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Ratings and post-match discussion vs Birmingham

The man of the match was...

  • Jack Wilshere

    Votes: 44 67.7%
  • Marouane Chamakh

    Votes: 12 18.5%
  • Abou Diaby

    Votes: 6 9.2%
  • Lukasz Fabianski

    Votes: 2 3.1%
  • Other

    Votes: 1 1.5%

  • Total voters
    65

dreamLord

Established Member
How is Chamakh getting MOTM claims? He missed two clear chances from the top of my head, and him and Diaby messed up atleast two more chances in the first half by trying to pass inside the goddam box. We're so inefficient it's not even funny.
 

Y va marquer

Established Member
Possibly getting MOTM claims for scoring the winning goal and securing the penalty that led to the equalising goal?

One wonders would we have won if he had not been on the pitch?
 

dreamLord

Established Member
"Securing the penalty" :lol: that's a nice way to put it. I commend him for his goal, but a 6.5 is the max he'd get from me, and that only because of his goal.
 

ricky1985

Established Member
Fabianski - 7. Impressive, assured display.

Eboue - 7. Barring a stupid tackle and a couple of dodgy moments at set-pieces, he was very good. One-on-one he was outstanding - as he always is.

Squillaci - 7. Good, solid performance.

Djourou - 6. Solid overall, but poor concentration for their goal- you can't leave the 6'8" guy unmarked, Johan!

Clichy - 7. Couple of typically shaky moments, but a lot of what he did was good. Should have scored, or at least hit the target, in the first half - though, I was pleased just to see him actually supporting the attack in the first place.

Song - 7. Very good first half, much more disciplined - almost as if he has been stung by the recent criticism. Strayed a little more second half, and got a little slack in his defending, but without question one of his better displays of the season.

Wilshere - 8. Second half was special, special for anyone, but for an 18 year old kid? Wow. Shame about the red card, which was deserved. Nothing malicious or premeditated, which has been suggested in some quarters. It was a rash tackle, from a young kid, who took a poor touch - nothing more, and he will learn. Such a shame he'll miss the City game because of it - a big loss.

Diaby - 6. Hard one to mark, some brilliant pieces of skill and surges past 2 or 3 players, but nothing at the end of it. So many times he picked the wrong pass, or played it at the wrong time, or simply didn't play it at all - preferring instead to run down blind alleys. He has no comprehension whatsoever of where the weak points are, or what the percentage passes are, he doesn't see the space and movement around him. To be fair few do, but if you're going to play the play making role in our team, you simply must have that kind of quality. Baffling decision from Wenger to play him there, and keep playing him there. I have a sneaking suspicion that Wenger is starting to feel he can't turn Abou into the deeper midfielder he wants him to be.

Nasri - 5. Have to say I think he was really poor. His passing and awareness almost rivalled Diaby's in its ineptness. Very little understanding of what's around him, or what the "right" pass is - Wilshere really does show him up in that respect especially. I have a theory that Samir's nose has been bent out of shape a little by Wenger's preference for Diaby in the central role, in Cesc's absence. He sees it as a reflection of his ability to play the role - which it is.

Arshavin - 5. Nothing came off for him today, but to be fair playing with Chamakh, Nasri and Diaby in the forward line with him did not help one bit. They each refuse to run beyond the ball and just don't have a clue where to move to open up space - put short they don't operate on his wavelength in the way Wilshere, Fabregas or van Persie do.

Chamakh - 7. Great hold-up play as usual, provided the 2 decisive moments in the match - in other words he was the match winner. Again. Needs to work on his incisive movement, though, it's not good enough right now, and he has the physical potential to really threaten.

Subs

Rosicky - 7. There's no way Diaby, Arshavin, and, perhaps, Nasri, deserve to start ahead of him right now. Although he does seem to have a problem reproducing his good contributions from the start of matches.

Bendtner - 5. Good to see him back, but he looked a long way short of match fitness.
 

