[PLAYER RATINGS] Arsenal 1-0 QPR: Van The Man Once Again For Gunners

Arsenal beat QPR 1-0 at the Emirates yesterday with star striker Robin Van Persie making the difference, not for the first time this season, scoring a second half winner. It was a vital three points on what turned out to be a great day for Arsenal with Chelsea and Man Utd losing at home and Spurs drawing away to Swansea.

We were dominant, much like against Wolves, and created plenty of chances but once again we made life difficult for ourselves with some poor finishing or poor decision making in the final third. I will write a separate post on my worries about our reliance on Robin and our poor finishing, but for now i will enjoy this win and a great day that saw the Gunners close the gap on the Spuds and move clear of Chelsea and Liverpool.

It was another frustrating display where we looked like we were playing well and created openings but it was a case where either the finishing was poor, the opposition made a great last ditch block, the referee failed to give us two penalties for handballs, or a player would fail to pick out a well-positioned team mate. However, unlike the Wolves game, the visitors didn’t grab an equaliser and we hung on for all three points after Van Persie had cooly slotted home in the second half. Here are my player ratings from the match:

Player Ratings

Szczesny – 7.5 – Made two or three excellent saves, including a superb stop from Wright-Philips in the first half when the score was 0-0.

Djourou – 6 – Gave the dangerous Taraabt too much room on more than one occasion.

Mertesacker – 7.5 – Dominated everything and made a couple of timely interceptions. Really looking solid at the back.

Koscielny – 7 – Distribution was a little off but like his defensive partner, made a couple of important blocks.

Vermaelen – 7 – Decent game from Thomas but didn’t get forward as much as usual. Wrongly booked and worryingly subbed off and looks like he’ll be out for three weeks. Triffic.

Song – 6.5 – Forward passing was disappointing but solid enough in the middle.

Arteta – 7 – Good performance from Arteta without really excelling, but the best of the midfield three.

Ramsey – 6.5 – Unlucky with a great volley in the first half but lost possession with a number of sloppy passes during the game. We need his energy and running though.

Arshavin – 6.5 – At least he looked like he was trying in this match. A couple of nice touches but didn’t get in the game enough. Nice assist for the RVP goal. Subbed.

Walcott – 6 – Hardly got in the game but when he did he looked fairly dangerous. Horrible finish when clean through one-on-one and just looked frustrated throughout. Subbed.

Van Persie – 8.5 – Great all round performance and took his goal like the world class finisher he is. Scary to think what we’d be like without him.

SUBS:

Coquelin – 7 – Got forward more than Vermaelen at left back and was energetic and enthusiastic in an unfamiliar position. Did well.

Rosicky – 7 – Kept the ball well and got involved in the final third.

Gervinho – 6 – Wasted at least two golden chances to score and put the game to bed. You can’t fault him for effort and he’s getting in the positions to score goals, but seriously needs to work on his final ball and finishing.

These are just my opinions and you’re welcome to leave your player ratings and opinions in the comments section.