Adetuwo ‘Yemi Jr. rates the Arsenal players Carling Cup performance against Spurs…
Fabianski: Had a relatively quiet evening and his handling was good. Granted, Keane was offside but our goalie could have done a little better with the weakly struck shot from Keane which led to the goal. 6
Eboue: He was lively throughout, bossed the right side of the field all game. Made some forays forward and came close to getting a goal late in the 2nd half. 7.5
Koscielny + Djourou: Wonderful game from our centre backs. They were equal to every form of attack Spurs could muster. Koscielny in particular was brilliant in blocking a certain shot from Lennon. They combined well and handled the pressure of an away North London derby fixture. 8
Gibbs: Oh my! This lad is a gem. Words cannot describe how I feel after watching him put in such a perfect display. He had Lennon in his pocket, was confident on the ball, made good runs forward and crossed very well when necessary. The fact the Lennon had to switch wings with Bentley after just 20 minutes of coming on speaks a lot about his game. Quite a shame to see him go off injured. Let’s hope it’s nothing serious. He is ready to be a regular; and with Clichy’s current form, it’s only a matter of time. My Man of the Match. 9
Wilshere: To be honest, I am not surprised about his performance. He is supremely talented and his balance on the ball is admirable for an 18 year old. He had the kind of game we were all expecting and was instrumental to our great win with an assist for the first goal. He needs to keep things simple at times though. 8.5
Denilson: Astonishing game. He made a lot of interceptions, made the right passes and was not afraid to get stuck in. Showed a lot of stamina to keep up that tempo for 115 minutes, after which the result was almost certain. 8
Lansbury: Had a dream game, scored his first goal for Arsenal and what a game to score in. Ran his socks off and will always remember this game for as long as he lives. His loans spells seemed to have paid off and he showed great positioning to slot the first goal in. 7.5
Nasri: This is the sort of game I expect Nasri to come to the fore and he did just that. He took control of things in the absence of Fabregas. He was everywhere, was strong on the ball and kept probing for an opening. The captain armband seemed to raise his game another notch. Good display of nerve to convert two penalties in the space of 8 minutes and awareness to set up Arshavin for the 4th goal of the night. 9
Rosicky: His experience gave the younger players the confidence to play good football. He was always well positioned for a pass, played some delicate passes and set up Wilshere for the assist. 7.5
Vela: Carlos did not light up Shite Hart Lane but he combined well with the midfielders to open up the opposition defence. Quiet night for him, he rarely had a chance on goal. 6.5
SUBSTITUTES:
Arshavin: If this is what Andrey meant when he said he was now more efficient, then I love the new Arshavin. Did not see much of the ball but he still managed to lay on the pass that led to Nasri being fouled for the first penalty. Superbly-struck shot for the goal. 7
Chamakh: Offered a different sort of threat from Vela and Bassong struggled to match him. He is quite good at what he does and is proving to be an astute signing. He’s won 3 penalties this season. 7
Clichy: Came on when the game was dead. He had pretty much nothing to do. 5
THE AWAY FANS: They sang their lungs sore all night and I even got all emotional at some point. They showed tonight that indeed there is only one team in North London. 11
Following the events of the weekend, last minute goal conceded, Fabregas’s injury and Arsene’s touch line ban, it was good to see the boys respond with such a breathtaking performance. The first half of extra time afforded a manager less side the chance to demonstrate how wide the gulf between both teams is. WHAT A MATCH.
Thoughts?
Have your say on ‘Yemi’s Player Ratings by leaving a comment and read more from ‘Yemi’s at his own Arsenal blog ‘Memoirs of a Gooner’.
i think it was a very good perfomance from the boys.
Though i dont particularly follow ratings i couldn’t agree more with your ratings especially that of the away fans
The Spurs fans there used their mobile to make calls to make busy the network so that Wenger cant make his tactical calls to Rice. Classy bunch.
Gud work!!!! I agree with the rating bt Djourou doesnt deserve a 8 today!
I cudn find him get the better of any totenham strikers. He simply played the ball out though he could ve passed or cleared the ball. Gave away a corner without any pressure from them.
That wud’ve proved costly if it was sumothr opponent!!!!!!
