Arsenal Vs Portsmouth - Player Rating

[Anzac]

Agree with most of the ratings being 5-7s.

In regards to AA - the earlier comments about efficiency as a player are spot on, yet at the same time I feel he is also a player who needs to be involved, but he sticks to his role so he doesn't generally go wandering looking for the ball. Also agree re comments in the match thread that he is being starved of the ball.

I think that's ultimately it. When players aren't involved they tend to go around looking for the ball, resulting in a deviation from the role they are supposed to execute. You don't really see Arshavin do this, so I guess that's a positive in his game. Some might say that his talent should warrant him looking for the ball when he is being starved, but I think it's exactly during those times where he is doubly effective. When he isn't involved for large parts of the game, it's easy to switch off and forget that he is on the pitch, and that is when he could hurt you the most. In saying that, many people have mentioned how he is sometimes ignored/missed, so I suppose his lack involvement might not entirely be his own fault.

I'd like to see AA be give a freer role in the attack to come centrally & I'd like for our mids to utilise both our wing forwards more often on the flanks to get behind the defence - AA did it for us last season & Eduardo dod it today for the opening goal. Too often we are still looking to attack through the middle too much IMO.

Ultimately I'd like to see us play with AA in the hole in a free role & Eduardo & RVP on the flanks in the wide striker roles. This would keep AA involved & utilise him better & stop RVP dropping so deep into midfield.

 

[outlaw_member]

I think that would make us even narrower, and probably end up emulating the Diamond formation. Eduardo and RVP will naturally be inclined to come inside, and largely operate in central positions. Neither are particularly good enough to remain wide and create goalscoring options for themselves, without sacrificing the width they are expected to provide.

 

[Anzac]

I think that would make us even narrower, and probably end up emulating the Diamond formation. Eduardo and RVP will naturally be inclined to come inside, and largely operate in central positions. Neither are particularly good enough to remain wide and create goalscoring options for themselves, without sacrificing the width they are expected to provide.

I'd want them to come infield when the ball is in the attacking 3rd to look to get into scoring positions - but not earlier, whereas our style is to have the central striker furtherest forward, and the wide men to tuck in behind.

I still don't think we utilise the flanks well enough or often enough - the half time stats had more than 80% of our attacks coming through the middle - no wonder AA was out of the game, and no wonder our striker looks to receive the ball at feet.

In the 2nd half we started to hit more direct balls over the top - IMO it would work better if the wide men were in the forward positions & the central striker deeper & we hit those passes towards the corners.

 

[kamikaze80]

thing with arshavin is that he's an older head. if he feels a game is won, he will conserve energy and not risk injury. you see him strolling around, not really defending or making runs. but when he sees an opportunity, then he kicks into gear.

he seemed a bit tired today (in his interview, he mentioned he has a 15 month old and a 3 yr old and hasnt been getting much sleep) but he still made some great passes. i still rate him as our best attacking player by some margin.

 

[qs]

Really surprised by the low rating after such a convincing performance.

 

[Anzac]

One last observation about AA's performance = Eboue didn't look to progress the ball down the flanks at all, except for when he went for a run himself to set Diaby up. More often than not Eboue came infield as soon as he got the ball and was looking to feed the mids, NOT the forwards - even when he did play the ball forward it was infield to the likes of Cesc/RVP coming deep. AA was only being fed by the CMs & only in the final 3rd.

 

[banduan]

Diaby should really be hitting 8 at the very least. He was everywhere today.

Nah, he wasn't. He was good though.

Almunia and Gibbs get 5

Gallas and Denilson get 6

Everyone else gets 7

We did take our foot off the gas pedal. Not that sure about the 7's but RVP does deserve one and despite him slowing down play his contributions should not be underestimated. Did test James at least twice so I don't know where the misfiring comments are coming from.