Yousif Arsenal

On Vinai's payroll & misses 4th place trophy šŸ†
Trusted ā­
FAB 7 well done very good performance espically when you catch the ball in air well done i like this performance keep goin

eboue 7 good performance he is good attacking back but sometimes he forget the defense job and some bad tackles today

squillaci 7 good performance and the goal was not offside but what we do stupid ref

DJ 6 well DJ what you was doin when zigic jump and take the ball how you not mark this big man you know he dangrous in air but good 2nd half

clichy 7 good game some bad moments but good game

song 7 very good first half he stays back and he not go forword and 2nd half he start to go forword some times

diaby 7 good game his problem he dont know to shoot? maybe he near to score a goal he just shot it but i dont why he not shot alot of balls come to him but he waste it

wilshere 8 MOTM a very good game for him really class performance i dont blame his for the red card he is still young and he will learn from his mistakes

arshavin 5 well a really bad game i dont see him

nasri 6 well not a bad game but i was waiting to see more from him

chamakh 7 very good game so good dive and soo good goal nice performance

subs

rozza 6 he did more better then arshavin

N52 5 welcome back bendy still he need more games
 

dave_rwr

Established Member
Fabiasnki - 8 - Oddly enough I'm going to give him my MOTM because of Jack's red card and that is especially because of his work in injury time. He did really well to come out with one solid punch and one solid catch when last year at least one of those would have been in the net. It scares me that he's playing well, but it would be great if he does beat the odds and continues with performances like today.

Eboue - 4 - Mediocre in defense and only slightly better in the attack, but I wasn't expecting much more.

Squillaci - 7 - Looked like he had a point to prove today. Was putting his body on the line in defense more than anyone else.

Djourou - 4 - At this stage, he's a liability. I'm happy he's fourth in line behind better players.

Clichy - 5 - Not awful, not great.

Song - 4 - I really just want to see more discipline. There were times in the last 10 minutes when he was our most advanced player, in line with their center backs. That's not a DM trying to play as a box-to-box, that's a centre forward. When we're only up 2-1 with 10 minutes left, he needs to be more disciplined.

Jack - 8 - Played really well and really strong for the whole game. The needless tackle in injury time is what gives his MOTM to Fabiasnki. Great to see at his age and his height battling it out with 6'7" Zigic at so many times during the match... Until the card that is.

Diaby - 6.5 - Pushed us forward very well countless number of times, then slowed the entire team down on the edge of the 18 countless number of times. More suited as a box-to-box than an AM.

Arshavin - 3 - Didn't show up.

Chamakh - 7.5 - Played well and got us the result. Great skill for the goal and solid work rate. Would like to see him in the box more though.

Nasri - 7.5 - Thought he was very solid. Still lacking a bit of urgency around the 18, but the whole team was today.

Bendtner - N/A - Not much time to rate and it's obvious that he's rusty, but there were two noticeable differences between him and Chamakh. Bendtner's work rate was noticeably less and his pressing in their end was definitely inferior. However, he stays in the box and that's why he's always able to get so many tap-ins. He's a big, strong presence in the box where Chamakh spends far more time outside of the 18-yard box. That is something we will need against certain teams.

Rosicky - 6.5 - Had far more urgency than Arshavin and that's what we needed. Better work rate and I think he kept us from fading too much in the last section of the game.
 

Anzac

Established Member
dave_rwr said:
Fabiasnki - 8 - Oddly enough I'm going to give him my MOTM because of Jack's red card and that is especially because of his work in injury time. He did really well to come out with one solid punch and one solid catch when last year at least one of those would have been in the net. It scares me that he's playing well, but it would be great if he does beat the odds and continues with performances like today.

Eboue - 4 - Mediocre in defense and only slightly better in the attack, but I wasn't expecting much more.

Squillaci - 7 - Looked like he had a point to prove today. Was putting his body on the line in defense more than anyone else.

Djourou - 4 - At this stage, he's a liability. I'm happy he's fourth in line behind better players.

Clichy - 5 - Not awful, not great.

