Arsenal took all three points away from home in the Champions League, but had to weather a storm in the second half from French champions Montpelier. Still, the job was done, and Steve Bould’s defensive work helped Arsenal see out a game they would have thrown away in previous years.
Ratings
Vito Mannone: 8
Good distribution and control of his box. Wasn’t tested much in the first half but made some important saves in the second half. May have earned himself a starting berth against City on Sunday.
Kieran Gibbs: 7
Another shift from the young left back, and the fact I don’t have much to say about his performance shows how solid it was. Could maybe have offered more in the attacking third but can’t complain.
Thomas Vermaelen: 7
Gave away a dubious penalty but the captain remained solid throughout, with no wandering and only a slight moment of panic during the second half. I don’t want to say “a captain’s performance” because that’s just what we expect of him now.
Per Mertesacker: 8
The unsung hero as usual. Read the game superbly, never looked uncomfortable and solid at set pieces. Rubbishing suggestions he should make way for Koscielny with every minute he plays. Class.
Carl Jenkinson: 7
The 20 year old improves with every game and his first half performance was fantastic. Was very quiet in the second but got his job done. By which I mean he stopped them from scoring. Which is sort of his job, a bit.
Abou Diaby: 6
Not his best. Not his worst either. Some rash challenges, a couple of scary moments reminded us of why a lot of Gooners aren’t sold on him, but he still produced some Yaya-esque box-to-box runs and bits of good play. Hopefully will step it up against City.
Mikel Arteta: 7
Another one who just got on with it. Seemed a bit overwhelmed in the second half when Montpelier went all out, but busted a gut to get back defending when they broke, and was the usual metronomic passer.
Santi Cazorla: 6
The poor score isn’t really Santi’s fault. He seemed shattered and should have come off earlier. Wasn’t poor by any means but didn’t have the same spark as he usually did. Not to worry though, he has 5 days to recover.
Gervinho: 8
Another breakout player so far this season, Gervinho was dangerous throughout the whole first half and showed brilliant instincts to put Arsenal ahead. Didn’t do much in the second half, but then again neither did anyone else. When Theo goes on a free, I think he should have the number 14 shirt. You all know why.
Olivier Giroud: 7
Looked nervous to be “back home” but was a great focal point for our attack and supplied a lovely assist for Podolski’s equaliser. Hasn’t scored yet, but he’s done everything else. Workrate was fantastic. Had half the Montpelier team on him, which kind of forgives the fact he didn’t have many chances.
Lukas Podolski: 9
My MOTM. Fantastic workrate, movement, team play and finishing. He’s slotted into the team like a glove and is making RVP seem like a distant memory. With that said, we’re far from reliant on him. Defended well and even tried to attack during the second half bombardment. Wonderful.
Subs:
All of Aaron Ramsey, Francis Coquelin and Theo Walcott weren’t on the pitch long enough to make any kind of lasting impression, especially not the 3-minute cameos of the latter 2. I’ll give them a round 5 because they were invisible.
Overall
Overall the game gets a 7. We dropped little bit physically in the second half, but showed great mental strength and were consistently defensively defensive.
Sorry, got to stop letting Arsene write my conclusions...
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