Arsenal 2 (Denilson 28 , Rosicky 90+2) – Everton 2 (Osman 12, Pienaar 81)
Match Report | Highlights
Manuel Almunia – Woeful between the sticks today. The fact that his entire backline possess no confidence in him says it all. Totally unconvincing in every aspect of him performance – dealing with crosses and high balls, his distribution and knowing when and how to come off his line. 3.5
Bacary Sagna – Solid today, if a little unspectacular. Didn’t try anything too fancy but was there when he needed to be, providing a rare glimpse of defensive stability and an extra outlet on the right. 6
William Gallas – Was caught out of position more than once after he had streamed forward, and was skinned by Saha on a number of occasions. Looks as though he is playing through injury as he was shockingly out of sorts and devoid of any iota of pace he would have otherwise had. 4
Thomas Vermaelen – The best out of an average bunch in the backline today. He worked hard to make up for the inadequacies of Gallas and Traore, and really deserved to get himself on the scoresheet. Came close at one point only to have his effort blocked. 6.5
Armand Traore – Up until today Traore had been consistent if a little unconvincing filling in for Clichy and Gibbs at left back, however his performance today was greatly underwhelming. His odd defensive positioning left us exposed at the back and was repeatedly skinned by Landon Donovan. 4
Aaron Ramsey – Never looked like he was up to the task today. Often held the ball for too long and was easily dispossessed, and when he did release the ball on time his passes were often misguided or too weak. To be fair Everton gave him little time on the ball and it worked effectively from their perspective. 5
Denilson – Alex Song has only been gone for one match and I already can’t wait for his return. Denilson was repeatedly out-muscled in the midfield, being pushed off the ball and losing tackles that Song would have easily won. Got himself on the scoresheet thanks to a lucky deflection, and I guess deserves credit for that. 4.5
Abou Diaby – The best Arsenal player on the pitch for mine. Showed amazing drive and dynamism to force an opening and set up Tomas Rosicky for the equaliser, and was one of the few Arsenal players to display a real desire to win. Made some crucial interceptions and some strong tackles. 7
Samir Nasri – Showed glimpses of his talent but unfortunately they were few and far between. The effort was always there in parts – he’d consistently show for ball for 5-10 minutes and then disappeared for ten. Was one of the ferw players who demonstrated flair and the intention to do something creative. 6
Andrey Arshavin – Obviously not a striker let alone a central one. Couldn’t make an impact leading the Arsenal line and rarely got a chance to show his stuff anyway – I could probably count on one hand the amount of times he got the ball in the first half. Showed some nice passing, though. 5
Eduardo - Just as awkward on the left flank as Arshavin is in the centre. Made some nice runs in attempt to forge some sort of opening in the stubborn Everton defence, but they were to no avail. Looked far more threatening once he moved into a central role. 5
SUBSTITUTES
Rosicky – 6
Vela – 5
Merida – N/A.
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I didnt watch the match… was too pissed off too but by the looks of these player ratings it looks like we need our players back, fast.
We might not have been at our best today, but the conditions hardly favoured us. There was a weird aura surrounding the whole game and the rationales for your ratings show why people accuse Arsenal fans of being so fickle and ‘plastic’. You sound like the very tabloids that most gooners hate. I thought it was a decent effort against an Everton team playing out of their skin in the worst conditions any of our boys (barring Arshavin) have probably ever played in.
Agree about Almunia though – disgraceful.
I didnt watch the match. Thanks for info.
mate have u ever been played in snow???? u might get a negative rank
I believe the game syle they played in such conditions was not suitable. I agree that Almunia is not convincing.
Please mister wenger bring Mannonea back ,he showed that he is number 1 GK for the gunners,Almunia shame on him that captancy band around his arm ,he cant be a leader ,he is unconfident,he made many mistakes,he is horrible ,i never wanted him as a first choise,i will give him 1 out of 10.sagna has to work out well in his passes,gosh he cant even deliver a nice cross balls,3/10,gallas was not in his best but i will give him 5/10.ramsey gived many balls a way and the first Everton goal because of him loosing the ball in midfield,3/10.Archavin was absent,was not sharp enough to create any danger on everton diffence,Diaby was the best today and he should be the team leader on the absence of cesc.Eduardo another story ,i was laughing when mister winger introduced him as the substitute of our legend Henry when he left the team.Eduardo cant play in EPL at all .may be his place in league 1.he has nothing special ,when i see him as a starter i consider our self playing mines one,he is handicapped ,he cant run ,cant take a hard shot.i will give him 1 /10,the rest of players are average .i love arsenal to death and my dream is not to see Almunia and Eduardo on the team or on the bench either.good luck gunners
problem was the snow ?, last time i checked everton were playing in the snow too !
The problem is not the snow but the fact that so many Arsenal fans seem to think that every team we play should just turn up, lie down and watch us pass the ball round them like training cones.
Everton belied their mid-table position with a gutsy in-your-face performance, never letting us settle on the ball and taking their chances when they came. They harried our midfield which puts us out of our stride; they pumped balls into the box which unsettled Almunia and our back four; they packed their own box whenever we got a sniff of goal.
It was the perfect game plan from Moyes and it damn near got them 3 points. We didn’t have a Plan B or a super-sub, and it showed. I totally agree that we need our ’stars’ back from injury or Africa, as they are the ones who can create that moment of magic and/or beat the opposition’s game plan, to drive us to victory.
However, I’d argue we should be happy with a point gained, given that Everton probably played better on the day and we were well below par, inclement weather or not.
If someone didn’t watch game, then one should watch and calm down.
Everton was playing hard and harsh, I were eager to bring us down, and they had momentum just as we do. A draw is not a surprise, because they weren’t the same toffee we have beaten ealier this season.
I vote for Vito’s return as well. Although Almunia didn’t have much to picked about until last night.
Snow was an issue. Check our style and the amount of snow. The passing efficiency and running game don’t fit in that kind of weather condition. Players couldn’t accelerate, pause, the ball, pass, and retrieve. Every charge could risk injury. What do we want gunners to do? All end up like Denison and we be happy?
We have had bad games like this, notablely a CL game against CSKA in 2007 with Henry still on our team. Remember the game that we couldn’t run or pass, nearly won yet eventually lost?
Also for the defense in the second half, we were at a disadvantage. As you saw, our goal area had more snow piled up. That was terrible for defense. If you slip while attacking, you miss a goal. If you slip while defending, you concede a goal. Which one is worse?
The first few games after we lost RVP we were fairly poor.
So the first few games after losing Song we will be poor.
Rosicky gave the ball away two or three times including for the second Everton goal.
I thought Diaby was excellent too.
We were unbelievably lucky to get a draw. Two deflected shots and we didn’t have many other chances. The footballing gods were smiling on us that’s for sure.
They might not be around when we go to Bolton.
I think it is a bit naive to think that we are going to win every match (especially considering our injury list), and therefore I believe it was a good point gained today rather than points dropped. Yes it was a home game, but the conditions weren’t well suited for a passing game and I think we did well to get something rather than nothing. Who knows, at the end of the season this point might prove crucial in terms our title campaign.
There are definitely weaknesses within the team, but at least there were some positives. Wenger has developed a fighting element within this team (even without our influential captain), and we always look dangerous right up until the final whistle. This is the exact mentality that Man U used to have – always scoring within the last period of a game to pick up title winning points.
I do however have reservations about Alumnia as he is still not back to his best. I think he is an intelligent guy & the question remains of whether more games are going to improve his performances? Personally I find it strange that people want Vito back in the team when we have Fab2? He is a quality all rounder keeper & I think it is only a matter of time before he becomes our number 1.