Player Ratings - CL: Arsenal vs Hamburger SV | 21/11/06

[Dennis10]

Lehmann 7 - Happy with his performance. A few poor clearances doesn't mean that much now.

Eboue 7,5 - His crosses needs to improve soon, but he's got so much speed and technical ability it's a joy to watch. And a goal of course. Meant a lot.

Senderos 7,5 - Rock solid for most of the game, but didn't face that many challenges. A few unnecessary freekicks though.

Toure 8,5 - Like Senderos had a fairly quiet game, but he often does that little extra. Wins the ball when it really seems impossible. He is our best player currently.

Clichy 6 - Was caught in wrong positions several times, and his crosses weren't any better than Eboue's. But he's still just finding his feet. No worries.

Flamini 6 - Didn't provide the same stability and calmness in deep midfield. Had a very poor header into the feet of a Hamburg-player just before the goal. Worked hard, but need to be more composed.

Hleb 7,5 - Good performance which sadly lacked end product. I think he might be one of many players who will thrive if we switch to 4-4-2. Van Persie can be of great help to him on the right.

Fabregas 7,5 - Had a poor first half, but showed his class in the second. It's almost cruel to expect a player of his age to step up when we are facing problems, but he actually managed to do that in the second half today.

Ljungberg 6 - Works hard, but I just feel he spends too much time on the ground. Sometimes I honestly believe that the most he can come up with from most situations is a freekick, and that really isn't Arsenal-standard. The most positive thing I can say about him is that he has proven himself to be a big match player. Hopefully he can contribute later this season, but right now he isn't good enough.

v. Persie 7,5 - In my opinion he wasn't that abysmal in the first half like many are saying. He is supposed to be our second most offensive player, and when Henry got moody he didn't get much help. Took his goal well, and really looked dangerous until his substitution. I really believe it was planned that he would go off, cause he didn't even moan.

Henry 5,5 - Yeah, I know he didn't play well today, but anything lower than 5 is harsh in my opinion. Anybody notice how much room RvP got when he moved up front? They were marking Henry like crazy, and from the looks of it they were allowed to do practically anything without conceding a freekick or a lecture. He shouldn't have become so moody, but at least the constant attention he received made it easier for Robin.

Adebayor - 6 Didn't impress me at all. Ha a few surging defensive runs, but I get the feeling that he does those those runs because he can't fint another way to impose himself on the game. But he's still young, and is definately capable of inflicting some pain, and that's a good thing sometimes.

Walcott - 7,5 One easy assist, and one brilliant. What more can you expect? Took him some time to get into the game, but when he did he looked dangerous. Still, I think 20 minutes of play is too little to be awarded any higher than a 7,5. Just a rule I have...

Baptista - Such a boost for him! Today was the first time I really felt he was an Arsenal-player. Scored a goal, and got to celebrate in front of the fans. Congrats Julio!

 

[gstew]

lehmann - 6.5 Was OK..not much to do

eboue - 6 Goal upped him from a 4.

toure - 8.5 MOTM again. Definite player of the year. Should be Captain sooner rather than later.

senderos - 8 Excellent

clichy - 6 Needs to do better

ljungberg - 6 Can no longer beat his man....defended very well

cesc - 7 Not his best, but not bad

flamini - 3 Dreadful, awful & embarrassing....worst I've ever seen him play....first goal 80% Van De Vaart and 20% Flamini

hleb - 7 Beat his men at will and caused much of our danger, but extra touches caused way too much dispossession

van persie - 7.5 Well taken goal

henry - 4 Not a Captain's performance!!!!

walcott - 7.5 Played very well

ade - 6.5 Henry should follow his example regarding effort and movement

Beast - 8 Good to see him power through the header.....I was worried after his dreadful performance on Saturday

 

[ArsenalwithoutVieira]

Lehmann- 7 one fine catch which if dropped would have given goal to Sanogo
Eboue- 8 got forward well, a little lapse with crosses but made up with goal.
Toure- 8 Solid as ever, great reading of game and a few gallops forward
Senderos - 7 Solid, good tackles in first 20 then not really tested, Booked.
Clichy- 7 Like Eboue got forward but poor crossing, will improve with games.
Hleb- 8 Outstanding, good runs and almost scored, Booked out of frustration.
Fabregas- 9 How old is he, played with Maturity and his distribution was 2nd to none.
Flamini-6 Not really seen
Ljungberg- 7 Worked tirelessy but losing his pace doesnt help him.
Van Persie- 7 Scored 1, another good effort.
Henry- 6 another disappointing showin, still suffering from WC hangover?
Subs: Adebayor- 7 will always run and give 100%, chased everything
Walcott- 8 if he played longer could easily have got MOM, 2 assists and beat defenders time after time.
Baptista -7 in right place for goal, killed game off.

