A superb first half performance saw Arsenal sweep aside Premier League new boys Southampton stretching their unbeaten run in the league to four games.
Wojciech Szczesny – 5 – made a howler at the end of the first half giving Southampton the goal which ended Arsenal’s run of clean sheets. Wasn’t himself today looking shaky at times.
Carl Jenkinson – 7 – another solid performance from the 20 year old. Made some good tackles and offered some good runs going forward.
Per Mertesacker – 7 – strong, disciplined performance from the German. He didn’t give Lambert a chance today.
Thomas Vermaelen – 7 – a captain’s performance. Didn’t really have much to do but made some good interceptions when called upon. He saw his shot parried at the end straight into the path of Theo Walcott to make it 6-1.
Kieran Gibbs – 9 – was involved in a lot of good passing moves down the left and saw two of his crosses turned in for own goals. If he can stay injury free he will be massive for us this season.
Mikel Arteta – 8 – providing an assist for Gervinho, the Spaniard enjoyed another successful day in the holding role. Very disciplined and was good going forward.
Francis Coquelin – 7 – an excellent pass in the 2nd half to find Chamberlain was his highlight of the match. Solid defensively and passing was sharp.
Santi Cazorla – 9 – another brilliant display from the little magician. He linked up very well with Podolski and Gervinho and whenever he got on the ball you felt as though something would happen.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 7 – Very quiet in the first half but got going in the second. Was unlucky not to score however it was a very mature performance from the 19 year old starlet.
Gervinho – 8 – many were surprised to see him called up the starting line up and even more so as the main striker. However, he played the ‘false number 9’ role which suited him. His pace and dribbling were a threat all day and his two goals showed the ability which he possesses.
Lukas Podolski – 9 – “he’ll flop in the Premier League”. Yeah right! At £11 million, he is an absolute steal, and he showed that with his wonderful performance today. His partnership with Gibbs down the left continued into today’s game and with a warrior-like charge early on, he played a big part in the first goal. He then went on to score a brilliant free kick taking his tally to 2 for the season.
SUBS:
Aaron Ramsey – 7 – really good sub appearance from Rambo. Looked lively as soon as he came on. Very unlucky not to get on the score sheet after some brilliant work to get past his man resulted in his shot coming off the post and into the path of Gervinho. His passing was sharp today and I expect him to start on Tuesday night against Montpellier.
Theo Walcott – 7 - decent performance from Theo. Would have been lower if he hadn’t had scored though. Was a threat, however he still needs to work on his final ball. Could have played Giroud in a number of times but held onto the ball for too long.
Olivier Giroud – n/a – can’t really give him a rating due to the fact he hardly touched the ball. Made some good runs but couldn’t be found. Fully expect him to start and get on the score sheet against Montpellier though.
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