[Player Ratings] AC Milan 4-0 Arsenal: No Guts, No Ideas & No Character

AC Milan ran out 4-0 winners tonight despite Arsenal having more possession and having a superior pass completion rate. The Italians had 5 shots on goal and scored 4 times. But forget stats. The reality is Milan were by far the better side and deserved their win. They were far more clinical in the final third and dealt with our toothless attack with relative ease.

You could break the goals down and make it sound like we were a little unlucky; the first was a worldy, Ibrahimovic was offside for the second, Vermaelen slipped at a vital moment for the third, and the fourth was a dodgy penalty. But in really, Milan were at least three goals better than us. They toyed with us, let us have the ball and broke to deadly effect.

The Arsenal display was everything that is wrong with the club. No character, no guts, no ideas and no leadership. This was the worst display since the debacle at Old Trafford. Here are my player ratings:

Player Ratings

Szczesny – 5.5 – Poor kick lead to the first goal, but could do nothing about the finish or the second goal. Got nowhere near the third, but may have felt he could have done better with the penalty after getting a hand on it. Milan’s first 4 shots on target resulted in goals. Not good stats.

Sagna – 5 – Caught out of position on several occasions. At fault for the second when he didn’t play to the whistle and let Ibrahimovic run clear to set up Robinho.

Koscielny – 6.5 – The best of Arsenal’s back line until going off injured. Fingers crossed it’s not serious, because we need him!

Vermaelen – 4.5 – Didn’t look at his best back in central defence. Gave Boateng too much room for the opener and slipped for the third. Failed to contain Ibrahimovic and Robinho.

Gibbs – 5 – Like Sagna, caught out of position as Robinho and Ibrahimovic ran riot down the channels. Tough return for the kid. Subbed.

Song – 4 – Defensive midfielder? He was non-existent tonight. Gave absolutely zero protection to the back line. Over-ran by the Milan midfield.

Arteta – 4 – Like Song, Arteta gave no protection to his defence and was unusually subdued throughout the game. Sloppy passes and lack of ideas.

Ramsey – 4 – Barely touched the ball and looked completely lost out there. Did nothing in the first half behind RVP, and did even less when moved to right side of midfield in the second half.

Rosicky – 4 – Picked over Oxe due to his ‘experience’ and the fact he was meant to give protection to Gibbs. Terrible managerial decision. Saw a bit of the ball but did nothing more than pass sideways, and gave little help to Gibbs.

Walcott – 4 – Looked terrified to take on the Milan defence. Made no impact and was subbed at half time.

Van Persie – 6.5 – Completely isolated in the first half but came alive when Henry was introduced in the second period. Went close with two volley’s and a header. Considering the lack of service, RVP had a very good game and was our only threat on goal.

SUBS

Djourou – 5.5 – Clumsy challenge gave away the penalty for the fourth, although i personally think it was a harsh penalty, there was no need to make any contact with the striker. Always worried when he went near the ball.

Henry – 6 – Tried his best to motivate and organise the team on his last outing for the club, but it wasn’t to be. Lovely flick set up RVP and he at least made some runs behind to stretch the AC Milan defence. Goodbye Thierry, thanks for the memories.

Chamberlain – 6.5 – Arsene’s decision to drop the in-form youngster backfired and he did more in the final 20 minutes than Ramsey or Rosicky did in the entire game. Everyone knows AC Milan are susceptible to PACE, so Wenger drops the Oxe. Go figure. Nice cross set up an RVP header, and looked dangerous when he was on the ball.

So, time to concentrate on the FA Cup. A win this Saturday is vital not only to keep our hopes of a trophy alive this season, but to keep this fragile team from capitulating like we did last year. Time to earn your substantial wages Arsene and pick this team up.

If you haven’t seen the goals, and you want to put yourself through the pain, you can watch video highlights here.

Those are my player ratings, feel free to leave your opinions in the comments section below…