I think you guys in previous posts have been really harsh on the players.

 

[gstew]

I think you guys in previous posts have been really harsh on the players.

Only harsh on the players that deserved it -- Henry, Flamini, Eboue, Clichy!

 

[Army of Me]

I'm a little too tipsy to rate everyone, but can I just say...

Henry - 2

Seriously, seriously poor performance from what used to be a world class player. I mean, where the **** has he gone? Someone nipped in a kidnapped the real Henry replacing him with this impostor!

Come back Henry, we miss you!

 

[Gort]

Lehmann 6 - Did a reasonable job... especially keeping hold of that shot at the end with a Hamburg player running in.

Eboue 7 - Kept on trying and put in some reasonable crosses (and a few duds). That cross to Henry that should have been headed in was great... pity our captain didn't fully appreciate it by getting his head to the ball, though). Good goal, in the sense that he battled through and had a go. Sure, it was lucky, but he made his luck... and we deserved some, too.

Toure 7 - Good performance. I also liked some of his moments up the field, too.

Senderos 7 - Good to see him back. He did fine for his first game back in a while.

Clichy 6 - Did OK... but should have had a better end product.

Flamini 5 - I like the guy and think he has a good attitude, but this wasn't his game. He's not Gilberto. He's wasn't terrible, but he really needs to pick up his game if he's to replace Gilberto... if that's what is intended of him.

Hleb 7 - I thought he had a reasonable game and created a few chances. So unlucky not to have scored. Good to see him at least try and shoot, though.

Cesc 6 - Didn't much care for his first-half performance, but he made up ground for his second. Good assist for Van Persie's goal.

Rvp 6 - He did OK and caused some difficulties. The goal was taken well, which is what you want when you're 1-0 down. Strange that he was taken off, even if the game worked out for us.

Henry 4 - A few bits and pieces here and there, but really not imposing himself that much. In many ways, I'm not too bothered he'll be not able to play against Porto, because maybe we need something different down in Portugal and we've won in Europe without him before (as well as other critical games). I'm far from saying we should lose Henry, but sometimes I think we need to show that we can play without him, because we certainly can. At least it'll make him realise that we can do things without him, which might be a needed kick up the arse.

Ljungberg 7 - I thought he was energetic and put Hamburg under some difficulty. He tired at the end, but then we have Walcott for that eventuality.

Subs
Walcott 8 - Great show for the amount of time he was on. Did what was needed. That second assist was so mature of him. He could have gone it alone, and I wouldn't have complained if he did, but he spotted not Henry, but Baptista.

Ade 6 - He did what was needed, and caused a few problems here and there. Good to see his energetic running and willingness to get stuck in, breaking up their play, etc.

Baptista 7 - Good to see a headed goal for a change.

a good example, was when eboue hit a long pass into the box in the first half. it was a great pass, but henry started running after eboue had passed ball.

Totally agree. I was livid when Henry didn't get his head to that one. Great cross that deserved a good header, and could well have had if Henry had woken up and tried. I'm usually one who avoids directly attacking Henry, but even I have to admit that he needs to get his head out of his arse and stop moaning about this and that, expressing any of his frustrations in leading the team to win and a few goals, too.

 

[liridon]

i couldnt watch the match because turkish tv showed real madrid's match but what is most important we came from down and win the match...

ps i would like to watch the goals

 

[gunnerGH]

Lehmann 6 - Few poor kicks, no chance with goal though

Eboue 6- Apart from goal was poor.