Koscielny is just superb.This guy would be hailed as the best defender in the league so far if he was playing for the manures.Is positioning is awesome,hes athletic and 100x better in the air than gallas was and will ever be.A few seasons ago we would have been playing silvestre in his position and there is no comparison.I hope he maintains this momentum because i believe for once in 5 years we have a defender who can stick to drogba like a couple dancing to dancehall.I cant believe pundits were expecting us to spend in excess of 17m just for an english player.Another astute business by mr AW
I just thought ‘high pace game’, how can they go that over 90 minutes? 😎
It was Wilshere who got the assist for the fouth goal not Nasri!
I agree with the rating but Kosielny is my man of the match. It is real suprissing how people said he won’t macth the demand of the English Prem. However was a shame to see young gibs injured just when he was pusshing for his starting line up. lets hope he won’t be long time out.
Here’s one. What?
I hate when the fanbase goes after one of our players. Currently there are a few to choose from: Almunia, Denilson, Arshavin, Clichy … Given our track record spotting duffers (Song, Eboue, Diaby …) it’s never a good thing.
So, on the good side, giving Denilson an ‘eight’ is a big bravo. But Clichy: a ‘five’, and Arshavin: a measly ‘seven’ falls into the trap somewhat. Clichy actually had a few pretty good moments, making a 5 looking a tad spiteful. The same goes for AA23. A seven? I don’t think so. He keeps on making goals – and now he’s gone and scored one worthy of his name. A seven? Only if it’s a misspelt ‘eight’.
Which brings me to Djourou. Now I know he’s coming back and all that. And I know he needs our encouragement, but until he gets absolutely up to speed he’s doing to be a disaster waiting to happen. He was appalling in the reserves prior to this match and I really feared the worst. A sending off? A penalty? Both? But in the end there wasn’t even a yellow card. He did well, but only just. Several times he got it horribly wrong, and a player got free. Several times he got it right and he came away with the ball. The thing is against a real team on a different night he’d have been punished. So, ‘work in progress’ it is, and a seven. Which means Koscielny gets a NINE (God, who is this guy? One year in Ligue 1 and he does THAT; against THEM.)
Lastly, a mention has to be made of Flapsy. If we hadn’t won he’d have been crucified. Responsible for the goal, a poor distributor of the ball, and more nervous that I was, it wasn’t the PGU’s ( Polska Goaldozorka Unia’s) finest hour. Szczesny has every right to be miffed. Making Fabianski’s ‘six’ very generous indeed.
Still unbeated then. Seven games in. Goals for: 24. Goals against: 5. Season record against the spuds: 1-0. Not bad. Not bad at all.
@ vijay – Great thoughts mate, totally appreciate them.
Good ratings, Fabianski unfortunate, but his distribution was very good. Djourou should perhaps get a lower rating, he did after all lose his marker on several occasions. Gibbs was outstanding, and it showed just why he should start instead of Clichy. The first thing Clichy did was to give away the ball at the left back, lucky fo him he has blistering pace and recovered well. Vela had a poor game, muscled off the ball way to often, Chamach is the example of how to shield the ball perfeclty. And Eboue should defend better. Other than that, good game, besides the first 15 minutes og second half, where the gunners were under the constant pressure.
Who’s the daddy now, Van Der Fart? Tot-numb were getting a bit cocky weren’t they? That should teach them to respect their betters.
Well done to all, but especially Henri for stepping up when given his chance and AW for putting things in perspective by dedicating the match to that young kid who sadly passed away.
Kos is improving with every game, I feel he was great against sunderland and against spurs too. I don’t agree with nasri’s rating though.. He played a decent match and scored 2 penalties but I don’t think he is playing aswell as he did before the surgery. I have watched him carefully in the last 3 matches against braga, sunderland and spurs and its true that he gets involved a lot but I would like to see him be abit more clinical in the final third. I really rate nasri a lot so I hope in the comming weeks he can add that to his game
Don Fabio, are you watching? How can anyone doubt now that Kieran and young Jack MUST be the spine – or part thereof – of the England team for the 2014 world cup? Please God, let it not be another metatarsal for the bloke. He also got the worst of two rubbish linesman calls – then again, a truly sumptuous piece of diving from our Samir, for the first penalty, evened that score out! Smart work, Sam, expertly done. And for gods’ sake, Arsene, solve 2 problems in one go; make Chesney Almunia’s permanent understudy and send Flappy Handski on loan – or sell him. His bolt’s shot.
