WTTGT Writer: Amoy Ghoshel
Wojciech Szczesny – 7.5 – The custodian was possibly Arsenal’s man of the match as he made quite a few important saves and always looked confident in goal. The Polish international even did well to stop Balotelli’s effort but sadly Silva eventually gave City the lead from the rebound.
Johan Djourou – 5.5 – Was badly exposed once in the first half and never looked comfortable overlapping from his unfamiliar right back position. Taken off early in the second half due to a groin injury.
Laurent Koscielny – 6.5 – The Frenchman once again produced a solid performance even though his side lost the game. He was strong and assured against Aguero and even when he moved to right back, Koscielny never looked troubled defensively although he was caught up-field when City scored from a counter attack.
Per Mertesacker – 6.0 – Struggled a bit to cope with the pace and movement in the Man City side as he was slow to react on a couple of occasions in the first half. Made fewer mistakes in the second half as he profited from the presence of Vermaelen alongside.
Thomas Vermaelen – 7.0 – Another inspiring display from the Belgian as he defended expertly both at left back and center back and even had the two best efforts of Arsenal in the second half with two left-footed shots. TV couldn’t have done anymore to get something from this game for the Gunners as he ended up on the losing side.
Alexandre Song – 5.5 – Not the best of games for the Cameroon international and much of it was down to the fact that he was booked early on. Song couldn’t even express himself from an attacking point of view and the early yellow card made him very indecisive in one-on-one situations.
Mikel Arteta – 6.0 – **WTTGT Man of the Match** – The Spaniard once again showed great work ethic but his distribution didn’t really hurt City as it lacked the consistency and precision. Was unable to protect Song in the build-up to City’s goal and also earned his fifth booking of the season and thus will be suspended for the trip to Villa Park.
Aaron Ramsey – 6.0 – Despite enjoying a lot of freedom behind the Man City midfield, the Welsh skipper was unable to find the killer pass for the front three. Ramsey once again was full of running and saw a lot of the ball but will be disappointed with his contribution in the final third.
Theo Walcott – 5.5 – A very quiet game for the Englishman but in fairness, Arsenal rarely used Theo in their attacks as much of the action was from the other flank. Did produce a save off Hart in the second half and wasn’t happy to get substituted.
Robin Van Persie – 6.5 – The Dutchman was unable to score but still looked dangerous with his movement. RVP held the ball up very well and every time he was in possession, one could feel the tension among the Citizens at Eastlands. But he never really received the service he has been getting in the last two months.
Gervinho – 5.5 – The Ivorian was probably a bit fortunate to last the whole game as other than one cut back for RVP in the second half he was awfully wasteful with his final pass. Gervinho’s movement was once again excellent but he has to be more consistent with his finishing and end product.
Subs
Ignasi Miquel – 6.0 – The young Spaniard didn’t do much wrong after replacing Djourou and looks ready to start Premier League games at left back until the return of Gibbs.
Andrey Arshavin – 4.5 – Another poor performance from the Russian and the Gooners have enough reasons now to suggest that his time at Arsenal is over. Arshavin had enough opportunities to make a difference despite coming off the bench for the final twenty minutes but the former Zenit man once again failed to deliver.
Marouane Chamakh – N/A – Didn’t have much time to make an impact and couldn’t really get involved in the game.
NOTE:
Here at WTTGT HQ, we encourage you to discuss, debate and share your passionate exchanges, however, any swearing, direct abuse or discrimination of any kind will be removed from this discussion. Additionally, any external links will also be removed due to third-party rules. Thank you.
Write for WTTGT
If you would like to write for WTTGT, email us at [email protected]
Facebook:
No comments yet.