asajoseph
Established Member
Frankly, I found the whole game so uninspiring, I can't really be bothered to write much about it. The first half was incredibly dull, neither side creating anything, although it improved in the second. Anyway...
Jens Lehmann - Didn't have a great deal to do today, perhaps could have held on to Richardson's shot, but it was pacey. Otherwise, a quiet, but largely flawless display. 6.5
Lauren - Not bad, and occasionally looked capable of providing something going forward, feeding Reyes on occasion. Gave the ball away in dangerous situations though, and often wasn't concentrating fully. 6
Kolo Toure - Like most of the team today, was very wasteful in possession, got caught out horribly towards the end, but made up for it with a big slide across the player. Also gave the ball away in dangerous positions on several occasions. But the defence never looked too troubled, so credit where it's due I suppose. 6
Philippe Senderos - Mammoth defensively today. Looked very mature sheperding players, using his strength well, and looked pacey on occasion. HOWEVER, how many times, particularly in the first half, did he just hoof the ball up the pitch, to nobody in particular, other than Russell Hoult? Sure, he's not supposed to be the creative spark in the team, but must learn to not be so wasteful. 8
Ashley Cole - Generally a good performance, again looked like a possible attacking outlet, but stalled when he got over the halfway line on most occasions. Defensively he was ok, until the last 10 minutes, when he started diving in, either because he was tired or panicking. The link up play with Pires was not particularly profitable today. 7
Cesc Fabregas - At times, he looked like one of our best players, passing the ball sublimely, and one of the only people on the field able to find his first touch. He got up when he was clattered, made a splendid tackle on Gera, and did a lot of running on the wing. He got caught in possession several times in the second half, and I suspect that fatigue might have had something to do with it. Needed to be taken off, really, and Wenger duly obliged. 7
Vieira - A very mixed bag. He really worked today, and kept running all the way through, really looking like he was trying to run the game. His passing though, was erratic. Sometimes excellent, at others straight at WBA players. On the ball he was strong as ever, but the team, as a whole, wasn't offering many outlets. 7.5
Gilberto - Now, it pains me to say this, because I really do recognise the worth of this guy, but this was without doubt the worst performance I've seen him put in in an Arsenal shirt. He offered nothing going forward, not making any passes, or runs, nor was he able to get involved breaking up the attacks. He improved a little in the second half, although he did have his mandatory air shot (he seems to take one a game these days!) in the first. Quite why we needed such a defensively minded player against a team who often had all 11 men in their own half, and only one striker is beyond me - I feel we should have rested him and started with Edu. But really, he wasn't doing a whole lot to break up the WBA tackles when they came forward anyway. Disappointing. 4
Pires - After a few consistently good games, where he has really been able to control things on his flank at least, I think he slipped back a step today. If we had a deeper squad, perhaps we should have rested him, I don't know. That said, he didn't play particularly badly. He got the ball in dangerous positions in midfield on a number of occasions, and, although not wasteful, was not really able to offer much in the way of penetration. This, I don't believe, was really his fault. He did get given the ball approaching the final third, and was able to create time for himself, but ever time he looked up it seemed that there weren't any passes on. WBA did well to crowd their half, although I don't think Reyes running was as good as it can, or should be, and Gilberto didn't seem interested in pushing forward. Not bad, but not effective. 6
Reyes - Very sick of him today. The number of times he was caught in possession, tried and failed to beat players one on one, shot weakly or not at all were all very poor. Not only that, I don't think he helped out his midfield enough by making himself available for passes - sometimes he was there for the ball, but all too often Paddy and Bobby were searching for an outlet and he just didn't seem interested. What positives from the game today? Well, his assist for Van Persie was decent - he beat his man well, and chose the right pass, although when it reached RVP it was a foot and a half off the ground. Also, at least he DID start to get himself into positions where he had chances in the second half, even if his actual finishing was awful. Still, a very poor performance. 4
RVP - Excellent, in my view. In the first half, he looked much the brighter of our strikers, more willing to come deep to collect the ball, not giving it away as much, and more willing to work for the team. Took his goal superbly. Wasn't able to create too much for himself, but was full of running until he was taken off. Why he went off instead of Reyes is also strange - I'll assume it was fatigue, because he was the far better striker. 8.5
Subs
Bergkamp - Although he was able to get more involved than either RVP or Reyes towards the end, didn't really look like he offered too much. However, his pass to Edu was superb for the second goal, perfectly weighted. 7.5
Edu - Looked far more accomplished on the ball than most today. Didn't look like giving the ball away as much, and, although fortunate with his goal, ran well to collect it and took the right option in trying to lob Hoult. 7.5
A bit harsh on some players, especially because we got a 2-0 win away from home, but I really think that the boys were very under par today.
