Arsenal pulled of a typical win over Stoke (1-0) City last night courtesy of a deflected goal from a Podolski free kick. The long throws and the hard-tackles were seen off in style by the Gunners to pick up 3 very important points.
Here are the player ratings for the match
Szczesny – Nothing much can be rated about a player who was hardly involved in the game. The Arsenal keeper was a meagre spectator throughout the game as Stoke had just one shot on target. 6.5/10
Monreal – Arsenal’s new recruit came straight into the starting line-up last night and had a pretty decent match considering it’s his first game in the Premier league. Made a few errors, but overall looked calm and composed in his duties 6.5/10
Mertesacker – It was good to see Mertesacker go up against Crouch. A more sturdy performance by the German than the one against Liverpool in midweek 7/10
Koscielny – Though Stoke did very little to trouble the Arsenal back-line, the few times they did Koscielny made sure they were stopped. Hardly put a foot wrong 7.5/10
Sagna – After a couple of poor outing, the Frenchman Sagna had a good game last night. Joined the attacks more than he did in the previous matches but didn’t really help his forwards due to lack of space given by the Potters. 7/10
Wilshere – Was in the heart of everything and created one lovely chance for Alex – Oxalade Chamberlain which was not converted. Wilshere is surely turning the screws week after week for the Gunners 7.5/10
Diaby – He was far from his best, but it’s good to see the Frenchman playing back to back games. Showed glimpses of his brilliance on the ball but is surely far behind of what he is capable off 6.5/10
Arteta – Arsenal Welcomed Mikel Arteta back from injury and the Gunners hardly lose control in the midfield when he is around. Was at his usual best. Won the ball quickly after Arsenal lost possession, distributed it, went forward and anchored the game. A captain’s performance 7.5/10
Chamberlain – Had the chance to open the scoring early in the game from a corner kick which fell perfectly in his feet but from 3 yards away his shot was stopped by a superb reflex save by Begovic who saved another curled effort from Chamberlain 7/10
Walcott – The Arsenal forward is showing no signs of going down as he has improved his consistency to the next level. Went past his opposite number Wilkinson easily and looked a real threat in the right hand side. However, there he could have been more effective in the final third. Has to improve his crossing ability if he is played as a winger 7/10
Giroud – Having scored 5 goals in his previous 3 matches, Giroud failed to get on the score sheet this time. Had a great opportunity to put Arsenal in the lead from a corner but decides to head the ball towards his team mates when he was unmarked 8 yards from the goal. Overall a good performance 7/10
Subs:
Podolski – Was rested yesterday, but came in to score the winner from a deflected free-kick 7/10
Cazorla – Came in to replace Diaby. Looked comfortable and composed, but had little to do with the game 6/10
Watch the Highlights of the game
[youtube width=”500″ height=”300″]qtfIhaWAup0[/youtube]
Sorry about the commentary.