Senderos 6-Had passion but few sloppy mistakes

Toure 8- MOM performance no chance with goal and showed PASSION 8/11 of the other players did not

Clichy 6- Poor

Hleb 7- Lively and showed passion at times

Cesc 6 - Looked jaded and in need of a rest

Flamini 5 - Non existent

Ljungberg 5- Won free kicks but did nothing else on his return

Van Persie 6- Some poor control at times and lacked passion. Apart from second half when he scored

Henry 4 - One decent effort in second half. Apart from that he dived and moned first half and lacked passion. His replacement ade chased alot more than he did. 4-5-1 didnt suit him though tbh.

subs:

Ade 7 - Good determination and passion

Bap 7 - Well placed for goal and determined

Walcott 8- Made impact that to me said "why the **** is freddie ahead of me in pecking order"

Wenger 1st half 0 - **** tactics and didnt inspire
Wenger 2nd half 9 - Gave them a rollocking at half-time no doubt and switched tactics well

Thank You

 

[We Are The Music Makers]

van persie - 8. The performance, especially from the centre, spoke for itself. Baaaaaalin'. - loool, 2 much jim jones is not good for your health
.[/quote)

 

[sabret00the]

van persie - 8. The performance, especially from the centre, spoke for itself. Baaaaaalin'.
.

- loool, 2 much jim jones is not good for your health

any Jim Jones is bad for yourself, but it's catchy as hell

 

[IBL]

Lehman 6 - ok

Eboue 7 - sloppy first half, poor crossing, much improved after the break
Kolo 8 - another monster performance
Senderos 7 - solid
Clichy 6 - needs to improve his reading of the game, work on his crosses too

Hleb 7 - unlucky not to score, probing runs and crisp passin6
Cesc 7.5 - so-so first half, better in second, was everywhere, nice assist
Flamini 5.5 - anonymous, tried
Ljungberg 6.5 - actually did ok, made some good interceptions and defended well

RvP 6.5 - well taken goal, some nice passages of play otherwise quiet
Henry 5.5 - words escape me

SUBS
Walcott 7 - caused their defence problems with his pase, good directness and a nice assist for Bap
Baptista 6 - he scored!
Ade 6 - chased the ball down til the last minute, caused a few problems

 

[BannedKwame]

I said 3+ years ago that Toure would be as a good a defender as Thuram(one of the best defenders in the past 15 years) one day, but I think when it's all said and done, he will rank up there with my favourite defender of all time-- Lothar Matthaeus. If I'm honest, Toure's the best defender in Europe on current form; only Puyol is his equal.

As for the match, perhaps it does make sense that when a team plays 11 behind the ball we play a 4-4-2, as Cesc has no defensive duties-- which begs the question, is the 4-5-1 to protect Cesc or to mask Gilberto's lack of dominace in the middle.

bah. yssup rof emit

 

[trisoman]

Lehmann- 6. Nothing to do, really. Couldn't have stopped the goal, but didn't have to do much else.

Eboue - 7. I'm a little hesitant to laud him because while his movement and shot for the goal were brill, his passing many a times went askew, skidded off his foot, or just kinda floated everywhere but the box. He was supremely frustrated till the goal. Good show, but we've seen better.

Toure - 8. The boy is bounding upfield! Didn't see him much, but covered well when he had to.

Senderos - 7. Could've done more to close off vDv, but again, nothing much to note. (I'm starting to think I forgot the 1st half)

Clichy - 4.5 Oh Lord. Kept getting caught out in the 1st half when our backs were against the wall. Better in the 2nd but not entirely impressed.

Hleb- 8.5. I was wrong about him. Had one or 2 runs where he made a bad decision to hold on but was strong on the ball, ran well and had purpose and desire. Improving very quickly, pure class.

Fabregas - 6. First half was ****e, kept trying to play pretty with flicks and what not, completely lost. 2nd half, great weighted pass and played better, but he could be too assured of his 1st team place.

Flamini - 5.5. Big shoes to fill and unfortunately, didn't fill them very well. A bit of a sad show really, not up to the plate. Played a lot better at LB to be honest.

Ljungberg - 7. Got stuck in and played a lot better than before his injury. Had drive and purpose and always looked threatening. Maybe could've done more but a good comeback.

RvP- 8. Has been our most threatening player for a while now. Looks hungry to play, always gets into positions and while 1st touch (in other games) may have been poor, he's got the heart and skill to be a legend. Great movement for the 1st goal. What does he have to do to stay on the pitch for 90 minutes?

