Arsenal 6 (Denilson 26, Vermaelen 37, Gallas 41, Fabregas 48, 69, Eduardo 88) – Everton 1 (Saha 90+2)
Match Report | Highlights
Arsenal produced a scintillating display today to beat Everton by a whopping six goals to one at Goodison Park. New signing Thomas Vermaelen got on the scoresheet while Cesc Fabregas bagged a brace as Arsene Wenger’s tactical shift to a 4-3-3 formation looks to be a masterstroke.
Manuel Almunia – Almost flawless in goal today, although he didn’t have much to do at all. He excelled at collecting every cross swung in by Everton, and saved well from Steven Pienaar late on. Was very unlucky to lose his clean sheet so late after a momentary lapse in the defence, but was not at fault for the goal. 7
Bacary Sagna – Got caught out a couple of times today, although he managed to clean up his mess. Got forward well and worked hard to marshall the right flank. Sagna was strong in the air and strong in the tackle as well. Solid performance. 7
Thomas Vermaelen – Arsenal’s newest acquisition was the stand out in the backline today. Took his goal very well, but it was in defence where he impressed me most. He showed strength that belied his size, and refreshingly posesses quite a proficiency in the air. Magnificent debut performance. 8
William Gallas – Looks like he could form a great partnership with Vermaelen. Also took his goal well, but impressed most in defence. He was comfortable in dealing with everything Everton could muster. 8
Gael Clichy – Similar in performance to Sagna today, although he did not get caught out. Worked hard up and down the line, and tracked back well. His crossing seems to have improved over the off-season as he whipped in some dangerous balls today. 7.5
Denilson – Absolute cracker of a finish to open the scoring today. I can’t help but feel that he’s much better as a creative midfielder, as he looked much better today when he didn’t have to do defensive dirty work. It was a tidy and suprisingly efficient performance from the young Brazilian, and he looks like he could have finally found his role at Arsenal in this new formation 8
Cesc Fabregas – Amazing performance today from the Spaniard today, scoring two magnificent goals and playing with real fire in his belly. He was all over the park, bagging a brace and two assist. The second goal he scored was amazing, picking up the ball well into his own half and driving forward before powering home. He played much deeper than he did last season, and I think this is the position that suits him the most. The tribute to passed compatriot Dani Jarque was also a nice touch. 9
Alex Song – Industrious and dynamic are two words that I would not have associated with Song a year ago, although they typified his performance today. He was a terrier, hassling the opposition constantly and bossing the midfield with real authority. The holding midfield position is his to lose now. 8.5
Nicklas Bendtner – Offers something a bit different to Arsenal’s other strikers. He can hold up the ball and is strong in the air, and he provided a valuable, direct option to the more artistic Arshavin and Van Persie. He was the best of our three strikers today and one of Arsenal’s best despite not getting on the scoresheet. Great work to set up the first goal. 8
Robin van Persie – Uncharacteristically quiet today. He offered very little in terms of creativity and spark up front, and never really tested Tim Howard. He did have one long-range free kick saved, but that was about it. To his credi, Robin did manage to get himself two assists. The first was a free-kick headed in by Thomas Vermalen, and the second came when he squared the ball for Fabregas to bag a double. 7
Andrey Arshavin – Another uncharacteristically quiet performance from Arshavin, although he did show glimpses of brilliance. He was largely anonymous and strangely out of sorts. He seemed a bit of a luxury player, as he did show sippets of his true class, particularly in his efforts for Eduardo’s goal. 6.5
SUBSTITUTES
Ramsey – 6
Eduardo – 7
Eboue – 6
Overall it was a great performance for Arsenal, and I’m sure it will serve as a wake-up call to all the naysayers that had seemingly written us off in favour of Manchester City. A trip to Parkhead to play Celtic is next, roll on Wednesday!
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I think what i saw yesterday was a different team, the determination was evident. The players did not stay upfield when they didnt have the ball they rushed down in their number to defend. Up arsenal.
Arsenal 10, Everton 0, we were great, but how stupid was Everton, allowing us to play, we had acres of space, no pressure at all, it won’t always be that way.
what can i say? arsenal showed a touch of class. fabregas was obviously the man of the match. we hope to see more from the 22year old and frm arsenal in general.
Whilst I agree generally with your assessment, Arshavin is one of those players that you don’t always notice until he does the spectacular, but he contributes in other ways. His running off the ball draws defenders and his determination to win the ball back from deep positions – perfectly illustrated with his tackle to win the ball near our box for Cesc’s first – means that other players can move forward at will, which they all did to dramatic effect yesterday.
The fact that Bendtner, RvP and Arshavin didn’t NEED to score in a 6 goal win is great; it means that the rest of the side are contributing up front – Cesc’s running and our two centre backs towering headers = 4 goals already.
An super start and a statement of intent…
Vermaelen looks the business – he won the majority of his heading duels – no mean feat against Fellaini, Jo and Cahill, and made plenty of well timed tackles.
Arsenal were brilliant, but Everton were woeful. Was it Lescott’s way of saying I want to move? He didn’t score an own goal like Gallas threatened to but he didn’t do anything to stop any goals.
I don´t think Everton were that bad.. we just passed the ball so damn quickly they couldn´t get near us. And when they fouled our players we scored from the resulting free kick. Bendtner is really becoming a strong presence up front physically and although Arshavin and Van Persie didn´t score I think they had good games. Their mere presence takes a lot of attention and energy from defenders and they create space for other players.. they´ll score sooner rather than later I think. We haven´t played this well since 2004 in my opinion. However I think this team actually might become better than that team because this team has a lot more weapons available. If Henry and Pires had an off game we really struggled in those days, Wiltord was never much of an asset. Looking over the squad now I really think we´ve got a big strong squad, all we need is for Wenger to stop picking Diaby and stick with the lineup he had this weekend, Eboue, Walcott, Djourou and Wilshere should also be thrown in regularly to give rest to the first XI
A reasonable assessment except for Arshavin. He wasn’t quiet, he covered more ground than anyone but Song. Just because he doesn’t score spectacular goals doesn’t mean he’s not an asset to the team. The workrate of every player was exceptional and I would be tempted to give scores of 8 for every player bar Cesc 8+, Bendtner 8+ and and my MOM Alex Song, well worth a 9 or more
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