Aston Villa 0 – Arsenal 0
Match Report | Highlights
Manuel Almunia – Saved well from Gabby Agbonlahor early on but was pretty quiet apart from that. Stayed on his line way too often which put extra pressure on the backline. Distribution was too long and rather pointless until the introduction of Nicklas Bendtner. 6
Bacary Sagna -You can tell he’s still nursing a shoulder injury as he struggled out there today. That said, Steward Downing rarely got past him and he was solid in defence. Needs to work on his final ball though, as his crosses were once again wayward. 6
William Gallas – Good job out there tonight, providing defensive stability if nothing else. Every tackle was pretty much spot on, and he dealt well with the pace of Agbonlahor and size of Heskey. Didn’t push up to far in attack which was unusal, however it was still a sound performance. 7.5
Thomas Vermaelen – Not on for long enough to get a great rating, however he was solid in his time on the pitch. Stretchered off injured after thirty-five minutes, lets hope he’s back soon as he is a vital member of this team. 6
Gael Clichy – Really struggled with the pace of Ashley Young out there tonight. Luckily the Villa winger’s crossing was sub-par or else Campbell and Gallas would have been far more busy. Was torn apart time and time again, and although he was decent in posession, he did get caught out more than once with lacklustre defending. 4.5
Aaron Ramsey – Failed to make an impression during his entire ninety minutes on the pitch. Did seem to be overshadowed by Cesc quiet a bit, and looked uncomfortable in a less creative role than he is used to. Lost possession easily and rarely succeeded in winning it back. 4.5
Denilson – Struggling to find form since his return from injury. Did rather well in the first half, making a couple of interceptions and putting himself about, however this diminished in the second half as he faded into anonymity. 4.5
Cec Fabregas - Never gained a foothold in midfield as he was effectively contained by his Villa counterparts. Took a long time to get into the game however he grew in effectiveness as he adapted to the situation. Showed one moment of brilliance when he glided past three Villa players and hammered the ball against the post. 6
Tomas Rosicky – Never really got into the game. Found some good positions with positive movement off the ball, however often failed to receive possession in these situations. His touch was sharp however his decision making was often sub-par and he gave away possession far more than he would have liked. Hit the bar when he should have scored. 5.5
Andrey Arshavin – Worked his socks off today and had a couple of good battles with James Milner. Got himself into some great positions and actually received possession. Ended up scheming some nice attacking moved in the second half but often to no avail. 6.5
Eduardo – Mediocre once again. It was obvious that he needs a rest and he should get it now that Bendtner is back. While his touch and control was spot on as usual, he was lacking any sort of flair or dynamism. 4.5
SUBSTITUTES
Sol Campbell - Once again extremely solid at the back today. His aerial prowess helped neutralise the threat of Emile Heskey, while he never looked out of sorts when dealing with the pacey Gabby Agbonlahor. I know its only been two games, but its almost like he never left. 7.5
Nicklas Bendtner – 7
Samir Nasri – 6
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song come back i cant stand denilson in midfield any more and diaby come back ramsey is not that strong yet i hope he plays with song fabregas and nasri in midfield that would be so much better than fabregas and song and denilson cause denilson is a waste of space do you think he would play in any team in the champions league other than arsenal i really dought it also im glad bentner is back even tho i was never a fan of him but with eduardo the stricker you have to be a fan im really fed up
Eduardo sucks… clichy sucks… denilson sucks… alumunia sucks…
arsenal’s campaign is over with vermaelen and rvp out for the season
denilson is a seriously useless player
it’s over. thanks to mr wenger. Still one more trophy to go and that also wil???
At least the transfer window is still open.
we need a tall striker (pavlyuchenko on loan ‘ll be good)
and
simon kjaer.
AW should buy some good players immediately, no time to waste
yea, this was an important draw for the gooners luckily we didn’t lose
Denilson?…what a waste!!…He’s useless. He aint good enough to wear the shirt.