And for all those criticising our diminutive Russian enigma; he keeps scoring. He keeps making goals. He can change a game with 5 minutes of his unique interpretation of the word ‘involvement’. What else do you want? The Can-Can?
Personally I think the rating for Gibss was a little generous, he was caught out of position in the 2nd half and it was only Koscielny’s pace that saved the day before Lennon had a shot. Wilshire far and away my MoM. I like Nasri but like JC would like him to be more direct at times. The less said about Fabianski the better. He has made too many errors now and like most others he holds no confidence for me. Ship him out in January. Was good to see Djorou – first game for 16 months so I think we need to give him some time. Be interested to see who Wenger picks this Saturday with the UCL and then Chelsea away up next and half the squad crocked!
Despite ‘Wheeler-Dealer’ Redknapp bribing the linesman we still mashed the spuds in their own backyard.
‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.’ Romans 12:19
I hate to raise a bum note on the morning after such a glorious victory but Fabianski demonstrated once again his failings as a top class ‘keeper.
Whilst Keane was certainly off-side when receiving the ball our Polish flapper should have done a whole lot better with a fairly weak shot.
His distribution at times was poor, his predilection for punting the ball up-field, when a short pass to one of his team-mates was a much better option, risked giving possession to the opposition.
Jack Wilshire was immense and deserved the Man of the Match award for a truly outstanding game.
To come away from that third world stadium, where they don’t even have mobile phone coverage, with such an overwhelming victory was sweet revenge for previous disappointments.
So nice to see such an impression from the young Gibbs!have always had faith in him and today was no different.another person I’ll like 2 talk about his samir nasri,his rating aint a reflection of his game 2day.I truly tink he deserves a 7 instead,he wasn’t really a major for the first 80mins,just 2 well taken penalties I am proud of.om jack wilshere…whoa!how many eyes does this young lad have???he sees every run and he’s able to give that incisive through ball!(E.g-the so-called kieram gibbs offside oppurtunity)thumbs up jack!
I think you guys are unduly harsh on Clichy.
I thought we played brilliantly for most of the game. My only thoughts are the Flappy barely had anything to do and when he did he let a goal in……the other balls were straight at him. I think next game Szczesny should start in goal.
Can’t wait for Saturday!!!
great performance wilshire outstanding gibbs showed he can b a top player lansbury played well koscielny cum of age personally i wud say man of match 2 points i must bring up vela needs 2 play off someone why are him and chamakh never on pitch together. mr wenger you can not say ever again that fabianski will come good face it he wont that in my eyes was last chance 1 shot on goal he let it thru his hands we cant av it ne more cancell his contract now dont ever allow him 2 wear a arsenal shirt disgusting for a club of our size that we dont av a top line keeper
Eventually I was rather pleased with both the linesman and Fabiansky. At the time I was wishing for KY jelly to be applied to said linesman’s flag and….
But at the end, could it have worked out better? Acres of blue seats appearing and a good old dose of self administered schadenfreud!
It was an “Oh what a night” night.
good ratings yemi
d spuds fans keep on shouting dat we started our 1st team,but this team just shows the depth of our squad…wat if dis guys started
almunia
sagna vaminator squilacci clichy
song diaby cesc theo
van persie
so….spuds dis is jst a tip of d iceberg
up gunners!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah the Clichy ones a bit harsh, lets not harshly judge Gael for the sake of speeding up Gibbs promotion to the first team, their both great LBs and Clichy has always gave his all, either way one of them will be a great replacement for the other, I say lets procede with Gael as to promote Kieran now would only serve to force Clichy out to look elsewhere for first team football and then were left with Traore who still has alot to learn, patience is the key with regard to how quickly you throw these younger lads in.
I think with respect to the Nasri rating I think maybe some peoples judgement has been clouded by the fact that the defining moments of last nights enjoyable win are etched with him in the memory…..but if were honest its solely because he scored the two pens, before that I thought he was our least inspiring player and covered the least amount of ground, only fabianski and pletikosa had less sweat on them, the ref did more running!
Nasri 5.0
Carlos Vela! Please! talk about Vela in Mexico, he is a great player, and he is my idol, I and ALL Mexico wanted to see Carlos Vela in more games, Come On Vela!! Come On! Yeah I’m from Mexico friends
Hi boyz, i know, i know, were holding all of you up from the bottom. Shambo how you doing mate.
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