Song - 4 - I really just want to see more discipline. There were times in the last 10 minutes when he was our most advanced player, in line with their center backs. That's not a DM trying to play as a box-to-box, that's a centre forward. When we're only up 2-1 with 10 minutes left, he needs to be more disciplined.

Jack - 8 - Played really well and really strong for the whole game. The needless tackle in injury time is what gives his MOTM to Fabiasnki. Great to see at his age and his height battling it out with 6'7" Zigic at so many times during the match... Until the card that is.

Diaby - 6.5 - Pushed us forward very well countless number of times, then slowed the entire team down on the edge of the 18 countless number of times. More suited as a box-to-box than an AM.

Arshavin - 3 - Didn't show up.

Chamakh - 7.5 - Played well and got us the result. Great skill for the goal and solid work rate. Would like to see him in the box more though.

Nasri - 7.5 - Thought he was very solid. Still lacking a bit of urgency around the 18, but the whole team was today.

Bendtner - N/A - Not much time to rate and it's obvious that he's rusty, but there were two noticeable differences between him and Chamakh. Bendtner's work rate was noticeably less and his pressing in their end was definitely inferior. However, he stays in the box and that's why he's always able to get so many tap-ins. He's a big, strong presence in the box where Chamakh spends far more time outside of the 18-yard box. That is something we will need against certain teams.

Rosicky - 6.5 - Had far more urgency than Arshavin and that's what we needed. Better work rate and I think he kept us from fading too much in the last section of the game.

This for me.
IMO the likes of AA, Nasri, Wilshere & Rosicky are ALL better suited to the AMC/SS role than Diaby.
IMO Song gives us NOTHING in this new shape & role, to the extent that he is as much a detraction as any lack of end result from the likes of Walcott/Eboue/Diaby; the mindless crosses from the FBs; or AA's turn overs of possession in the middle 3rd.
 

asajoseph

Established Member
Song was excellent today.

Where this crazy idea that Song can only possibly be playing well if he sits rigidly within our half has come from, I don't know, but the sheep-like adherence to it by some of you lot is flat-out ridiculous, and is pretty much driving me to lose faith in this forum.

He was behind the play every time he needed to be today.
 

AnthonyG

Arse Emeritus
Definitely one of Song's better games this season. I've been on his back a lot of late, but I have little to complain about his performance today. Picked his 'battles' well.
 

asajoseph

Established Member
And Djourou. 4. Really???

My brief ratings:

Fabianski - 7

Eboue - 5
Djourou - 6
Squillaci - 7
Clichy - 7

Diaby - 6
Song - 8
Wilshere - 9

Arshavin - 3
Chamakh - 6
Nasri - 6

Subs
Rosicky - 6
Bendtner - 4 (just for that ridiculous backheel).

Games like today remind me why I still think that anyone who does a backheel in a game should be fined.
 

sagreig

Well-Known Member
Fabianski - 7 (which is the equivalent of about 10 for his standards). Did the simple things well.

Clichy - 5.5, distinctly average
Djourou - 5.5, average
Squillaci - 5.5, average
Eboue - 5. Crap going forward.

Wilshere - 9, would've got a 10 if not for the sending off. Brilliant game.
Song - 5.5, average. Didn't do much wrong and he didn't do much right.
Diaby - 7, he single-handedly got us into goalscoring positions but he didn't have the balls to have a go. But maybe his ankle was troubling him.

Nasri - 6, ok, typical game from him.
Arshavin - 4, worst player on the pitch for my money. Not worried though, it just means he's due a goal next week.
Chamakh - 5.5, won a penalty (+1). Got a goal (+2). Struggled to hold-up the ball and be the targetman as well as usual (-1), behaving like a frightened little ***** in front of goal and passing up almost every opportunity to shoot (-2), missing a simple chance to make it 1-0 (-1).

Subs:
Rosicky - 8, brilliant. Sliding-tackles. Directness; accurate, creative, forward passing like the 30 yard ball he played Clichy through with and a great shot which made the keeper work. All in the space of about 25 mins.
 

