Arsenal 6 (Vermaelen 17, van Persie 33, Arshavin 37, Fabregas 57, Walcott 75, Bendtner 89) – Blackburn 2 (Nzonzi 4, Dunn 30)
Match Report | Highlights

Vito Mannone – Could have done better on the first goal, but his positioning was not as bad as some make out. He was a bit too far off his line, but the chances of anticipating that Nzoni would flick Paul Robinson’s punt under the bar were slim. Cannot be blamed at all for the second goal, and did pull out a couple of fantastic saves, particularly one from Martin Olsson’s long-range effort. 7

Gael Clichy – Defensively, Clichy’s display was an improvement on recent weeks, as he seemed able to cope with everything Blackburn sent down his flank (which to be fair was not much). Offensively he was rather quiet, and any runs he did make were often ill-timed. A perfect example is Blackburn’s second goal, when Clichy failed to track back and casually let Brett Emerton put through David Dunn, who subsequently scored. 6.5

Thomas Vermaelen – Rock solid defensively apart from being out-jumped by Nzonzi for the opening goal of the match. Could have done better there, but more than made up for it with his screamer of a goal that he lashed in from 20 yards. The fact that he’s scored five goals in eleven games (all from centre half) speaks for itself. 7.5

William Gallas – Nzonzi and Franco Di Santo were causing him a world of trouble at the back. He had a few uncharacteristically dodgy moments in the centre of defence and was far too un-assured for a player of his capability. To be fair he did manage to cope most of the time and made a few crucial tackles. Nothing he could do about either goal, also. 7

Bacary Sagna – Almost anonymous going forward, as he seemed to go for the simpler option of passing to Rosicky, Song or Fabregas instead of charging up the touchline. Defensively he was also rather shaky, but did have to work a lot harder than Clichy on the opposite flank. 6.5

Abou Diaby – Not as disruptive to our attack as he usually is, although he didn’t really contribute anything positive either. It was as good as we can expect from Diaby lately, as he seems to have lost the power and the drive that won him a few admirerers in the last couple of years. 7

Alex Song – Passing was spot-on for the most part and he looked comfortable on the ball. Lots of important tackles were also made, but they seemed to be further up the park. We were weak in front of the back four, an area that comes under Song’s responsibility, and for that he hast to be held accountable. 7

Cesc Fabregas – Absolutely, positively, amazing. The single best performance from any Arsenal player since Andrey Arshavin’s four goals at Anfield last season. Fabregas got a quadruple of assists and bagged himself a stunning goal. Unlucky not to score in the first half also, when he pulled three great saves from Robinson and hit the woodwork with a looping header. 10

Andrey Arshavin – Very dangerous throughout the match. Made a number of dangerous runs and looked extremely confident on the ball. Took his goal well, and seems to be on his way back to replicating the form that saw him light up the Premiership in the second half of last season. 8

Robin van Persie – Also took his goal well, and is slowly beginning to gel with him teammates and get used to the new system. Should have had another goal to add to his collection, but was otherwise clinical up front. Solid performances like this are just what we need from the crafty Dutchman. 7.5

Tomas Rosicky – An absolute live wire in the time that he was on the pitch. Before his substitution it was hard to believe that he was out for the best part of two years. He linked up amazingly well with Cesc Fabregas, and put in one cross with the outside of his boot that was almost headed into the back of the net. Nice assist for Cesc’s goal, also. 8

SUBSTITUTES
Ramsey – 8
Bendtner – 7.5
Walcott – 7.5

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