[Player Ratings] Arsenal 0-0 Everton: Giroud The Villain As Gunners Fire Blanks

Arsenal were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw by an extremely well organised and hard working Everton side at the Emirates on Tuesday night.

Steven Pienaar has the best chance for the visitors but Olivier Giroud was the villain for Arsenal, missing a host of chances to break the deadlock. I feel we did enough to win the game but Everton really worked hard and defended superbly. If we had a world class striker we’d have won the game, no doubt about it. Here are my ratings from the game:

Arsenal ratings

Szczesny – 6 – Made a few routine saves and did little wrong on his return to the team. Defence protected him well from set pieces.

Sagna – 6.5 – Won his share of headers and battled well all night. Did enough to put Pienaar off when he was well placed to score early on but his crossing really is very poor.

Mertesacker – 7 – Made several important interceptions and his experience was key in this game. Won his aerial duels as well.

Koscielny – 7.5 – Another excellent display from the Frenchman. Was a driving force from the back and looks really comfortable next to Per.

Gibbs – 6.5 – Ran his heart out down the left but like Sagna, his distribution let him down at times.

Arteta – 7 – Decent display against his former side. Got stuck in against a physical Everton outfit when he needed to.

Wilshere – 6 – Slow start but grew into the game during the later stages of the first half. Was picked out for some rough treatment by the visitors but you could tell he’s still not 100% fit just yet. Subbed off in the 65th minute.

Ramsey – 7.5 – Nice cross found Giroud who should have scored in the first half but his work rate was exceptional all evening. Chased every ball and put his foot in when required as well.

Cazorla – 8 – MOTM. Superb performance. Head and shoulders above the rest in terms of quality and technical ability. Ran the game and he also fought well against the Everton bully-boys.

Walcott – 5 – Just didn’t get in the game enough. Used his pace well on one break but otherwise was ineffectual. Subbed.

Giroud – 4 – Oh dear. Missed several good chances to get the winner. Missed a glorious chance in the first half but failed to convert with the goal gaping from a Ramsey cross, couldn’t get on the end of Chamberlain’s cross in the second period and also blazed a decent chance over the bar. His touch was also suspect all night but he did win a few headers. He’s never going to be good enough to lead the line for us though. Impact sub at best.

Subs

Oxlade-Chamberlain – 6.5 – Positive impact from the Oxe. Should probably have shot when clean through on the right hand side though.

Podolski – 6 – Looked lively when he came on for Walcott. Runs off the ball were impressive and he got involved in some moves with Gibbs and Cazorla.

Monreal – N/A

If you missed the game or want to relive Giroud’s misses you can watch highlights from Arsenal’s draw with Everton here.

So the draw leaves us two points clear in third but Chelsea have two games in hand and Spurs one game in hand, so technically Champions League qualification is now out of our hands. However, Tottenham’s game in hand is away at Chelsea, so someone’s guaranteed to drop points in that game, so we’re still looking good for a top-four finish.

What were your ratings from the game? Get involved in the comments section below.