Ratings and post-match discussion vs Sunderland

[redwhiteAustrian]

Al 7.5

Sagna 7
Kos 8.5
Squib 8
Clichy 5

Song 5
Jacky 5.5
Fabs 6.5

Arsh 5.5
Chamakh 7.5
Basri 7

_____________

Rozza 5.5
Denilson 6.5

 

[TheEconomist]

to be honest, i would have chosen rosicky to take the penalty too, he was the most senior and experienced player on the team, the other lads dont have anywhere near as much experience as him, i didnt expect him to blast it so wildly, the pressure got to him, he must be low on confidence, but on his day we all know that rozz has a decent shot on him

 

[Humble Rex]

Clichy is definitely getting targeted more by the opposition, he needs a bit more help from the midfield. His confidence is pretty low too, he could be a real liability for us if he doesnt get his act together

He is being targeted by long balls. He is by far the worst header of the ball in our back 4. Good tactics by the opposition. What baffles me is that he still goes for the header the 11th time despite having lost the previous 10 challenges. Why doesn´t he just back off and deal with the flick ons instead?

Wenger did try to counter that approach today though in the 2nd half by having Song positioned close to Gael when possession was in Sunderland´s back four. Have him deal with it instead.

 

[IBL]

Am I right in thinking thats the first time Rosciky has ever taken a penalty for us?

 

[raidersoftheark]

Wouldn't have trusted Chamakh, either. Denilson has a clean strike on him, so he'd have been the best bet. Ridiculous that it fell to Rosicky, he's a serial key chance misser.

It really seems that way, doesn't it? I dunno about you, but the moment he stepped up to the plate, my heart sank. I would have asked Nasri to take it personally.

Can't be bothered to do ratings, except shout-outs go to Koscielny and Squillaci who both looked strong and determined, and Almunia who really showed up and pulled off 2 huge saves. I thought both Song and Jack were wretched, although Jack slowly got better as the game wore on, but his immaturity was glaring at times. I would not play him in future away matches unless we really had no other option.

Also thought Samir did a decent job. He seems ideal for matches when teams are throwing the kitchen sink at us. His ability to shield the ball and slow the game down is excellent, and vital in the last 15 minutes of matches when the heat is on and everything seems to be falling around us.

 

[irishgunnerz]

Soul destroying, absolutely soul destroying.

Manny and the Squill were extremely solid today - credit to them both. Chamakh's ability to hold up the ball and bring others into play was also encouraging. Koscielny though was hugely impressive...MOTM without a shadow of a doubt.

Wilshere and Song were abysmal while Clichy seems more and more to be a liability which is saddening as he's a genuinely likeable guy who loves the club. As has been said, he looks low on confidence, but even leaving that aside, it's his reoccurring habit of playing well for 95% of a game but switching off at vital moments which are costing us.

 

[bazza_afc]

Nasri bottled it

 

[Linson]

Jesus guys lets put this into perspective, a couple of years ago or even last year that was a game we would've lost. Our central defence showed absolutely no mercy and dominated from start to finish, I literally couldn't be more pleased with Koscielny or Squillaci.
Also Almunia not only made a couple of decent saves but also managed to hold onto the ball a lot better than usual.

There a more positives to take out of this game than people are making out!

 

[outlaw_member]

It really seems that way, doesn't it? I dunno about you, but the moment he stepped up to the plate, my heart sank. I would have asked Nasri to take it personally.

Can't be bothered to do ratings, except shout-outs go to Koscielny and Squillaci who both looked strong and determined, and Almunia who really showed up and pulled off 2 huge saves. I thought both Song and Jack were wretched, although Jack slowly got better as the game wore on, but his immaturity was glaring at times. I would not play him in future away matches unless we really had no other option.

Also thought Samir did a decent job. He seems ideal for matches when teams are throwing the kitchen sink at us. His ability to shield the ball and slow the game down is excellent, and vital in the last 15 minutes of matches when the heat is on and everything seems to be falling around us.

When I saw Rosicky go to take it, I just imagined him skying it like usually does when he has a shot.

 

[TheLoneFalcon]

Am I right in thinking thats the first time Rosciky has ever taken a penalty for us?

I've never seen him take one.

If it's true that Nasri backed out of taking responsibility then I feel he is even more worthy than Rozza to be the recipient of a broadside of abuse from Arsène.

 

[outlaw_member]

Soul destroying, absolutely soul destroying.