Denilson was missing at the midfield that his performances had effect on the other midfield partners especially Cesc. Look how Cesc plays brilliantly when Song is in the pitch. And we need Diaby back ASAP too. Ramsey isnt up to it yet.
Thanks God Alex Song is back and Eboue too.
Sol was great but its gonna be difficult for him to play 3 times in a week.
We need a good striker who can score and change games. Someone good who SCORES goals. Otherwise playing good football wont take us to the trophy in such games. We need to get the points.
And I hate the ENGLISH football…direct and industrial…that most english clubs are known for. Blackburn, Stock, Aston Villa,…they all SUCK. ENGLISH football SUCKS!!!
simply the title race has ended for arsenal…..END!
The only way is only if the chans and manures loose points…
and that happens only if we beat them…IMPOSSIBLE with Denilsons, Eduardos, Ramseys, Almunias…
AW has killed the season. Its not fair to blame injuries when you dont have anybody GOOD on the bench who can change games like this.
a draw at villa is not a bad result beat a tired man u on sunday and all will be rosy again
Wenger is just making noise in the players about the players who are returning from injuries. The gur better buy proven players or not.
Wenger is just making noise everywhere about the players who are returning from injuries. The maen guy better buy proven players or not.
All of you guys saying that Denilson is a waste of space are just sick because you don’t understand what you are talking. Denilson played his part in making sure that we were not out run in the midfield and trying to win us the ball back which the Alminia gave to the opposition in the essence Denilson gave villa little space to shoot from outside the 18 yard area and that was his job and he did it well. The least rating he can get is a 6.5 and nothing less.
Ezra – You are right on the money. We are definitely sick of the lack of effort, pace power and authority on the part of Denilson. Someone should be pointing out these obvious flaws in his game to him so that he can try and address them instead of pretending that everything is fine. In the long run you are not a real friend of his.
Ezra…may be Denilson is trying his best. But dont take it as it is that Wenger keeps us telling everything is OK. He isnt good enough for Arsenal. Do you think he can be with the chavs or the manures. I dont think so and Wenger knows this but he just pretends everything is OK. Look at the squad when Song is there. Think how Cesc performs when Song is there. Denilson and Cesc just dont work and Arsene knows that.
Anyone who says Denilson is a waste, is a foolish old prat. Dono how u judge players, this guy has got a massive work rate more than every other mildfiders yesterday. The way he intercept play and shot at goal is next to none in the team. I beliv this guy is no french and if he’s poor wenger wont insist on him. U tend to divert blame on him anytime arsenal plays badly. Kudos to gallas, every other players yest is average. If Denilson is in a team where he’s free role to play then u wil see how good he is!!! He was arsenal best player last season despite all critism (statistic showed)
Lekan: What stats would you be talking about? Not one you make up to support your argument by any chance? Gallas did well in defence but so did Sol especially in neutralizing the aerial threat of Heskey.
I don’t know game ppl watched. I thought Denilson played pretty well. Yeah he lost the ball a couple of times towards the end. That’s only cos he was out of stamina. I’m pretty sure had we not lost TV and Dudu through injury, Wenger would’ve subbed him. Apart from those last 10-15 minutes, he played well. His role yesterday was to stop the likes of Milner getting into threatening positions, which he did. The attacking play was meant to come from Cesc, Aaron, AA and Tomas, which was less than we had hoped. Still should’ve been enough to win us the game with the chances we missed. But overall we should be happy with the result considering the results Villa have had against the other big sides
Amazing how some fans don’t get it. Without Wenger Arsenal will be fighting in mid-table for a Europa Cup slot. No Fabregas for sure, he will be gone. The easy money clubs of City, Chelsea, and the indebted ones, Manu, Liverpool, Spurs one day soon if UEFA establishes “financial responsability” will find themselves in trouble. Never forget where was Leeds United in 2002 (semi finalist in the Champions League) and where they are now.