Arsenal Player Ratings:Two Clear MOTM. Soares impressive. Left side Below Par.

TotalArsenal

Player Ratings:

Ramsdale: 7. A few risky distributions from the back but plenty of presence and decisive when needed.

Soares: 8. Great support in attack and lovely continuous engine. A couple of tired passes at the end but will not be replaced by Tomiyasu anytime soon.

Ben White: 6.5. Mostly calm and composed, should have been stronger for Watford’s second goal.

Gabriel: 7. Committed game with plenty of presence. Long range passing remains a work in progress.

KT: 6. Did not want understand his positioning defensively but this may be due to a lack of understanding with Martinelli. Our left side was below par.

Xhaka: 6.5. Looked not 100% fit and less involved than usually. Great discipline.

Partey: 7.5. Solid and good all round performance. Quietly making a big difference.

The Ode: 9. Sumptuous performance in all areas. Great goal and always looking to add quality to our game. First touch and passing of De Bruine’s quality. What a joy to watch! MotM.

Saka: 9. Great goal and assist. Constant threat and danger from him. What a giant. At times Messi-esque. MotM.

Laca: 7.5. Two assists and great nuisance to the sorry Watford defence. Sign him up.

Martinelli: 7. Great goal and hard work in attack. Defensive contributions and positioning below par, but this may also be due to a lack of understanding with KT.

By TotalArsenal

75 thoughts on “Arsenal Player Ratings:Two Clear MOTM. Soares impressive. Left side Below Par.”

  • Eris, I thought we lost some control when Lacazette went off, Pepe and Eddie were really disappointing again, at Wolves they had Laca out there helping them but on their own they seemed too disconnected.

    Tbh although we scored some great goals we should have been cruising after 3-1, just a bit off with the final balls by Odegaard a couple of times but overall he was the stand out for me.

  • Yeah I agree Eris, I thought that Soares had another good game, he’s never going to be Tomiaysu but you can’t fault his efforts to cover for our Samurai warrior.

    Ben White is so good that I think has a bit of the Van Dyke’s in him and can be a tad casual because it’s usually easy for him, like all great defenders you just get used to them being so good and then it’s a shock when they make a mistake, like Gabriel vs Wolves.

    This team is going to be, as Pep would whisper ‘So So Sexy’ in a couple of years.

  • I thought Ben White was better on the day than Gabriel, he put in a few great blocks. Saka and Odegaard were just unplayable today and are going to drag us into the champions league.
    I was a bit disappointed that they got the second as we could not hold the ball. A pointless and off target crossfield ball by Xhaka was so unnecessary as we were cruising. It was also the only thing he really did wrong all game and he even managed to keep his cool after a few niggles at him.
    Overall it was a mostly professional performance and we deserved to win. I am also a bit surprised how much trouble watford are in as they really can play.

  • Wedge, I am a big fan of White and maybe I was a bit harsh. Just felt the second Watford goal was mainly due to him. Still he had a good game and he made some fine blocks indeed.

  • I felt that the second goal was down to the team taking pointless risks. All. we had to do was keep the ball and wait for the right moment but we tried to force it. Having said that I thought White could have done better for both goals.
    Watching city dismantle utd is a great example of just recycling the ball until the opportunity arises.

  • I know that we are not a city level but it is the right way to control a game. They are so calm in possession and have the right players to break when the time is right.

    In saka, odegaard and Martinelli we have very similar players to mahrez, grealish and KDB.

  • The gap between the Mancs teams was humongous, and yes Arsenal are on their way to that sort of Citeh controlled football. Don’t forget ESR, Wedge.

  • Remember the hope we had when we took a huge chance on hiring young Arteta. It was that maybe he would bring some of that Pep magic.

    Those goals we saw today illustrate exactly what we were hoping for, along with pressing everywhere on the pitch. Fun to watch. Remember last season I was agreeing PB that we were not seeing Arsenal level passing. Just mindless crosses.

    Since the Tottenham game we’ve been seeing what I wanted. It’s better than I could have hoped.

  • A real mixed bag of a game for us today. We were sublime at times in attack but were sloppy in areas too. The offside ‘goal’ for Watford within 20 seconds should have been a wake-up call for us in defence but we proceeded to concede two sloppy goals. So, although I am very happy with our three points and current league position, I am disappointed not to have won by a larger margin. The team has been playing so well that I’m getting picky I know. Hopefully, GD won’t be important to us at the end of the season. COYG!

  • When we humans remember an event we mainly focus on the the big highlight(s) AND how it ended. So the ending of this game will cause a bit of a damper but let’s not forget the great football we played yesterday. That is indeed real progress!

  • I actually liked the way that Arteta didn’t go overboard by the win but focused on our defence, it keeps the players focused, keeps their feet on the ground, no pictures from the dressing room, not until we secure top four.

    My major regret is that we didn’t get that 4th goal because then Mikel might have thrown Omari Hutchinson into the action and you wait guys, that kid is going to wow us all next season. Norton-Cuffy is ripping it up at Lincoln, he’s in the same mould as James from Chelsea.