 

[stiiphunn]

almunia - 4 - wasn't very busy but the few he had to do he didn't handle it well.
eboue - 7 - good game I thought. Solid and as always he added something offensively.
gallas - 6 - good
vermaelen - 6 - good
gibbs - 5 -average. made a mistake and didn't bring much offensively.
arshavin - 5.5 - a few good things, but that's about it. Not good nor bad. maybe he simply takes it too easy.
denilson - 7 - good game I thought.
cesc - 8 - very good game. we missed him in the second half.
diaby - 8.5 - on the ball, he was just brilliant. I fail to remember anything wrong with his game.
eduardo - 6.5 - troubled their right back a few times yesterday.
van persie - 6 - worked hard for the team, brilliant pass for Ramsey.

 

[jay-d]

Really surprised by the low rating after such a convincing performance.

Ditto. You wouldn't think a Premier league team had just been beaten 4-1 in 2nd gear.

 

[qs]

almunia - 5
eboue - 7
gallas - 7
vermaelen - 8
gibbs - 6
arshavin - 4
denilson - 7
cesc - 7
diaby - 8 MOTM
eduardo - 8
van persie - 7

 

[DOUBLE-YOU]

Really surprised by the low rating after such a convincing performance.

Agreed. Astonishing really. The forum just seems full of negativity. I watched the game a number of times on sky and felt some of the markings given here were harsh.

I think RvP has been given a hard time. He played a beautiful pass for Ramsey's goal which no one seems to acknowledge. He didn't score but his link up play is much better than last year. He is playing a lot more one touch passes. I can see why Wenger plays him in that central role. He isn't as strong as Bendtner, but his first touch and passing is much better.

 

[qs]

Robins been a pivotal player in both yesterdays game and the Everton one. The thing is people are only looking at one thing, his not scoring. Its pretty limited thinking but its going to continue until he gets a few goals.

 

[Don Pacifico]

Robins been a pivotal player in both yesterdays game and the Everton one. The thing is people are only looking at one thing, his not scoring. Its pretty limited thinking but its going to continue until he gets a few goals.

I think the same could be said of Arshavin as well actually.

 

[qs]

I thought so for Shava in the Everton and Celtic games but yesterday he wasn't as good as those games and never really got into it.

 

[progman07]

Robins been a pivotal player in both yesterdays game and the Everton one. The thing is people are only looking at one thing, his not scoring. Its pretty limited thinking but its going to continue until he gets a few goals.

I judge players on the roles I believe they are supposed to have.

The main striker has been Robin, so he will always be judged on goals primarily. I always say, let's put him to the wings and play Eduardo up front. As a winger, RvP could create chances and occasionally shoot, but as a striker his main role is to get into goalscoring positions and score.

 

[DOUBLE-YOU]

Robins been a pivotal player in both yesterdays game and the Everton one. The thing is people are only looking at one thing, his not scoring. Its pretty limited thinking but its going to continue until he gets a few goals.

I judge players on the roles I believe they are supposed to have.

The main striker has been Robin, so he will always be judged on goals primarily. I always say, let's put him to the wings and play Eduardo up front. As a winger, RvP could create chances and occasionally shoot, but as a striker his main role is to get into goalscoring positions and score.

That's fair enough, but the role you believe they should have may not be the one Wenger feels they should have. I'm not sure Wenger sees a striker as a player whose main role is to get into goalscoring positions and score. I think Wenger sees a striker as the player furthest forward defensively who's role is to create goalscoring opportunities and score.

 

[ricky1985]

He's a funny player, isn't he? I find him extremely efficient but not one of those players who dominates a game for 90 minutes. You know that if he sees a pass or gets a chance he'll take full advantage but until then he'll hang around and keep his involvement to a minimum (At. Madrid anyone?). Even his best game for us (Liverpool away) was simply about him taking all four chances that came his way.

What I find even more intriguing is that the whole team seems to have adopted this philosophy. No more dominating the game and not taking chances. Keep things simple and make every attack count - sort of like the Invincibles but with a different system.

Yeah, the best word that describes him is efficient. I'd also use the same term for Eduardo who plays in a similar manner. Neither are constantly involved like Hleb or Henry, and it can leave alot to be desired. I am rather disappointed with Arshavin in that respect, as I expected him to be a more dominant player. However, I'm not complaining as long as he maintains his contribution to us winning.

