Player Ratings: Arsenal v Celtic
Posted by: Aidan in Arsenal, Champions League, Player Ratings
Arsenal 3 (Eduardo pen 28, Eboue 53, Arshavin 74) - Celtic 1 (Donati 90+2)
Match Report | Highlights
Manuel Almunia - Not a very confident performance form Manuel. Distribution was sub-par and a keeper of his calibre should marshall his box with far more authority. Not sure he should have been beaten on such a tight angle for Celtic’s goal, but to be fair it was a great shot. 6
Bacary Sagna - Has vastly improved his crossing in the last couple of games, and today he was whipping in some balls with real menace. He made the right flank his own, bombing forward and tracking back all night. 8
Thomas Vermaelen - Can turn defence into attack in the blink of an eye with his massive clearing headers. Dominated every defender that dared challenge him in yet another authoritative performance. 8
William Gallas - Amazed at the fact that he covered over ten kilometres on the pitch. He made some Lucio-eseque runs forward and also defended superbly. Faultless. 8
Gael Clichy - Sound performance from Clichy tonight and probably his best this season. Didn’t do quite as well as Sagna as he had far more trouble coping with Celtic than his compatriot, but he did deal with them in the end. Owned the touchline. 7.5
Denilson - Fantastic performance. Stepped up and took the creative reigns in Cesc’s absence, and delivered a confident performance full of flicks, back heels and other assorted varieties Brazilian of awesomeness. Covered over 13km on the pitch, more than any other player. 8.5
Alex Song - Much quieter than usual, although far from a bad performance. Put in the hard yards and covered plenty of ground, but lacked the dynamism and tenacity that usually sees him stand out. 7
Abou Diaby - Much like Song he was rather quiet. Kept the game ticking really but that’s about it. Put himself about and didn’t get sent off. No mistakes, solid without being spectacular. 7
Emmanuel Eboue - Good performance from the Ivorian. Had some sort of free role on the right, and he made the most of it. Terrorised Celtic with his footwork and penetrating forward runs. Did get a bit lazy as the game got on though. 7.5
Nicklas Bendtner - Worked his socks off. Covered more ground than any player other than Denilson. Unfortunately, his touch was way off and he did not make use of his size or aerial ability. Nice backheel for the second goal, but that was about it. 6.5
Eduardo - Won a penalty in dubious circumstances. I don’t think it was a dive, but I don’t think it was a penalty either. He looked like he was trying to avoid contact, which is understandable given his previous injury luck. Labelling him a diver and a cheat is going way too far, as he didn’t even appeal for the penalty. Converted the spot kick coolly and his finishing ability meant he was a constant threat. Could have worked a bit harder though, I thought. 7
SUBSTITUTES
Ramsey - 6.5
Wilshere - 6.5
Arshavin - 7
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He looked like he was trying to avoid contact, which is understandable given his previous injury luck
then why did he not only leave his leg in harms way, but tried to move it towards where the ’supposed’ contact was coming from?
im sure you criticised Babel when he dived for a penalty a few years ago, and until everyone stands up and completely condemns DIVING, this will go on and on.
You have made yourself sound like a very uneducated man, which I am sure you are not, with your attempts at justifying CHEATING
I thought Eboue deserved more than 7.5 but then he will never be given the credit he deserves for some reason
I am a massive Eduardo fan and this was disappointing. There was also no need as we were bossing the game. he had the opportunity to make a good name for himself by getting up and telling the ref it wasn’t a penalty. That makes the right kind of headlines. Unfortunately, he will now be castigated by the press for the rest of the week.
you need not worry about diving…all that matters is winning…no matter how pretty or ugly it is..thats what you all want …and winning the ugly way even counts and which was missing
@ 1.
Eduardo took a touch around Boruc, by which time it was too late to avoid contact by staying on his feet so Eduardo went to ground in an effort to minimise the contact. He did not put his legs in the way, instead he jumped over Boruc. There was no contact and it was not a penalty, but I don’t think Eduardo tried to con the referee, hence why he did not appeal for the decision.
I can’t believe your eboue rating. He didn’t do well last season and got the knocks. His goal wasn’t even mentioned and what happened to bendtner’s rating.
Forgot Bendtner’s, thanks for pointing that out. I think Eboue’s rating is fair. He got very lazy towards the end.
Truly, Ebue deserved more credit than he is getting. Diving and lying is part of football. What happened to hand of God? Even if Eduardo dived, is it copared to the offence of breaking his leg. Clubs are favoured one time or the other and our tome just came. Celtic are too rough. Was it referee that caused them to also lose at home?