    Patino has had a taster, a couple of games with mixed results, all part of his education and has shown that he needs to work even harder to get a regular squad spot, but it’s there for him if he does the hard yards. Finance is tight and we might not be doing the kind of business in the summer that News Now prattles on about and so the answers need and can come from within.

  • Total if we can secure top four with this squad and having spent sensibly on the right players in the last few windows whilst ejecting the boys who are on a nice financial vacation then I shall take as much enjoyment out of that achievement as I have from any of our more recent FACup successes.

  • Kev, agreed on the influence of Laca in being the glue that keeps it all together for us. He knows he needs to be scoring goals but Laca has been so selfless in his play and I was hoping the team will work to get him one yesterday.

    I feel TA’s score for Ben White was about correct seeing as he could have done better to close down Hernandez for his goal and should have been tighter or more decisive for the Sissoko (2nd) goal. I think he is trusted by the team, in possession and gets a lot of time on the ball. There are times you’d wish he moved the ball quicker. It took me a while but I am warming to him now and think he can grow into one of the best CBs about.

  • As for the result being closer than it promised early on, I am sure we would accept it had we been offered a 2-3 win before the start. Roy knows how to set up teams and you will find that his Watford team would soon start picking up points as desperation sets in.

    The spuds are ahead 2-0 against Everton just over midway in the first half. Goals came at a time Everton was on top amd dominating. As is typical of them, they got lucky on the break and quickly added a second. Hope it ends in a draw, if Everton can come out to play in the second half.

    Aaaargh! Moon-face gets a 3rd. They are so dangerous on the break, the spuds.

  • Everton have been so poor tonight, despite starting very fast. Lampard has to learn to curtail his attacking appetite for a Conservative result, gradually building confidence till his team can handle such high tempo stuff.

  • Although we’re in competition with both the Mancs and the Spuds the latter have a much easier run in so I’m kinda hoping that the Mancs beat them when they face off.

    Eris, I think it was Clive Palmer who said ‘Your opponents tell you about yourself’ or words to that effect, in essence he’s saying that if Ben White gets time on the ball it’s because the opposition know he can make a fool of them if they close him down as he’s so assured on the ball whereas they close down Gabriel a lot quicker as his passing isn’t as good. That’s not to say that Gabriel can’t pass it’s just that the opposition know he’s the one to target out of the two of them.

  • Here are last weekends results.

    For the weekend:-

    1st GN5 & Madhu with 5/6 plus a share of most predicted matches. = 7 points
    3rd Eris, Kev & OX10 with 4/6 = 4 points
    6th Stuart with 3/6 = 3 points
    7th Total with 2/6 = 2 points
    “””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
    For the season:-

    1st Eris – 151.39
    2nd OX10 – 133.06
    3rd Kev – 109.93
    4th Madhu -109.66
    5th Total – 108.06
    6th GN5 -107.73
    “””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””

  • Here are next weekendd game selections:-

    Brentford v Burnley
    Manchester United v Tottenham *
    Spezia v Caeliari
    West Ham v Aston Villa *
    Arsenal v Leicester
    FC Midtjylland v FC Copenhagen *

  • Kev,
    Great observation that most people don’t consider, as Ben White seems to be able to walk through the midfield with the ball sometimes.. all of the opposition seem to drop off to try to cut off his passing lanes.

    Fans get impatient, but it still gets the ball up the pitch, and he often finds a good pass closer to the box.

  • Cheers J, if you like your Podcasts you should try Arsenal Vision, I listen to it on Tune In, Clive Palmer often has a sensible view on things.

    You can always pick holes on the way a team plays, I do it and most of us do to a greater or lesser degree but when you consider where we were after three games, bottom of the league with zero points, to where we are now it’s truly amazing. All of this has been done by lowering the age profile of the squad and the salaries of the squad whilst getting rid of the time wasters and replacing them with excellent upgrades and reducing the size of the squad. Credit where credit is due!

    Meanwhile we have another generation of young players bursting to get a game in the senior team, it’s difficult for them because Arteta has raised the bar and you have to be top quality to get a chance, but our academy is producing players that are up to the required standard, we’ve just not seen them yet…

  • Exciting times Kev. I haven’t felt like this since… I can’t even remember.

  • Wow Top marks last week. Hoping for one more here are my prediction
    Brentford v Burnley H
    Manchester United v Tottenham * 2-1
    Spezia v Caeliari H
    West Ham v Aston Villa * 1-1
    Arsenal v Leicester 2-1
    FC Midtjylland v FC Copenhagen * 1-1

  • Kev and J, i listen to Arsenal Vision regularly, Clive is great there. I also listen to Arsecast and Legroves pods. They are good ones too. Pedro on Le Grove is much like TA here but way more aggresive and abusive towards anyone who questions anything remotely on Arteta 🤣. But fun to listen to various views and from variety of perspective. It does feel a bit odd listening to Americans talking about Football offcourse the real one taht is played with foot. But still very much a regular listener.

