Villarreal v Arsenal : Player Ratings

[Feet]

Fabianski 8
Almunia 7

Touré 8
Gallas 6
Sagna 6.5
Clichy 6
Djourou 7

Denilson 5
Song 7.5
Fabregas 7
Nasri 5.5
Walcott 6.5
Eboue 6

Adebayor 8

 

[kamikaze80]

he was much better in the 2nd half, held the ball up well and enabled us to get forward and finally create some chances.

everyone was **** in the 1st half, except for sagna.

 

[M+D]

I did not see the first half, but considering the ratings here Denilson must have been atrocious. Personally I thought he was absolutely top notch in the second. Won the ball, and looked as comfortable on the ball as I've ever seen him.

Yes he was pretty bad in the first half - a passenger really, hence the low marks despite an excellent 2nd half.

 

[Feet]

Yeah I thought Sagna was awful in the first half, constantly seemed to go missing or allow their left winger to get space behind him. Denilson was alos poor, and Cesc, Nasri and Adebayor weren't even in the game 1st half.

it all came together second half though and once Denilson and Song started dominating the centre it meant more time for Cesc on the ball.

 

[Zico]

i do wonder how much the goal influences ade's ratings in this thread. he was absolutely abysmal for most of the match...

Kel, the boy busted his chops throughout the 2nd half, receiving the ball on both wings and causing problems down the middle. It's about as good a performance as you can expect from a very isolated lone striker.

And yes, a vital goal doesn't hurt. After all, that's why we pay him 80 grand a week.

 

[True Gooner]

Almunia : n/a

Sagna : 7
Touré : 8
Gallas : n/a
Clichy : 6

Walcott : 6
Fabregas : 7
Song : 5.5
Denilson : [4 for the first half 7 for second half]
Nasri : 5

Ade : 8

Fabianski : 8
Djourou : 7.5

 

[General]

Almunia - 6 You always feel he's going to get injured every time he goes in for a 50-50 clearance.

Sagna- 6 Took a while to wake up but did ok. Final ball poor

Gallas - 7 Putting in a solid display till injury

Toure 7 - Solid and composed but a few shaky moments.

Clichy - 6.5 Up and down performance. Needs to cut out the Hollywood passes

Nasri 5 - Another up and down performance. Should've settled the tie for us.

Song - 8 MOTM Awesome performance despite walking a tight rope with the yellow card. Thought the goal was initially his fault but Denilson was clearly more culpable. He didn't work with Song in closing down.

Cesc - 6.5 - Some quality passing but got sloppy towards the end

Denilson - 5 Improved in the second half

Theo - 5.5 Always a threat but lacked composure when needed.

Ade 7.5 - Work rate was excellent. Quality goal.

Eboue - 5 Meh. Ok]
Djourou - 6 Did well in slotting in.
Fabianski - 6.5 Very composed.

Ref- 10 - One of the greatest referees I've ever seen in the CL. If I ever met him I'd buy him a pint for his honesty and common sense in applying the rules.

 

[qs]

Almunia - cant really judge on his few minutes. Nothing he could do about the goal.

Sagna 5 - poor game, caught out too many times, crossing was pointless at best.
Touré 8 - great game. Dealt with everything and there was plenty to keep him busy.
Gallas - again wasn't alot to base a rating on, he did fine till he went off.
Clichy 6 - some good some bad. Typical Gael of late.

Walcott 3 - absolutely shocking game. MAybe its rustiness, maybe its immaturity but either way he was below par.
Fabregas 5 - nice pass for the goal but otherwise looked uncomfortable in his role. He neither got forward enough nor helped by dropping deep. Looked tired too.
Song 4 - reckless and naive. In the first half he was turned inside out by their players and his only way of coping was to make wreckless challenges. That might be acceptable in the EPL but in Europe its a massive liability. His passing and on the ball play was also very poor in the first half.
Denilson 6 - quiet first half but improved in the second. Seems to be adding the odd moment of adventure to his game.
Nasri 6 - played a couple of good balls but overall didn't have enough impact.

Ade 8 - in a game where the ball was constantly lumped forward at Ade expecting him to perform miracles he finally found one. Fought hard all game, chased down the defence, held the ball up excellently and was time and time let down by a midfield who just would not support him.

Fabianski 7 - did a good job when he was called upon.
Djourou 6 - did alright but made a few mistakes too and never really looked assured.

 

[Feet]

How can Song get a 8 and a 4one post after the other. :?

 

[True Gooner]

Song - 8 MOTM Awesome performance despite walking a tight rope with the yellow card. Thought the goal was initially his fault but Denilson was clearly more culpable. He didn't work with Song in closing down.

Disagree. Watch the goal again -

1 - Song was with the man on the ball.

2 - Denilson and player 2 appear on the screen. Denilson follows player two all the way.

3 - Player 1 opts to pass to Senna who comes from deep. Senna has time to set himself up and take a shot.

If anything, Fabregas should have followed Senna - but it's one of those goals where you have to applaud the scorer rather than the defender.

 

[Jameel46]

Almunia : 6

Sagna : 6
Touré : 7
Gallas : 6
Clichy : 6

Walcott : 6
Denilson : 6
Song : 7
Cesc : 8
Nasri : 6

Adebayor : 8
----------
Fabianski : 7.5
Djourou : 7

 

[ricky1985]

Almunia - N/A.

Sagna - 8. Flawless for me. Dominated his flank, and it was only a lack of numbers in the box that stopped his crossing from being a real threat.

Toure - 8. The awesome, streamline Kolo of old. Superman when he's like this.

