Bolton 0 – Arsenal 2 (Fabregas 28, Merida 78)
Match Report | Highlights
Manuel Almunia – Wasn’t all that busy out there today. Did pretty much everything he had to do between the sticks and was never really in danger of losing his clean sheet. Claimed a good few crosses and is beginning to command his box again, however it still appears that his backline (Gallas in particular) don’t have full faith in him. 6.5
Bacary Sagna – Industrious performance at right back. Rock solid in defence, giving absolutely nothing away down his flank and making a couple of interceptions. Attacking, however, can be improved. He worked hard at providing another outlet however his crossing was poor and his passing sometimes wasteful. 7
William Gallas – Made a few signature runs out from the back, and looked dangerous at times in this respect. Defensively, however, he looked a bit tired and out of sorts. He made the odd uncharacteristic mistake though none of them were costly, and was solid most of the time. 7
Thomas Vermaelen – Another monstrous performance in the heart of the Arsenal defence. Kevin Davies is a player who has had his career built upon his aerial prowess, and yet he hardly managed to win a single header with Vermaelen. His tackling was always strong but never reckless, and he didn’t pull out of a single challenge. 8
Armand Traore – The less said about today the better. Absolute shocker in nearly every respect. He can put in good performances but this wasn’t one of them, and at times it looked like Traore was the only thing keeping Bolton int he game. 3
Craig Eastmond – Can hold his head high after a respectable debut. Started the move for our first goal and didn’t look over-awed or out of his depth. Wasn’t scared to show for the ball and although his passing and movement can improve, it was a decent showing. Did fade a bit in the second half though, as if he was beginning to run out of steam. 6.5
Abou Diaby – Played a deeper role than he is used to, shielding the back four in Alex Song’s absence. It was a solid performance and about as good as we can ask from Diaby in that position. Although his attacking game did suffer (he wasn’t his usual explosive self) he was solid in defence. His build was a big bonus and his tackling game was on point. 7
Cesc Fabregas – Absolutely phenomenal. He’s putting in performances like this week-in, week-out, and United and Chelsea should watch out. His passing was once again precise and his off-the-ball movement and tackling was solid. Great low drive and amazing first touch for the opening goal, and a great run that turned out to be instrumental to the second. 9
Tomas Rosicky – Lacked a bit of pace but his vision and fantastic ability to read the play were evident. He wasn’t scared to show for the ball which is a good sign, and he looks like he’s slowly re-gaining fitness. He did the give ball up a bit too easily in my opinion, mis-placing some passes and often just choosing the wrong option. 6.5
Eduardo – Good performance, the move into the centre of the forward line has helped him greatly. Had two great assists today – a nice touch with the outside of the boot to set up the first goal, and well-weighted cross to craft the second. Must shield the ball better though, as it looked like he was losing it too easily (particularly with his back to goal). 7
Andrey Arshavin – Not the best once again today. He tried his hardest but was kicked to pieces, and although his class did shine through in glimpses (particularly in tight areas where he could showcase his ball skills) it was far from a fantastic performance. Did get involved more though, particularly in wide areas, and this is where he should stay. 6
SUBSTITUTES
Merida – 7.5
Clichy – 6.5
Vela – N/A.
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Sometimes when I see some ratings, I wonder if its the same match you are watching. Almunia save us in a handful of situation and you give him a 6.5..same with clichy, you must be smoking on something really!
i think arshavin was good in the first half. in the second he faded away a bit, though.
Apart from one fumble Almunia had an excellent game. More like 8.
Traore had zero support so he doesn’t deserve a 3 but he got caught a few times in the first half so more like 5.
To get an 8 you have to earn it, you have to excel. Almunia didn’t do all that much, just what he had to, as I said. 6.5 is by know means a bad rating, and I do give him props if you actually read the rating. I didn’t even mention the fumble.
You can’t give Clichy and 8 on the back of doing nothing wrong for 15 minutes.
Arshavin is playing on inspite of pain in his right foot.In my opinion, he has been sacrificing himself for the team all the while and playing with an injury and out of position;dont forget Wenger also acknowledged AA23 doesnt always play at this time while in Russia.Give him a break and rather get Wenger to go buy a proper centreforward and stop making AA ineffective!
Great post overall. But sometimes you should rate the player by his performance rather than how much you like him. I mean you give Gallas a 7. He made a couple of bad clearances which nearly resulted in Bolton goals. Klasnic turned him inside out and Almunia saved a certain goal. The biggest problem with us is that we dominate the game for 80 minutes, but for the 10 minutes that we’re down, we concede a goal from the first or second chance the oppositon gets. Today wasn’t one of those days because Almunia was superb. He deserves an 8 and Gallas a 6 at best
Eastmond had a great debut I felt, he lost out a few times but that’s what you’d expect.
Traore…….. was outclassed by Lee for the entire match, almost every Bolton attack came through him and the left flank.