AnthonyG

Arse Emeritus
asajoseph said:
Games like today remind me why I still think that anyone who does a backheel in a game should be fined.
Except Jack (in the box). :mrgreen:

Arshavin seems to do a couple a game.
 

asajoseph

Established Member
Song - 5.5, average. Didn't do much wrong and he didn't do much right.

Honestly, do you really mean that?

The guy had by far and away the best passing completion rate of all forward players in our team today, not to mention the flick to Jack that helped create our second goal.
 

sagreig

Well-Known Member
asajoseph said:
Song - 5.5, average. Didn't do much wrong and he didn't do much right.

Honestly, do you really mean that?

The guy had by far and away the best passing completion rate of all forward players in our team today, not to mention the flick to Jack that helped create our second goal.

Yes, I do mean that. I wouldn't say it if I didn't. It's a short way of saying he didn't stand out for me and he wasn't influential. That flick was good in fairness but I can't remember him doing anything else. Fair play to him if he didn't give the ball away much. I guess pushing his rating up by a point would also sit quite easy with me.
 

Klaus Daimler

Established Member
asajoseph said:
Song was excellent today.

Where this crazy idea that Song can only possibly be playing well if he sits rigidly within our half has come from, I don't know, but the sheep-like adherence to it by some of you lot is flat-out ridiculous, and is pretty much driving me to lose faith in this forum.

He was behind the play every time he needed to be today.
I thought he was very good too. Reminded me about the Song we saw in his better moments last season. His passing between the lines kickstarted many of our best attacking moves.

All this Song bashing lately has been getting out of hand. Fair enough that he's been having a couple mediocre performances, but judging from the sound of some on here he's been worse than Igor Stepanovs.
 

Iloveyouarsenewenger

Established Member
asajoseph said:
Song was excellent today.

Where this crazy idea that Song can only possibly be playing well if he sits rigidly within our half has come from, I don't know, but the sheep-like adherence to it by some of you lot is flat-out ridiculous, and is pretty much driving me to lose faith in this forum.

He was behind the play every time he needed to be today.

Absolutely. I always believed that his recent mediocre performances were not due to his playing as a box to box player but because of his lack of sharpness while tackling.

He did fine with his tackles today and that's the main reason why we saw an improved performance.
 

dreamLord

Established Member
He looked good because we was against a shot Hleb in midfield. Bring on City and we'll be back to the muppets we are at defending, and largely because of Song.
 

AshburtonGhost

Well-Known Member
There's no Song bashing going on, just people realising that role he is playing at the moment is probably asking too much of him.
 

yuvken

Established Member
Agree with Asa on this "automatic" categorizing: it's shallow, annoying, and does indeed make one lose interest of what goes on in here - why bother? to see who comes around the corner, lift his back leg and renew his agenda's smell on the corner bush?
Same for clichy, Eboue, Djourou and others. Perhaps non merits an 8 for yesterday, but those who actually looked at the game saw reminders of the days no one in the world could beat Eboue. really poor yesterday was only AA (and Nick, for like 5 minutes).

Back heels: no, I wouldn't want anyone fined, but that's a bit of the player version of my complaint above. Both Jack and AA use it as a natural part of their arsenal - they don't normally need to force it. But it's not "automatic": a player knows when he's in it, and should know when he's off. In that case you just don't do it, just like attempting 60 yards passes. With Nick it's even more restricted: he can't possibly think the back heel is just another way to pass the ball.
Bender's not mature enough, and should learn. Shava should really know better: when you have a day like this, forget back heels. Only truly arrogant people like him would persist despite knowing it's not their day.
Btw - song's back-heel for the second goal :) ?
 

sabret00the

Established Member
AnthonyG said:
Definitely one of Song's better games this season. I've been on his back a lot of late, but I have little to complain about his performance today. Picked his 'battles' well.
He done well. We weren't at our best thoughand we could've done a lot better without Diaby I feel.
 

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