Jens Lehmann - Didn't have a great deal to do today, perhaps could have held on to Richardson's shot, but it was pacey. Otherwise, a quiet, but largely flawless display. 6.5
Lauren - Not bad, and occasionally looked capable of providing something going forward, feeding Reyes on occasion. Gave the ball away in dangerous situations though, and often wasn't concentrating fully. 6
Kolo Toure - Like most of the team today, was very wasteful in possession, got caught out horribly towards the end, but made up for it with a big slide across the player. Also gave the ball away in dangerous positions on several occasions. But the defence never looked too troubled, so credit where it's due I suppose. 6
Philippe Senderos - Mammoth defensively today. Looked very mature sheperding players, using his strength well, and looked pacey on occasion. HOWEVER, how many times, particularly in the first half, did he just hoof the ball up the pitch, to nobody in particular, other than Russell Hoult? Sure, he's not supposed to be the creative spark in the team, but must learn to not be so wasteful. 8
Ashley Cole - Generally a good performance, again looked like a possible attacking outlet, but stalled when he got over the halfway line on most occasions. Defensively he was ok, until the last 10 minutes, when he started diving in, either because he was tired or panicking. The link up play with Pires was not particularly profitable today. 7
Cesc Fabregas - At times, he looked like one of our best players, passing the ball sublimely, and one of the only people on the field able to find his first touch. He got up when he was clattered, made a splendid tackle on Gera, and did a lot of running on the wing. He got caught in possession several times in the second half, and I suspect that fatigue might have had something to do with it. Needed to be taken off, really, and Wenger duly obliged. 7
Vieira - A very mixed bag. He really worked today, and kept running all the way through, really looking like he was trying to run the game. His passing though, was erratic. Sometimes excellent, at others straight at WBA players. On the ball he was strong as ever, but the team, as a whole, wasn't offering many outlets. 7.5
Gilberto - Now, it pains me to say this, because I really do recognise the worth of this guy, but this was without doubt the worst performance I've seen him put in in an Arsenal shirt. He offered nothing going forward, not making any passes, or runs, nor was he able to get involved breaking up the attacks. He improved a little in the second half, although he did have his mandatory air shot (he seems to take one a game these days!) in the first. Quite why we needed such a defensively minded player against a team who often had all 11 men in their own half, and only one striker is beyond me - I feel we should have rested him and started with Edu. But really, he wasn't doing a whole lot to break up the WBA tackles when they came forward anyway. Disappointing. 4
Pires - After a few consistently good games, where he has really been able to control things on his flank at least, I think he slipped back a step today. If we had a deeper squad, perhaps we should have rested him, I don't know. That said, he didn't play particularly badly. He got the ball in dangerous positions in midfield on a number of occasions, and, although not wasteful, was not really able to offer much in the way of penetration. This, I don't believe, was really his fault. He did get given the ball approaching the final third, and was able to create time for himself, but ever time he looked up it seemed that there weren't any passes on. WBA did well to crowd their half, although I don't think Reyes running was as good as it can, or should be, and Gilberto didn't seem interested in pushing forward. Not bad, but not effective. 6
Reyes - Very sick of him today. The number of times he was caught in possession, tried and failed to beat players one on one, shot weakly or not at all were all very poor. Not only that, I don't think he helped out his midfield enough by making himself available for passes - sometimes he was there for the ball, but all too often Paddy and Bobby were searching for an outlet and he just didn't seem interested. What positives from the game today? Well, his assist for Van Persie was decent - he beat his man well, and chose the right pass, although when it reached RVP it was a foot and a half off the ground. Also, at least he DID start to get himself into positions where he had chances in the second half, even if his actual finishing was awful. Still, a very poor performance. 4
RVP - Excellent, in my view. In the first half, he looked much the brighter of our strikers, more willing to come deep to collect the ball, not giving it away as much, and more willing to work for the team. Took his goal superbly. Wasn't able to create too much for himself, but was full of running until he was taken off. Why he went off instead of Reyes is also strange - I'll assume it was fatigue, because he was the far better striker. 8.5
Subs
Bergkamp - Although he was able to get more involved than either RVP or Reyes towards the end, didn't really look like he offered too much. However, his pass to Edu was superb for the second goal, perfectly weighted. 7.5
Edu - Looked far more accomplished on the ball than most today. Didn't look like giving the ball away as much, and, although fortunate with his goal, ran well to collect it and took the right option in trying to lob Hoult. 7.5
A bit harsh on some players, especially because we got a 2-0 win away from home, but I really think that the boys were very under par today.
