Ratings and post-match discussion vs Braga

[Pepe LeFrits]

Can't be bothered to rate our team, everyone did well

Braga -0 ruined it as a spectacle, was too easy it became a joke. You really are crap if you can't put Almunia under pressure once and Cesc the midget is scoring headers against you.

Lighten up lagos! Has anyone ever seen a team lose 6 nil and thought 'well, they played well, the other team was just too good'?

We played some superb stuff and Braga (who eliminated Sevilla) couldn't deal with us. The pace of the passing at times was as good as I've seen from an Arsenal team.

 

[M+D]

Almunia - 6 - Nothing to do.

Sagna - 6 - Did his job and did it well, few little errors.

Squillaci - 7 - Dealt with everything with a minimum of fuss.

Koscielny - 7 - Very aggressive in the challenge, bullied players out of it when he was needed. Composed on the ball.

Clichy - 7 - Intercepts the ball again and again. Had one classic Clichy moment of poor concentration but he helps our pressing so much.


Song - 7 - Not a lot to say really, a few great challenges. Too far up the pitch for my liking at times given he's not the quickest to recover.

Wilshere - 9 - Special first half performance, almost coasted through the second. Positionally he is exceptional and very mobile. Sublime assist too.

Fabregas - 9 - Classy as ever, on a different planet to any of the Braga players who couldn't get near him. Brilliant.

Samir Nasri - 7 - Neat and tidy, doesn't ever lose the ball when it's at his feet and his work rate is fantastic.

Marouane Chamakh - 9 - Again he was excellent, just fits the frontman role perfectly for me. Holds up play, brilliant in the air and always on the move.

Andrey Arshavin - 7.5 - His end product was brilliant so he gets an 7.5, can't say he doesn't make a difference in the final third. The rest of his performance was poor at best, gave the ball away countless times which could have landed us in real trouble. Enigma is the word.

Subs:

Carlos Vela - 8 - Expert finishing.
Denilson - 7 - Tidy.
Eboue - 5 - Eboue.

 

[CandysRoom]

Think Chamakh must be pleased he chose football with us over wages at Liverpool. I really think he and Cesc will do some serious damage together this year.

Special shout out to Al in goal. Didn't have much to do, but made two superb interceptions he may not have made last year.

 

[otfgoon]

Obvious quality performances aside (Klaus covered it), it was good to see Clichy playing as well as he did.

Can't be bothered to rate our team, everyone did well

Braga -0 ruined it as a spectacle, was too easy it became a joke. You really are crap if you can't put Almunia under pressure once and Cesc the midget is scoring headers against you.

If you couldn't enjoy that, I really do feel sorry for you.

 

[Timleaf]

I cant get my head around Arshavin at times. He seems to find the hard things easy and the easy things hard. Still, I think he's an important player for us.

 

[fabo]

Nearly everyone was superb. Song was abysmal though, looked out of place.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

Cesc is simply the best midfielder in the world for me. Not much to add to that really. Simply awesome.

Shava was also fantastic tonight. It's true that he loses the ball in the middle third a lot, but in the final third he's an absolute genius. Such an incisive player, and always dangerous. An absolute match-winner.

Special mention as well to Jack, who has ridiculous amounts of talent.

Vela was great when he came on. He's an extremely gifted natural footballer. Very disappointed that Arsène doesn't give him more opportunities. We're going to lose him, and we'll probably end up regretting it.

 

[Timleaf]

Apparently Arshavin completed only 6 passes in the second half. 2 were goal assists and one was the one-two that lead to Cesc's one-on-one which the keeper saved. I think he's right when he says that he's becoming more effective.

 

[DK Gooner]

Almunia - 6 - not much to do

Sagna - 6 - not much to do

Koscielny - 8

Squillaci - 7

Clichy - 7 - would have been an 8, but his error in the first half nearly allowed Braga back into the game. After that a solid performance.

Song - 5.5 - tidy in spells, but bypassed easily by Braga in his defensive duties. His contribution was overshadowed by his midfield collegues.

Fabregas - 10

Wilshere - 8.5 - much improved performance and looked very comfortable. Tenacious in the tackle and effective passing.

Nasri - 7.5 - Worked very hard and tracked back as well. Good return to action

Chamakh - 9

Arshavin - 8.5 - would have been 9 or even 10 if he hadn't have been so sloppy with his passes in midfield. Great assist for Vela and unlucky not to get a 2nd goal when his shot came back off the upright.

Subs:
Vela - 8 - 2 very good finishes including the mandatory chip

Eboue - 5.5 - tidy, but didn't contribute to the forward play. Worked hard to track back and ensure Braga didn't have a free run at Sagna. Game long over by the time of his introduction.

Denilson - 6 - again tidy, but nothing much to do. Kept the passes moving as he looks to get back to full match fitness.

As for Braga, they were just overwhelmed by our play. They had no real plan B to counter or stall our progress, but the return leg could be a different story.

 

[fabo]

Almunia..........7

Sagna.......7......looks back to his solid best these days.
Squillaci........6......is he alive? Nothing to do really, solid enough.
Koscielny........7.......did well but he's very rash at times and a bit clumsy. I get the Senderos chills when the ball goes near him.
Clichy..........6

Song...........5.....odd one out in a great display of incisive passing.
Wilshere......8....tired out in the end but a class act for the most part. Especially in the final third.
Cesc.......9.....just immense. I think I enjoyed his assist for Vela the most, love to see that.

