Player Ratings - PL: Manchester United vs Arsenal | 17/09/06

[RocktheCasbah]

Now, to be fair I did make the observation to a friend at the end of the first half that I didn't think he'd been that great, but as my mate pointed out- we were bossing the game. How did that happen if Cesc wasn't playing well?

 

[Rohit]

And btw....anyone else impressed with how eager our so-called lightweight midfielders (Cesc, Rosicky, and to a lesser extent, Hleb) are to get stuck in?

Yes,very impressed.I mentioned in the match thread how it was even more impressive that we were brilliant off the ball,offensively and defensively,more so defensively because we aern't used to seeing that from Arsenal.We generally like sitting deep,but we really closed Man Utd down very quickly and gave them no time on the ball and a lot of credit for that goes to our awesome threesome i.e Cesc,Rosicky and Hleb.

You aern't being fair to Hleb though.It isn't that he is less eager,he seemed very tired to me.He was all for getting stuck in against Hamburg.He is always up for a fight,i have never seen him trying to get out of challenges.May be with respect to going to ground and tackling you are right because he doesn't have very good technique but he does give it a try.

 

[el jefe]

I really think the first half was pretty even. If anything (the penalty and the near goal from the ensuing corner notwithstanding), they created the more dangerous chances. We were the better team in the second half, but not by the wide margin that has been reported by clueless journalists.

 

[Rohit]

Now, to be fair I did make the observation to a friend at the end of the first half that I didn't think he'd been that great, but as my mate pointed out- we were bossing the game. How did that happen if Cesc wasn't playing well?

We wern't bossing the game because Cesc was on top form.He did have a few bad touches,took more time on the ball and wasn't incisive enough like we know he usually is.It wasn't like he was having a shocker.

We bossed the game because we closed down Man Utd quickly,never gave them any time on the ball,were more eager to get to loose balls,simply we had more desire on the day.

Man Utd have been criticised by Hansen et all for the very same thing,for giving us too much time on the ball.We did the closing down job brilliantly and never allowed them to set the tempo.When we had the ball we did pass it well but as i said Cesc has set a standard for himself and we can gauge him with respect to that and i thought he wasn't upto it.

 

[el jefe]

And btw....anyone else impressed with how eager our so-called lightweight midfielders (Cesc, Rosicky, and to a lesser extent, Hleb) are to get stuck in?

You aern't being fair to Hleb though.It isn't that he is less eager,he seemed very tired to me.He was all for getting stuck in against Hamburg.He is always up for a fight,i have never seen him trying to get out of challenges.May be with respect to going to ground and tackling you are right because he doesn't have very good technique but he does give it a try.

Poorly worded on my part. I meant that he is pretty strong despite his stature, and isn't as frequently referred to as lightwieght. He's no natural defensively, but I do love his effort.

 

[RocktheCasbah]

We wern't bossing the game because Cesc was on top form.He did have a few bad touches,took more time on the ball and wasn't incisive enough like we know he usually is.It wasn't like he was having a shocker.

We bossed the game because we closed down Man Utd quickly,never gave them any time on the ball,were more eager to get to loose balls,simply we had more desire on the day.

Man Utd have been criticised by Hansen et all for the very same thing,for giving us too much time on the ball.We did the closing down job brilliantly and never allowed them to set the tempo.When we had the ball we did pass it well but as i said Cesc has set a standard for himself and we can gauge him with respect to that and i thought he wasn't upto it.

I see what you're saying, but the fact that we kept the ball well wasn't just down to Rosicky and Hleb- it was certainly nothing to do with slowcoach and Gilberto!

Again, I'm not saying Cesc was brilliant, I'm not saying it was all down to him, but some perspective should be applied here- we were playing Manchester United at Old Trafford and we beat them fairly and squarely, with passengers like Ljungberg in the team, there's no way it would have happened if Fabregas was as bad as has been intimated.

If United gave us too much time on the ball, was it not perhaps because the couldn't get near those neat little triangles being orchestrated throughout the match?

 

[the dawn raids]

And one of the reasons he does give the ball away sometimes, is because he looks for a killer pass, which is a GOOD thing. I'd rather he was looking for that than going sideways, because that's his role. We reaped the benefits yesterday with that stunning ball for Ade to win the pen.

most definitely. if hes got to make a few outlandish attempts at playing the ball through (like that lob for Rosicky that was overhit in the first half) to have the confidence and cheek to be able to thread such a killer ball upfield from behind the midfield line, then id say he should have a fair amount of slack to do so.

im not big on ratings, but for me he was better than Cesc overall while both were on the pitch, and not terribly far behind Rosicky.

 

[Gurgen]

kel- is "disappointing" the same as being the worst player on the pitch?

For my money, in the midfield, ok Cesc misplaced a few passes (who didn't?) the only player who you could argue outshone Cesc is Mr Rosicky. And then you have Cesc producing THAT pass, surely he's worth at least a 6 just for that?

When you give the ball away three times in dangerous areas, once resulting in a 3-on-3 break, you haven't been playing well, especially when you're Cesc Fabregas.

THAT pass doesn't make up for the fact that if those chances had fallen to anyone but Cristina Ronaldo, we would have been 2-0 down.

I still question the notion that Fabregas was the worst player on the pitch..

In our side Freddie was worse I reckon, and a host of United players obviously.

Yes, Cesc is definitely a victim of his own standards. I've come to expect that he gives the ball away carelessly maybe once in a match, but certainly not twice. I also rate Adebayor by his standards. Before this game his touch was terrible so he played an exceptional game. Is that so strange a way to reason?

 

[Captain]

Cesc certainly wasn't man of the match but he didn't stink the place up either. It was a steady performance that he can be proud of, if not quite up there with some of his better ones.

 

[kel varnsen]

Re: Man U - Arsenal, player ratings

But still his display merited more than 5. He gave away the ball because he was trying to move the ball forward. Agreed he may have been over ambitious and casual at times. But as you yourself imply he tightened his passing in the second half and finished the game strongly.
.

how so? a 5 is pretty much right down the middle. he was very poor in the first half and decent in the second half. that warrants a 5 out of 10 in my book.

As usual you want to be contrarian and draw attention to your post, so suit yourself.

discuss the issue, not me.

 

[kel varnsen]

kel- is "disappointing" the same as being the worst player on the pitch?

there were only 11, all of them arsenal, players on the pitch...? not to mention, when did a five become a horrid rating? in my book, that is mediocre. nothing more, nothing less.

...and as gurgen has pointed out, he gave the ball away a number of times in dangerous areas. he held on to the ball too long too often, which resulted in a number of broken down attacking moves. his first half was very, very poor, and although he played better in the second half, all in all cesc had an off night. those who give him and 8, or higher, are way off. waaaay off.

i'm just speculating now, but i suspect the reason can be that rosicky played in central midfield as well and thus did much of what cesc normally does. rosicky was the 'playmaker' in the first half and was the one who controlled the midfield. cesc looked a bit lost and couldn't really find his role in the team.

 

[RocktheCasbah]

kel- is "disappointing" the same as being the worst player on the pitch?

there were only 11, all of them arsenal, players on the pitch...? not to mention, when did a five become a horrid rating? in my book, that is mediocre. nothing more, nothing less.

Sorry kel, clearly I meant worst Arsenal player on the pitch...