Arsenal Player Ratings vs Liverpool (FA Cup) + Wenger Interview

As they say, revenge is sweet. Arsenal ensured they put to bed the 5-1 humiliation at Anfield by knocking the Reds from Merseyside out by a 2-1 margin in what was a cracking FA Cup tie. The Gunners will now face the blues from Merseyside, Everton in the quarter finals. It was Oxlade- Chamberlain opened the scoring for the Gunners before he fed Lukas Podolski who doubled the lead for the home side. Liverpool however gave Arsenal quite a scare and fought back with a goal of their own thanks to Steven Gerrard penalty after Podolski brought  down Suarez in the penalty box. Controversy erupted when referee Howard Webb denied the Reds a clear penalty yet again, but the home side managed to hold on to secure a famous win at the chilly and glittering Emirates. Here are Arsenal’s player ratings from he encounter.

Arsenal Player Ratings vs Liverpool

Lukasz Fabianski: A brilliant performance from the Pole and whenever he is called into action, he never disappoints. Made a string of saves from Suarez to prevent Liverpool from scoring but could do hardly anything to save Gerrard’s penalty late on. Magnificent performance otherwise.

Rating: 3.5/5

Carl Jenkinson: Decent game from the young full back, did his best to keep Raheem Sterling quiet for most of the encounter. Made some crunching tackles

Rating: 2.5/5

Laurent Koscielny: Superb match in my opinion for the Frenchman yet gain, was pivotal in keeping Suarez and Sturridge quiet for the match. Always willing to put his body on the line and using his pace and aggression to protect his team’s lead.

Rating: 3/5

Per Mertesacker: The tall and lanky German like his defensive partner , Koscielny did not allow Liverpool’s front line to get on top of the Gunners defence. Great outing for the Arsenal big man once again, who leadered the defence throughout the ninety minutes.

Rating: 3/5

Nacho Monreal: He more than made up for his disastrous performance at Anfield, playing very well and defending solidly on the left flank, hardly allowed Coutinho and Flanagan to overlap him and deliver crosses into the box. Was equally good going forward.

Rating: 3/5

Mathieu Flamini: Just showed what Gunners missed in last few games, the Frenchman did time and again broke down Liverpool’s attacks in the middle of the pitch. Flamini perhaps covered every blade of grass on the pitch and put in a great shift in, even though he earned a yellow card from Howard Webb.

Rating: 3.5/5

Mikel Arteta: The Spaniard too significantly had a average game but given his standards he has to improve for the coming tough encounters. He found his passing range and was good at distributing the ball all over the pitch but he has to improve his defensive display.

Rating: 2/5

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: Player of the match for me, scored the opener and blitzed past Agger as if he Dane wasn’t there using his devastating pace to feed up Podolski for Arsenal’s second of the night. Was lucky not to concede a penalty when he blatantly brought down Suarez in the box, which Howard Webb inexplicably waved play on.

Rating: 4/5

Mesut Ozil: Much improved performance from the German, showed more desire and made some good runs. Kept Arsenal ticking.

Rating: 3/5

Lukas Podolski:  Scored through a brilliant move to double Arsenal’s lead, but gave away a needless penalty as he brought down Suarez in the penalty box, through which Steven Gerrard calmly converted.

Rating: 3/5

Yaya Sanogo: The young Frenchman was a constant menace for the Liverpool back four with his holding ability giving Skrtel and Agger lot to think about in the first half. Will improve with more game time.

Rating: 3/5

Wenger post match interview on next page>>>>>>>>

Wenger post match interview