Nasri.........6......second half he was a ghost. Pity as he looked good early on.
Chamakh......8.....only fault I have is the runs that he makes. But a very solid player in nearly every area. Seems to be growing in confidence too.
Arshavin..........8.....was tempted to say 7 as he was very sloppy on the ball, but he scored and created a few goals too. Deserves a high score. He looks sharp as I said a few weeks back.

 

[outlaw_member]

Almunia 6/10
Good handling.

Sagna 6/10
Solid.

Koscielny 7/10
Cut out everything, dominant and very aggressive in the challenge.

Squillaci 7/10
Likewise, dominant in defence.

Clichy 6/10
Looked a liability at times, but good anticipations.

Song 5/10
Poorest player on the pitch.

Wilshere 7.5/10
Great movement, first touch, and link up play. Revelled in a offensive midfield role.

Fabregas 9/10
The upcoming master.

Arshavin 8/10
Was sloppy at times, but breathtaking at others. Excellent through balls and finishing.

Chamakh 8/10
Great CF play.

Nasri 7.5/10
Quality performance, showing speed, tenacity, and directness.

 

[Don Pacifico]

Said what I needed to in the match thread. All I'll say here is that I wish Song would wake up - he's been awful so far this season.

Other than him, everyone had a good game.

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

well 10/10 to all the team

Big Al 5 you really was in holiday today not tested just in tow balls

clichy 6 shocking first half but good 2nd half

sagna 7 good game he supported the attack well

Kos 7 i think he not lose a tackle or a ball in air very good match

Squi 7 good game

song 7 good game he control the midfelder when he come off braga start to attack

wilshere 8 good game for wilshere nice back pass to chamakh made a really nice goal our new fabregas in making i think i hope he keep the working up

fabregas 10 2 goals 2 assist just sad you dont score a hatrick but one of your perfect games well dont waiting you to do the same vs sunderland

nasri 7 good return from nasri looked sharp and in form

arshavin 7 well the first half he made alot of wrong passes but he repair himself in 2nd half and made 3 nice assist

chamakh 8 he improve he is good sgining from wenger good game

subs

dede 6 nice passes

vela 9 i dont know when wenger will make you start but 30 min and you score 2 goals thats perfect for me well done keep the working up

 

[Clrnc]

Said what I needed to in the match thread. All I'll say here is that I wish Song would wake up - he's been awful so far this season.

Other than him, everyone had a good game.

Exactly. Whats up with him? Even when everybody have been impressed with him due to that goal, I ain't. It was painfully obvious at times he have been giving away balls for fun, dosen't even play it with effort sometimes.

Tbh, he isn't even half the player he was last season. Have been quite disappointed with him. Maybe he should go back to the basics and play it simple

 

[outlaw_member]

That's exactly what I think it is. He's tried to play an expansive game, and has been found wanting. He might grow into into it, but the type of one touch play we saw today is usually innate. Wilshere, Cesc, Chamakh were all on the same wave length, because they always move the ball with minimal touches. If he keeps it simple, then I don't think it'd be a problem.

 

[GaelForce22]

Almunia 7

Sagna 7
Squillaci 7
Koscileny 7
Clichy 7

Song 6
Wilshere 9
Cesc 10 - Unstoppable in this form.

Nasri 7
Chamakh 8
Arshavin 9

Vela 9
Denilson 6
Eboue 6

 

[TheLoneFalcon]

So good I watched it twice. () is the rating of the player's performance judged according to his potential.

Al 7 (8) Assured performance and did what he had to do with aplomb.

Clichy 7 (6) Very decent, but still a liability. Needs to stop leaving his flank exposed.

Koscielny 8 (?) One of the players who really surprised me I have to say. Very, very reassuring.

Squillaci 7 (?) Solid.

Sagna 6.5 (6) Not as good as his previous performances.

Song 5.5 (6) Frustrating.

Wilshere 8 (8) His best performance in the first team and was very disciplined!

Fabregas 9.5 (8) If he's 'unhappy' about being forced to stay and still delivers like today then I say **** Barcelona.

Nasri 6.5 Was very good, but faded almost alarmingly. Understandable though, and he should be pleased about the performance.

Arshavin 8 (7) What can one say. Mr. Efficient.

Chamack 8.5 (?) Needs to stay the hell uninjured.

Vela 8 (7.5)

Denilson 6 (6)

Eboue meh

A deeply satisfactory experience.

 

[qs]

Almunia 7
Sagna 7
Squillaci 7
Koscielny 7
Clichy 8
Song 7
Cesc 9
Wilshere 8
Nasri 7
Arshavin 8
Chamakh 8

Vela 8
Denilson 7
Eboue 7

 

[outlaw_member]

Clichy's lapses in concentration are upsetting. He slipped at a vital moment, but was fortunately not punished. He was also robbed of the ball inside our own box, after being incredibly careless. These type of mistakes should no longer be occuring at his age.

 

[nazo]

Looks like Nasri was ok on his first game back. Was he playing right wing all game?