After the disastrous performance against Liverpool, Arsenal really needed to get back to winning ways. At this stage of the season, and especially with the upcoming fixtures, momentum is everything. Despite losing 5-1 at Anfield, a win would put the Gooners back at the summit of English football.
Szczesny – 8/10 – Two fantastic saves to twice deny that Dutch fella. Did not have much to do, but he kept us in the game during important moments
Sagna – 8/10 – A brilliant performance from a player who sadly is looking more and more likely to leave at the end of the season. Defensively solid and gave us width when we really needed it.
Mertesacker – 7/10 – United tried exploiting his weaknesses by putting balls over the top of him. He dealt with most.
Koscielny – 7/10 – Kept Rooney and Van Persie relatively quiet. Another solid display from the best defensive partnership (except for last Saturday) in the country.
Gibbs – 8/10 – Just like Sagna, he was reliable at the back and great going forward. Difficult to decide which one was motm in my opinion.
Rosicky – 5/10 – Injected a bit of pace and agility in the side, but his passing was sloppy. He was not alone in that aspect though. I would of started The Ox.
Arteta – 5/10 – Passing was a little off for somebody so reliable. Must of breathed a huge sigh of relief after Van Persie’s missed opportunity in the 2nd minute. That would have been disastrous.
Wilshere – 5/10 – Lost the ball in an area where you simply cannot afford to and it nearly lead to a late goal if it was not for Szczesny. Apart from that he did not do much wrong, but perhaps was not influential enough when going forward
Cazorla – 6/10 – A decent performance from the Spaniard. I love watching him and he was the only player willing to take a shot at goal from distance. Came close a couple of times.
Ozil – 5/10 – Better than against Liverpool, but that was probably his worst performance in a long time. Passing was better, but found it difficult when swarmed by blue shirts. It was like United thought he was the best playmaker in the world or something.
Giroud – 6/10 – Had a fair few chances and maybe should have scored at least one of them. Got the better of Vidic for most of the match. His link up play with midfield is superb, but sometimes I just wish we had a striker more selfish. Suarez maybe.
Subs
The Ox - 5/10 – I was glad to see him come on and honestly thought he should have started. He would have given Evra a tough time. Did not have the impact Wenger probably desired, but I wouldn’t be too critical.
Summary
He may have his critics, and I’m not sure why still after last season, but today Arsenal really missed Theo Walcott. His pace and width could have made the difference tonight. The amount of assists and goals he got last season was a key reason why we finished top 4.
A little disappointed with the draw as I felt we had good opportunities to win the game, but then again Van Persie had 2 glorious chances saved. That is now 5 points dropped in the last 2 games and the top of the table is getting tighter and tighter.
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