From a football perspective, this was one of the worst games of the season, in which it was clear to see how QPR have been relegated. From an Arsenal perspective, it was their 6th win in 7 Premier League matches, and currently puts them 3rd in the table.
Wojciech Szczesny - 7 – Looks to be over his wobbly spell from earlier in the season, which was necessary given the pressure Arsenal came under at times. He made some timely punches clear form corners, and made a good save late on from Loic Remy.
Bacary Sagna – 6 – Didn't do a lot wrong defensively, but failed to augment the attack effectively going forward. A more solid outing than his display against Manchester United last week.
Per Mertesacker – 7 – His strong positional sense was an important factor in the clean sheet. He was often in the right place to prevent through-balls and crosses reaching Remy and Bobby Zamora.
Laurent Koscielny – 7 – He had some early difficulties with Remy and Zamora, but improved as the game went on. Another decent performance in what has been a fine run of form for the Frenchman.
Nacho Monreal - 5 – He made some good forward bursts in the first-half, but he struggled to keep Andros Townsend quiet, particularly in the second-half. His vulnerability in defending 1 vs 1 situations in a concern.
Mikel Arteta – 6 – He gave the assist for Walcott's goal, with a nicely disguised pass. But he was poor in protecting his back four for much of the match. He failed to exert any control of the midfield until the game's closing stages.
Aaron Ramsey - 5 – A poor outing. In conjunction with Arteta, he didn't get a firm grip of the middle of the pitch. His energy and pressing was often lacking, and his shooting in the second-half was woeful.
Tomas Rosicky - 6 – Played an important role in the goal, and also gave Walcott a nice through-pass when the England man hit the post. But bar a couple of trademark forward dribbles, this was a below-par Rosicky display. While he is untouchable in the eyes of some fans, the Czech normally passes the ball a lot better than he did today.
Theo Walcott – 6 – Similar to last week, he scored an important goal, but otherwise didn't do a great deal. He was unlucky with a shot that Robert Green tipped onto the post, but Walcott was an intermittent presence in the match.
Lukas Podolski - 5 – Played his part in Walcott's goal, and linked play well in the opening 30 minutes. But he faded as the game went on. Often drifted around in an attempt to find space. You have to wonder just how fit he is at present.
Santi Cazorla – 6 – Another game full of industry from Cazorla, but lacking in his normal inspiration. He spurned a few decent shooting opportunities, opting to pass instead, and could have done a better job of helping Monreal deal with Townsend. I suspect Santi's running on empty at the moment.
SUBS
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – n/a – Lost the ball a couple of times in trying to lead counter-attacks
Jack Wilshere – n/a – Didn't see much of the ball.
Thomas Vermaelen – n/a – Was thrown on to preserve the lead.
The mediocre recent displays are a concern, with only our defending being the main reason that we've been getting us decent results (3 clean sheets in our last 4). But wins are all that matters right now. Remember, limping over the line is still getting over the line.
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