[Player Ratings] Arsenal 1-0 Norwich: Cech & Welbeck Impress For Poor Gunners

Arsenal moved up to third in the Premier League table thanks to a nervy 1-0 victory over Norwich City at the Emirates this evening.

Petr Cech kept the score at 0-0 with a couple of fine first half saves before Danny Welbeck scored the winner shortly coming off the bench early in the second half as a lackluster Arsenal side edged a poor game in North London.

Here are my ratings from the game:

Cech  7.5/10 | Made a number of decent saves throughout the game to secure a third consecutive clean sheet.

Bellerin  6/10 | Always willing to get forward and provide some width down the right.

Mertesacker 6/10 | Solid first half before being forced off after the break with a hamstring problem.

Koscielny  7/10 | Did his bit to keep Norwich at bay and made a couple of important interceptions.

Monreal  6/10 | Nervy start as Redmond was causing Nacho some problems but improved after the break.

Elneny  7/10 | Excellent ball retention but too many passes went sideways. Could have benefited from Elneny driving the team forwards more often.

Ramsey  6/10 | Like his midfield partner, too many simple passes and not enough drive.

Sanchez  6/10 | Frustrating game as nothing came off for the Chilean and he struggled to get in to the game. Clearly not happy after walking straight down the tunnel after being substituted.

Ozil  6/10 | Another who endured a disappointing game but he did produce one stunning pass for Sanchez in the second half.

Iwobi  6/10 | Tried to make things happen but just wasn’t his night. Unfortunate to be subbed off shortly after half time.

Giroud  5/10 | Shocking game up until he provided the assist for Welbeck’s goal. Really struggling for confidence at the minute as his goalless run stretches to over 14 games.

Subs:

Gabriel 6.5/10 | Impressive after replacing the injured Mertesacker and made a vital tackle on Mbokani.

Welbeck 7.5/10 | Superb impact off the bench as he scored the winner and was easily our best outfield player.

Coquelin N/A

It was a very poor game overall played in a tense atmosphere. The half-hearted ‘protest’ certainly didn’t help but the most important thing is we won and are now third in the table and just two points off Tottenham. Let’s hope for a favour from Chelsea tomorrow.