[Player Ratings] QPR 0-1 Arsenal: Walcott Clinical But Podolski Continues To Struggle

Arsenal beat Queens Park Rangers 1-0 at Loftus Road on Saturday evening, here are player ratings for Arsene Wenger’s men by GoonerMac.

We came flying out the blocks with Theo Waclott again opening the scoring early on, this time he had the ball in the back of the net within 20 seconds. But once again we took our foot off the gas and failed to kill the game off with the second goal. It was another lackluster performance but we hung on to claim a vital three points and move back up to third ahead of Chelsea’s visit to Old Trafford. Here are my ratings from the game:

Arsenal Ratings:

Szczesny 7/10

Made some routine stops before making a vital save from Remy in the 83rd minute to keep the score at 1-0.  Distribution was suspect at times though.

Sagna 7/10

Looked to get forward on every opportunity but lacked options in front of him with Walcott continually moving inside. Solid enough in defence.

Mertesacker 7/10

Won his headers against an awkward opponent in Zamora and kept things relatively tight at the back.

Koscielny 7/10

Made some important blocks and interceptions once again and continued his fine partnership with Mertesacker. Almost added a second but his shot was straight at Green.

Monreal 5/10

Struggled to cope with Townsend’s pace. Booked for a cynical foul after the on-loan Spurs winger got in behind in the second half.

Arteta 6.5/10

Lovely assist for the goal and did a fine job at shielding the defence. Lack of pace was exposed at times but mostly made up for it with intelligent positional play.

Ramsey 6/10

Not quite at his lung-busting best and he gave away a few cheap balls. Really needs to improve his long-range shooting as well!

Rosicky 6/10

Was involved in the build up for the goal but went pretty quiet after that in the first half. Saw slightly more of the ball after the break. Wasted a great chance to get a shot off when he delayed for too long before being crowded out when well placed at the edge of the area.

Walcott 7/10

Another early goal and another clinical finish from Theo. Unlucky to see another effort come off the inside of the post in the first half when Green got a great fingertip to a low drive, then forced another smart save from the QPR stopper at his near post in the 70th minute. Dangerous in front of goal but not involved in the build up play enough.

Cazorla 6.5/10

Mixed bag from the Spaniard. When he was on the ball he oozed class and stung the fingers of Green with a powerful effort midway through the second half, but we only really saw flashed of his brilliance on Saturday.

Podolski 4/10

Won his fair share of headers but was largely ineffective up front. Really doesn’t look suited to playing the back-to-goal striker role. He was largely anonymous and just couldn’t seem to have any chance come his way. Eventually subbed.

Subs

Oxe – 5 – Made little impact in his 20 minutes.

Wilshere – N/A

Vermaelen – N/A

If you missed the game or want to relive the action again, you can watch the goal and highlights here.

So another crucial three points in the bag and we’ll have a much clearer idea of where we stand and how the top-four is going to shape up by the time we take on Wigan next Tuesday, with Chelsea playing three games and Tottenham twice before we welcome the Latics to the Emirates.

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