Gallas - 6. Nothing stands out really.

Clichy - 7. Couple of dodgy moments, but some awesome moments as well. His anticipation is just ridiculously good at times.

Walcott - 6. He's an enigma sometimes. First half hour they couldn't get the ball from him, and he was electric, but he had some big, big chances and simply never looked like capitalising. Needs to learn to play over 90 minutes. Still worried about his knee and shoulder, he is shirking a lot of physical battles because he is afraid he is going to get hurt again, which is understandable.

Song - 8. Dominated in second half. Has a bit of everything about him.

Denilson - 6. Woeful, terrible first half, but improved to a degree in the second half. Needs to show more aggression and urgency.

Nasri - 5. Our worst player, no doubt about it. For a really intelligent footballer, he really showed some brainless football tonight. Looks bereft of confidence.

Fabregas - 7. Some moments of real quality, but it is clear he is nowhere near fit, that's why Wenger is playing him further forward until he is fit again IMO. Phenomenal pass though.

Adebayor - 7. Awful before the goal, but incredible afterwards. World class finish. The real Ade might just be back now for the run-in.

Subs

Fabianski - 7. Faultless performance. He seems like he's almost impossible to beat when he's standing awaiting a free-kick. I have a good feeling about him.

Djourou - 7. Super defender when he's on it.

Eboue - 7. Nearly helped to get a second in his short time on the pitch.

 

[Big Poppa]

Song finally got a clue and dropped infront of the back four in the 2nd half. This gave us more of a platform to build play from.

 

[General]

Song - 8 MOTM Awesome performance despite walking a tight rope with the yellow card. Thought the goal was initially his fault but Denilson was clearly more culpable. He didn't work with Song in closing down.

Disagree. Watch the goal again -

1 - Song was with the man on the ball.

2 - Denilson and player 2 appear on the screen. Denilson follows player two all the way.

3 - Player 1 opts to pass to Senna who comes from deep. Senna has time to set himself up and take a shot.

If anything, Fabregas should have followed Senna - but it's one of those goals where you have to applaud the scorer rather than the defender.

Jim Beglin (ITV commentator) even admitted his error in blaming Song for the goal. One of the reasons we struggled in the first half was because Song and Denilson weren't playing together. You could've stuck a bus between them. Perhaps I'm being harsh on Denilson but he has an uncanny habit for ball watching and it's something I don't like about him. The main reason for the goal was the pathetic closing down. A bit like the goal we conceded against Hull, with players camped at the edge of the box (Denilson included) seemingly scared of getting hit. Cesc was also equally guilty.

 

[truth_hurts]

Almunia - 6 Couldnt do much bout the goal. subbed early.

Sagna- 6 Un characteristic performance were he got caught out of position. Bad crossing as always though.

Gallas - 7 Putting in a solid display till injury

Touré 7 - Solid and composed but a few shaky moments.

Clichy - 6.5 Good today, but dissapointing final ball.

Nasri 5 - Poor and picked the wrongoptions whenhaving the opportunity to shoot.

Song - 6.5 Battled well,decent passing, good energy. However did feel he got caught out of position somewhat.

Cesc - 6.5 - Some quality passing but got sloppy towards the end. An assist but more due to adebayors brilliance.

Denilson - 6 not bad, energetic, decent passing

Theo - 5.5 not involved much and poor in the final third

Ade 7.5 - Lead the line. great goal.

Eboue - 5.5 not involved much
Djourou - 6 Did well enough.
Fabianski - 6.5 Good.

 

[True Gooner]

@ General. I really don't think Denilson (or anyone) could have closed Senna down. Song did well to even get near him.

Sure, Fabregas could have tracked back - but who would we have upfront? It's easy to point fingers in hindsight of course, but I think they did what was expected of them and it was more down to Senna's brilliance rather than a mistake on our part.

 

[Kraig]

Sagna: 6
Touré: 9
Gallas: 5
Clichy: 7

Walcott: 7
Fabregas: 7
Denilson: 6
Song: 6
Nasri: 5

Adebayor: :worthy

Subs:
Fabianski: 7
Djourou: 6
Eboue: 6

hat does it for me, although id give ade an 8 rather than a wayne and garth

 

[arsmile]

al-6
sag-8
tour-8
gallas-7
clichy-6
walcott-5
denilson-7
song-7
nasri-5.5
cesc-6
ade-7
fabianski-7
djourou-7

 

[qs]

Jim Beglin (ITV commentator) even admitted his error in blaming Song for the goal.

I switched on to ITV4 for the match but as soon as I heard that **** I flicked straight back to Setanta.

 

[General]

@ General. I really don't think Denilson (or anyone) could have closed Senna down. Song did well to even get near him.

Sure, Fabregas could have tracked back - but who would we have upfront? It's easy to point fingers in hindsight of course, but I think they did what was expected of them and it was more down to Senna's brilliance rather than a mistake on our part.

You can't be serious. The goal was almost a complete replica of the one against Hull. The brilliance of Senna/Giovanni is one thing and the space and time we gave them is another issue. What was shocking was that Senna actually took a touch before letting rip. I've just watched the replay on ITV and the commentators seem to share the same view about the ridiculous time and space he was allowed on the ball. That was avoidable and I don't think you can convince me to believe otherwise. So yes, subsequently I think a few players should've done better in the situation, Cesc and Denilson in particular. Like I said, Denilson has an uncanny knack for ball watching and it happened in the second half when one the Villarreal players just cruised past him at the edge of our box, leading to needless corner.