[PLAYER RATINGS] Aston Villa 1-2 Arsenal: Yossi Deserves A Start…

Arsenal were able to grind out a vital 3 points with a 2-1 win over Aston Villa last night. I wrote in my match preview that Alex McLeish wouldn’t allow his team to have the same relaxed attitude as they had against Liverpool at the weekend, and i wasn’t wrong. I also predicted the 2-1 scoreline correctly 😉

Arsenal were below par and Villa were chasing every ball and in Arsenal’s faces throughout the game. Make no mistake, this was a very good three points. The first half saw the Gunners take the lead from the spot after Walcott beat Clarke in the box with some nice skill, Van Persie smashing home from 12 yards.

We had a couple of opportunities to get the second but gifted the home side an equaliser after Vermaelen’s poor header left Mertesacker short, and the big German was lacking in recovery pace to make up the ground with Albrighton knocking the ball past him before cooly slotting past Szczesny for 1-1.

Super-sub Benayoun came on to head home the winner from a Van Persie corner and seal a vital win that takes us level with fourth placed Chelsea and two points clear of Liverpool, who only managed a 0-0 draw away to Wigan. Arsenal didn’t play well at all, but secured a great away win regardless. Here are my player ratings.

Arsenal Ratings

Szczesny – 7.5 – Great early save from an Agbonlahor header and made several great low saves from crosses, holding on to everything that came his way.

Coquelin – 6 – Struggled with his positioning and made a few sloppy passes in the first half. Also booked for a rash tackle.

Koscielny – 7.5 – Excellent in the first half and another great display from the ever-improving French defender.

Meresacker – 5.5 – Very slow to react for the Villa goal, should have been far more dominant and attacked the ball. Also skinned a couple of times in the first half, and booked as well. Forced a good save from Guzan though.

Vermaelen – 6 – Decent first half, but it was his short headed pass that lead to the Villa equaliser. Very soft goal to give away.

Frimpong – 5 – Disappointing. Was berated in the first half by the bench for being out of position and subbed off early in the second half. Not the usual all-action performance that we’ve come to expect.

Ramsey – 6 – Full of running as usual but just lacked something. I think Rambo needs a breather as his touch looks heavy and he’s giving the ball away more than usual. Should also have done better when he was through in the first half. Subbed.

Arteta – 7 – The best of the midfield trio, kept the game ticking over and distributed the ball reasonably well.

Walcott – 6.5 – Great piece of skill that lead to the penalty but was hardly in the game apart from that. Another quiet night for a frustrated-looking Theo.

Gervinho – 5.5 – Looked lively in the first 20 minutes, but faded badly as the game went on. I heard he made less than 15 passes?!?!  Not surprisingly subbed.

Van Persie – 7.5 – Great penalty and superb assist for the winner, but lacked any real service for large parts of the game and was forced to come deep to get hold of the ball. Unbelievably booked for an apparent dive, when it should have been a penalty.

SUBS:

Rosicky – 7 – Made a positive impact from the bench, putting more urgency into our passing game.

Benayoun – 7.5 – Great headed winner and made a couple of mazy dribbles during his cameo. Deserves a start soon.

Arshavin – 5.5 – Took a hopeful shot that deflected wide, mis-placed an easy pass, and fell over a couple of times. Probably best he goes back to Russia in January i think.

You can watch the goals from Aston Villa 1-2 Arsenal here

So they are my player ratings. Remember, these are just my opinions and you are free to express yours and leave your player ratings in the comments section.