WTTGT Writer: Amoy Ghoshal
Wojciech Szczesny – 6.0 –The Pole didn’t have to make too many saves but did have a couple of lively moments in the game, one of which was a needless rush out from the box to head clear despite Vermaelen being well placed to deal with the situation.
Carl Jenkinson – 6.5 – His improvement continued in this game as the former Charlton youngster hardly put a foot wrong defensively and was especially impressive in one-on-one situations. Still has a lot to learn going forward as he overlapped a number of times but either picked the wrong option or played a poor final ball.
Thomas Vermaelen – 7.5 – The performance of the Belgian was the biggest positive of the night besides the clean sheet, which was a direct consequence of his rock solid display at the heart of the central defence. Vermaelen led the team by example from the back as he was flawless from start to finish and thus prevented Marseille from creating clear cut opportunities.
Per Mertesacker – 6.5 – Started the game slowly but improved as the game progressed with the presence of Vermaelen alongside being a big factor. The big German won several tackles cleanly and from one Arteta free-kick he also created a decent chance for his central defensive partner.
Andre Santos – 6.0 – The Brazilian typically tried to get forward at every opportunity in the first half and often let the left side exposed. In the second period, Santos was much more conservative and looked a bit jaded towards the end and thus didn’t overlap too often.
Alexandre Song – 6.5 – Another strong performance from Song in the middle of the park as he battled hard to win the ball back and stop Marseille attacks. But the Cameroon international will be disappointed with his distribution and did look a bit tired in the closing stages.
Mikel Arteta – 6.0 – The former Everton midfielder was once again very hard working and was often sitting deeper than Song to protect the back four. His passing wasn’t quick enough to create openings and thus provided very little service to Arsenal’s attack.
Aaron Ramsey – 6.5 – He was possibly Arsenal’s best attacking player in the first half as he looked lively with the ball and often got forward into very good positions. Was guilty of wasting the best chance of the game and didn’t have the legs to contribute in the second half and thus was replaced by Rosicky.
Theo Walcott – 5.0 – The Englishman probably needed a breather after the heroics at Stamford Bridge as he never really took on either of the two Marseille fullbacks. Had a decent shot on target early in the game but hardly provided anything of note after that as Arsenal struggled to create openings in the final third.
Park Chu Young – 5.0 – South Korea’s captain tried really hard to get involved in the game in the first half but never looked dangerous. Marseille’s well organized backline made it even more difficult for him in the second half and thus made way for RVP just after the hour mark.
Gervinho – 5.5 – An inconsistent display from the Ivorian as he kept getting into good positions but either wasted them or picked the wrong option. His off the ball running was excellent in the first half but didn’t have much joy after the interval and thus was replaced by Arshavin.
Subs
Robin Van Persie – 6.0 – Wenger probably should have started with the Dutchman because of the form he was in but RVP only came on in the 62nd minute and still managed to get on the end of Arsenal’s best chance in the second half which unfortunately he couldn’t convert.
Tomas Rosicky – 5.5 – Other than one delightful through pass for Van Persie, the Czech Republic captain didn’t make much of a difference which is really not good enough for a player, who is fighting to be a regular in the starting lineup.
Andrey Arshavin – 5.5 – The Russian couldn’t really get into the game as Arsenal struggled physically in the last 15 minutes but he did get back often to help out a tiring Santos.
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