To be fair, mate, he totally dominated the game against Holland, in the Euro's, like I hadn't seen anyone do on the international stage for a long time. You can't dominate a game when Cesc is in the same team as you, it's impossible, Fabregas is the heart beat of this side. Arshavin will become more involved and more clinical though - definitely.
Give him a chance, Henry was a really slow starter, as was Pires. At United, Ronaldo would usually explode into life around late Spetember, even October. Arshavin will explode soon enough, I suppose it's something for everyone to moan about in the mean time (not you Outlaw).

 

[General]

Almunia (4) – Easy to jump on his back after that performance but put it this way – he is not a top keeper. Has improved his game a lot but he’s still not good enough and lacks the natural fluency of the best. Even in his consistent days he always had a comical error up his sleeve. Can’t wait for the day we actually buy a top keeper.

Eboue (6) - Good offensively but in typical Eboue fashion showed very little regard for the defensive shape of the back four. Went wandering and gave far too much space to his attackers at times.

Gallas (6.5) – Did his job with minimum fuss and got forward well. Could’ve been sent off.

TV (6.5) – Same as Gallas. Disciplined and decisive but got caught a few times.

Gibbs (4) – Poor performance. Seemed to be suffering from another dose of the curse of the fullbacks. Poor concentration, complacent and got beaten far too easily for comfort. Good recovery to **** the Pompey striker whatever his name is.

Denilson (6) – Disciplined performance but still cannot cope with the physical demands of the defensive role. The midfield was porous with the opposition strolling in for fun, leaving our back four exposed time and time again

Diaby (7) – Two well taken goals and overall did ok. Consistency is his issue.

Cesc (7) – Busy and involved in everything. He covered every blade of grass against Celtic and you wonder whether the decision to play him off the start was a wise one, in view of the injury scare.

Arshavin (6) – Quiet game but drove forward well. A few signs of complacency. Caught strolling.

Eduardo (7) – Looked very sharp and determined.

Robin – (6) – Average to decent. On a different wavelength to the supporting two.

 

[DOUBLE-YOU]

Almunia (4) – Easy to jump on his back after that performance but put it this way – he is not a top keeper. Has improved his game a lot but he’s still not good enough and lacks the natural fluency of the best. Even in his consistent days he always had a comical error up his sleeve. Can’t wait for the day we actually buy a top keeper.

Eboue (6) - Good offensively but in typical Eboue fashion showed very little regard for the defensive shape of the back four. Went wandering and gave far too much space to his attackers at times.

Gallas (6.5) – Did his job with minimum fuss and got forward well. Could’ve been sent off.

TV (6.5) – Same as Gallas. Disciplined and decisive but got caught a few times.

Gibbs (4) – Poor performance. Seemed to be suffering from another dose of the curse of the fullbacks. Poor concentration, complacent and got beaten far too easily for comfort. Good recovery to **** the Pompey striker whatever his name is.

Denilson (6) – Disciplined performance but still cannot cope with the physical demands of the defensive role. The midfield was porous with the opposition strolling in for fun, leaving our back four exposed time and time again

Diaby (7) – Two well taken goals and overall did ok. Consistency is his issue.

Cesc (7) – Busy and involved in everything. He covered every blade of grass against Celtic and you wonder whether the decision to play him off the start was a wise one, in view of the injury scare.

Arshavin (6) – Quiet game but drove forward well. A few signs of complacency. Caught strolling.

Eduardo (7) – Looked very sharp and determined.

Robin – (6) – Average to decent. On a different wavelength to the supporting two.

Diaby scored 2 and had a good game and only gets 7????!!!

 

[General]

What is it with people policing ratings in this thread? Not last season’s nonsense all over again and no surprise it’s the usual culprits at it. Obviously ratings can be very subjective and are usually down to personal interpretation. Post your own or find something better to do.

Diaby scored 2 and had a good game and only gets 7????!!!

I’m a big Diaby fan. I thought 7 was fair and defensively he can play better. He also did disappear a few times. I would love to see you come out and defend when the hate campaign against him is in full flow.