Arsenal Player Ratings v Wigan Athletic

Arsenal beat Wigan Athletic 4-1 on Tuesday night to climb back above rivals Tottenham into fourth. Here, ‘Lloyd the Gooner’ give us his ratings from the game:

Results are everything at the moment I know but as fans who care about the future, performance matters too. AND…this was Wigan! I have said it all season. Our biggest problem is the complete lack of pace, power, physicality and ball-winning ability in midfield. Yet we sold Song and no explanation was given. If that was Wenger’s decision he HAS lost it! And where is our world class player? Every other Champions League contender has one be it Van Persie, Bale, Tevez/Y. Toure/Aguero. Even Liverpool have Suarez and watch out for Sturridge. And we are a lazy side at times. Podolski, Cazorla, Giroud to name a few all prefer a jog to a run. But this is a side with goals in it and you just feel that if we could just get that top drawer forward and power in midfield…Bingo!!

Here are my ratings from the win over Wigan:

Szczesny 7. Good free kick beat him in the first half but it was in the only place it could go. A fine saves at 1-1 when it mattered.

Sagna 6. Poor going forward but solid enough.

Mertesacker 8. I’ve got to admit he has grown on me. With Koscielny alongside him he looks so much better. Great positioning in this game.

Koscielny 8. Top drawer defender and a top draw for other clubs this summer, you wait. Hang on, he is one world class player we have.

Gibbs 7.  I like Gibbo’s attitude. Always up for it and gives us drive. I wouldn’t swap him for Baines…would you?

Arteta 7. So their first half free kick was an iffy decision but Song wouldn’t have needed to tackle with his arm. So difficult to criticise such a good honest pro. All of which he showed in this game.

Ramsey 7. Loads of effort but in his head he is world class and he tries the outrageous, sadly the reality is often very different. Smart finish may give him more belief. Does he need more? Another one that may blossom if he gets a bit of pace and power next to him.

Cazorla 7. Because he lacks pace he needs the ball quicker and often we don’t do that because it takes us ages to get the ball from the opposition. In a purple patch here we did get a move on and look what happened. 4 assists.

Rosicky 6. He did OK but Jack must be seriously unfit and what must the Ox think, and the England manager as well?

Walcott 8. When he gets the ball he can hurt defenders as bad as Espinoza. And he can finish and, I’ll keep saying it, he is the nearest thing now to Michael Owen. He forces teams backwards towards their own goal with the threat of his pace.

Podoski 7. For me, he is a lazy player. But he does what it says on the tin. One of the most efficient players I ‘ve seen. Per ounce of sweat he is a genius.

Subs:

The Ox – Lively.

Wilshere – Had a bit about him when he came on.

Vermaelen – Man of the match? Haha

The Manager. It is a results business and he is getting them for now, enough said.

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