Arsenal Player Ratings From A Hard Fought Point In Germany

Arsenal threw away a 2-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Schalke in the Champions League on Tuesday night. Here are Arsenal player ratings by ‘Lloyd the Gooner’.

On the one hand a two goal lead thrown away. On the other a valuable point against a decent side. I tend to favour the latter. Here are my ratings:

Mannone 9. Excellent throughout. I MAY have been hasty about this guy. Very solid handling. At last competition for Szczesny.

Sagna 8. Top man. A real warrior. We all love Gooner Carl but he can’t match Bac’s experience yet.

Mertesacker 7. Respectable performance from the big man. The pressure was intense at times and inevitably mistakes were made by all the back four. But Per is a steady old pro now and we should value him.

Koscielny 6. Solid enough but again victim of the slightly porous midfield. Signs of coming out of his recent slump, though.

Vermaelen 7. Out of his preferred position but did well against an opposition strength. Until Gibbs returns certainly a better option than the unprofessional, prematurely shirt-swapping, overweight excuse of a defender that played at Old Trafford.

Arteta 7. You cannot fault his professionalism, diligence, dedication and passing ability. You can point to a lack of pace and athleticism that unbalances the team as a whole but not his fault.

Wilshere 7. Real signs of the Jack v Barcelona here. Outshone Cazorla easily last night. Now needs to add the forward thrust …and Jack’s back.

Cazorla 6. His talent is obvious but going through a dip during which he is struggling to show it. He dithered leading to a slip for the Schalke first goal. But the little man will be back stronger, just watch out.

Walcott 7. The first goal showed a poacher’s instinct. Time for Theo as a striker in a 4 4 2? For me too flaky as a wide man in a three, Wenger’s dilemma in a nutshell.

Giroud 7. As ever his attitude was spot on. Not as technically proficient as I expected when we bought him but if we play to his strengths he will get goals.

Podolski 7. Good comeback after a recent form dip. Several top drawer crosses showed some class. What was the ref doing stopping the game when their player fell down? Poldi was in!

Subs

Too little time to contribute.

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