Manny and the Squill were extremely solid today - credit to them both. Chamakh's ability to hold up the ball and bring others into play was also encouraging. Koscielny though was hugely impressive...MOTM without a shadow of a doubt.

Wilshere and Song were abysmal while Clichy seems more and more to be a liability which is saddening as he's a genuinely likeable guy who loves the club. As has been said, he looks low on confidence, but even leaving that aside, it's his reoccurring habit of playing well for 95% of a game but switching off at vital moments which are costing us.

I don't mean to pick on you, IG, but why does it matter if he's a likeable guy? I constantly hear that about him and van Persie. Should it matter that they might be couple of nice fellas who you could share a beer with? I'd take a bastard everyday, if he was the better player.

 

[TheLoneFalcon]

Jesus guys lets put this into perspective, a couple of years ago or even last year that was a game we would've lost. Our central defence showed absolutely no mercy and dominated from start to finish, I literally couldn't be more pleased with Koscielny or Squillaci.
Also Almunia not only made a couple of decent saves but also managed to hold onto the ball a lot better than usual.

There a more positives to take out of this game than people are making out!

Undoubtably, and they have been given credit from all quarters.

At the moment raw emotion is just robbing almost everyone's ability to have a balanced view of events.

 

[bazza_afc]

Missing the target from a pen is unforgivable. But Nasri bottling is a lot worse. I'm a fan of Nasri and thought he was excellent when we went down to 10 men. But come on being a man for ****s sake. I'm absolutely gutted.

 

[Raider]

Almunia 7
Sagna 7
Squillaci 8
Koscielny 9
Clichy 4
Song 4
Wilshere 4
Cesc 7 - Just for the goal
Arshavin 5
Chamakh 8
Nasri 7.5

Rosicky 6
Denilson 6

Wenger - 6

 

[Bossa]

Song has beenppor all season. From now on i want to see denilson in his place. Clichy has been a letdown for a year. Gibbs over him all day long! Oh and jack is not the player to play in tough away games. I want Song and denny in his place!

 

[Raider]

Am I right in thinking thats the first time Rosciky has ever taken a penalty for us?

Never has taken one for us.

We've got our target man Chamkah on the pitch, and Rosicky wants to take it

The same chamakh who took penaltys for fun in France. Couldn't understand it.

Who decides whos going to take them? Obviously Robins our first, then Fabregas and then after that Arshavin would be third.

But none were on the pitch, so am I right in saying that rosicky, as he was our captain, made the decision.

 

[bazza_afc]

No AW said Nasri was supposed to take it. As I said above, he bottled it.

 

[Kroket]

Calmed down a bit now, proper ratings

Almunia 8

Sagna 7 - Solid
Squillaci 8 - Very solid
Koscielny 9 - Fantastic
Clichy 3 - Not for the goal but because he was constantly beaten by El mohsomething

Song 3 - All over the place
Wilshere 5 - Much better after Song left
Fabregas 7 - He had his moments besides his goal

Arshavin 4 - Typical away-day performance
Chamakh 7 - Terrific work rate, thought he did well for the most part although he really should have buried that one-on-one
Nasri 6 - Great second half

Denilson 6 - Not bad
Rosicky 6 - Did well apart from you know what

I was absolutely delighted with our centrebacks, it's been a very long time since I've witnessed such a fantastic defensive performance at Arsenal.

 

[Raider]

Song has beenppor all season.

I'm not saying this to get a reaction, and if you're going to abuse me to death just ignore it, but Song IS poor.

Its the positive results and wins we rack up which generally eclipse what Song brings, or lack of what he brings.

His growth in the past few years has been great, but he lacks too much still. If its the " he's young and learning " argument, then why is he a starter, He shouldn't be.

Knee-jerking its not, I've always felt this way about Song, but I would just generally go along with the majority on here. No more. I can't justify a starting place for Alex.

 

[Nela]

Song always seems to fall into the trap of wanting to be some sort of playmaker and playing further up the pitch. This is nothing new though.

In 08/09 when we had the Denilson-Song partnership for most of the season, a lot of Arsenal fans praised Song's develpment endlessly. And indeed he did really develop that season. But the reason he did was because he wasn't playing as the main/ deepest DM. Denilson played deeper and allowed Song to play fruther up the pitch where he got a lot of defensive work done, but he wasn't the guy sitting in front of the back four.