Henry - 5. I've been a Henry basher for a bit but I wasn't too disgusted today with his performance. Isolated upfront and anonymous in the 1st half, but with RvP looked a wee bit better in the 2nd. But he's clearly unhappy with the new role and with the something-or-other. Enforced long break may be a good thing.

SUBS:
Walcott - 9. Came in, played intelligently, didn't lose the ball, made Fillinger look like crap, used the ball and linked up with everyone insanely well. 2 assists, 2 goals and we won. My MOTM. God in the making, if he isn't there yet.

Ade - 6. He was playing? Well, not horrendous but nothing to shout about.

Baptista - 7.5. If he gives us the heading we need then why are we not starting him? Geez.

 

[phil15]

Coooooomon you fooking gooners, watched the game in a ****ty sports bar, still a bit hazy from earlier tonight, but clear headed enough to pass judement

****ty performance, with a sloppiness at times that me choke

Lehman 6- Generally solid

Eboue 6- Ventured forward well, but a bit careless with the final ball at times

Toure 7- Solid, decisive and unbreakable

Senderos 7- Ditto Toure

Clichy 5- Careless, was not at the races, distribution was awful and his postioning is akin to a blind man, suprised thought he'd improve quicker

Hleb 7- A quieter game from him, but still influenced things at times

Cesc 6- Shocking in the first, better in the second which brought a simply wondrous assist for the first goal, subsequently improved

Flamini 5- He was, urm, urm, eh, *cough* tenacious?...

Ljungberg 6- Worked hard, but has lost the vital components to his game

RVP 6- A liability to team and shocking as **** in the first half, improved in the second and got a good goal, should not have been taken off

Henry 4- A disturbing performance, nothing here or there and complained too much for my liking, grow up please

Ade 5- erm, urm moving swiftly on

Walcott 6- Did alright and got a good assist

 

[Soler]

Lehmann: 6
Eboue: 7.5
Toure: 7
Senderos: 7
Clichy: 5.5
Hleb: 9
Fabregas: 7
Flamini: 7
van Persie: 6
Ljungberg: 7
Henry: 5

Adebayor: 6
Walcott: 8
Baptista: 7

 

[Sammer]

Some people are being well harsh on Freddie imo, when we got going in the 2nd half I thought he did very well for the first 20mins. Not bad considering he has been out for so long, glad to see him back.

Besides tracking back well a few times (good effort), he gets a 5.5 from me.

Otherwise it´s the same old story with Freddie: when we actually move forward quickly, you can bet your a**, that Freddie´s poor first touch (or his extremely poor decision making-passing) slows the attack down or gets it stalled.

I couldn´t wait for Freddie to come off.

 

[GunneDown]

We should have first half/seconf half rating's!

 

[qs]

senderos - 8. out standing[sic]


henry - 6 poor

walcott - 8 excellent

so, 6 is poor, but 8 is excelent/outstanding? you rate players on a scale from six to eight then?

Grow up you pedantic little ****.

Henry was poor by his own standards and Phil was out standing whenever he was called upon, which wasnt enough to warrant a 9 or 10.

 

[Clrnc]

Eboue 7 - his crosses deterioriated again. no end product though got a lucky goal. defending a lil suspicious too.

his crossing wasn't good today and we don't have a lot of players inside the box, but you've got to feel for eboue. i mean, henry is the only player in the box and his movement off the ball is flat out ridiculous. he basically just stand there, waiting for the ball to hit his head. a good example, was when eboue hit a long pass into the box in the first half. it was a great pass, but henry started running after eboue had passed ball.

yeah. i wasnt really judging those moments. his early crosses are pretty good, but when he have lotsa space and ample time to cross he fluffs it at the best moment. if he cant cross then dribble in to take a shot. i was darn frustrated when all his crosses either hit a defender or wayward. hleb can pick out players with his accurate crossing from whereever. i feel eboue needs to work on his final end product.

luckily he redeemed himself with that lucky winner, or else he will be partially blamed for our draw.

 

[sabret00the]

Grow up you pedantic little s**t.

you don't need to attack the poster in order to make a point.