Arsenal Vs QPR Match Facts And Ratings

It was late, it was messy as Mikel Arteta scored the winning goal for Arsenal at around 84th minute. After a tough couple of weeks for the Gunners, it was a welcome three points in the bag and Arsenal moved to 4th place in the table with 15 points. The game also marked the return of Jack Wilshere after nearly 14 months out of the first team action. Wilshere’s previous Arsenal league appearance came in May 2011 and he missed the whole of the 2011-12 campaign with niggling ankle and knee problems, which ruled him out of Euro 2012 and the London Olympics.

And as expected Wilshere’s first touch was cheered by the Arsenal faithful and the England International continued from where he left off with some good link up play with Arteta and Cazorla. However the overall performance of the Gunners is still a worrying sign as they could not break down Qpr’s defense until the dying moments of the game.

Here are some of the match facts:

 

 Player Ratings:

Mannone(7.5): One of the main reason Arsenal got three points, not because of his excellent performance throughout the match but for the stop he made at the very end of the match to prevent QPR from equalizing made him keep a clean sheet. 

Santos(6): Arsenal fans must be hoping to see Gibbs back in action soon. Yet another disastrous performance from the Brazilian. Improved a little in the second half

Vermaelen (7): Put in some excellent blocks, hardly made any mistakes. A captain’s performance. 

Mertesacker (7): Stood well to everything QPR had to offer. Kept Bobby Zamora at bay for the most part of the game. 

Sagna(7.5): For a player who has broken his leg twice in the past one year and to play his first match after recovering, Sagna did not show any signs of being injured  The French man started to put in crosses and made excellent runs forward from the very beginning of the game. 

Wilshere(7): His first touch was cheered by the Emirates crowd and rightly so, Wilshere started his first game in 14 months and he did brilliantly. Looked our best outlet for a goal all the time he was on the pitch. Good to have him back.

Arteta(8): Match winner for the Gunners. Overall had a good game.

Cazorla(7.5): Looked to have improved from his previous two outings as he made some good passes around the box and linked up well with Wilshere. However he could have been the villain for Arsenal as he missed to shoot on target from inside the box.

Ramsey(7): It still confusing to see why Wenger has opted Ramsey to start at the right hand side of the pitch. The Welsh man struggled to cope up with Arsenal’s movement as he wasted time, Struggling to clear his marker. Did much better when he came into the middle and almost got a goal.

Giroud(6.5): Did his best to get a goal but it didn’t happen. He was involved in the winner though. Encouraging outing.

Poldi(5.5): Another average performance from the German.