. 5.5/10

Olivier Giroud – Came off the bench to replace Podolski. Made some nice angle runs to pull away defenders but is still waiting for his first goal. 5/10

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