  • Brentford v Burnley Home
    Manchester United v Tottenham 1-2
    Spezia v Caeliari Away
    West Ham v Aston Villa 2-0
    Arsenal v Leicester Win
    FC Midtjylland v FC Copenhagen 1-2

  • I hope that PB is still keeping up with our commentary on here. I think that we are all in pretty agreement that it was a good decision to trim the squad and our wage bill. It was something PB was correctly calling for. I haven’t always agreed with him but was with him on that one. I would welcome your return. if you are reading this PB!

  • My predictions:

    Brentford v Burnley Draw
    Manchester United v Tottenham * 2-2
    Spezia v Cagliari Away
    West Ham v Aston Villa * 1-2
    Arsenal v Leicester Home!
    FC Midtjylland v FC Copenhagen * 0-2

  • Here are the final group of games to predict the points, I’ve moved the games that have been rescheduled from the third group into the last group, so you get a chance to rethink the points of a few of the games.
    Remember 3 points for a win,1 for draw and 0 for a loss.
    Aston Villa A
    Tottenham A
    Crystal Palace A
    Brighton H
    Southampton A
    Man United H
    West Ham A
    Leeds H
    Newcastle A
    Chelsea A
    Everton H

  • Nice going, GN5 and Madhu. Very well done.

    Kev, I guess I’d have to defer to your superior wisdom on the subject of Ben White appearing to hold on to the ball a bit too long. I didn’t see it from that viewpoint. The test will be how he handles it if he isn’t afforded that much time on the ball. Will he resort to hoofing it into no one or persist with making the right pass(es) each time? Liverpool, Spurs West Ham and Chelsea won’t be hanging about while he keeps shifting the ball forward……

  • Thanks GN5.

    Brentford v Burnley Home
    Manchester United v Tottenham * 1-0
    Spezia v Cagliari Draw
    West Ham v Aston Villa * 2-1
    Arsenal v Leicester Home
    FC Midtjylland v FC Copenhagen * 0-2

  • Brentford v Burnley D
    Manchester United v Tottenham * H (2-0)
    Spezia v Caeliari D
    West Ham v Aston Villa * H (3-1)
    Arsenal v Leicester H
    FC Midtjylland v FC Copenhagen * A (1-3)

  • I hope Chelsea fc doesn’t slink away with a fresh start.. new owners, no debt..
    I want them to struggle at least, force them into a fire sale and a weak position

  • And PB must be enjoying the quality of football we’re seeing of late. I was losing faith with the ugly football last season along with him… but I understand it was Artetas first full season, and not his squad he was stuck with. Total was right as usual…

    We were reborn in the first Spurs game this season. No looking back.

  • J, how could you ever have doubted the wisdom of our very own Van Der Oracle?

  • These are my prediction:

    Brentford v Burnley D
    Manchester United v Tottenham * H 2-1
    Spezia v Cagliari D
    West Ham v Aston Villa * H 1-0
    Arsenal v Leicester H
    FC Midtjylland v FC Copenhagen * A 1-2

  • Trust me Kev, I try to follow Total’s example whenever I can. He should be a life coach!

  • Fellow gooners, what’s happening at Chelsea is great and we should enjoy it. But isn’t it a time to introspect the PL clubs ownership model. You cannot swear on capitalism and allow foriegn owners to come in and put money on Pl clubs only to be their asset frozen based on some perceived moral standing. The world is replete with Geo political faultline s many of which were created by imperialists like UK and US. It’s not far fetched to think of a faultline between NATO in some other situation with UK having to freeze Americans asset. What would taht leave a club like Arsenal then with. If UK as the cultural minister said wants to protect the culture of football woudlnt it be prudent to bring in chnaged to ownership model? It will for sure make level playing field and ensure taht no country’s sovereign wealth fund takes over a PL club. It will and bring in a much needed realism on wages and tranfer fees. It’s really a joke for an imperialist like UK talking about freezing Russians assets while leaving Suadis and Qataris assets as it is.

  • Madhu, you’re making some very valuable points. The foreign ownerships of our clubs is a huge problem and there are risks for our club too. Yet Abramovic being a close contact of Putin supposedly is quite a different thing altogether. But yes if Biden decided to invade Mexico and murder thousands of people and Kroenke was a close supporter of him, I would expect the government to do the same. There’s the risk.

  • Thanks for this GN5

    Aston Villa A 1
    Tottenham A 3
    Crystal Palace A 1
    Brighton H 3
    Southampton A 3
    Man United H 3
    West Ham A 0
    Leeds H 3
    Newcastle A 1
    Chelsea A 3
    Everton H 3

  • Haha J and K, you’re so kind.

    Arsenal remain a work in progress but like you I am feeling that we are heading in the right direction. 13 battles to go, bring on the Foxes.

  • Ox10, PB continuous to be welcome and he brings some good angles to the debates we have.

  • Aston Villa A 1
    Tottenham A 1
    Crystal Palace A 3
    Brighton H 3
    Southampton A 3
    Man United H 3
    West Ham A 1
    Leeds H 3
    Newcastle A 1
    Chelsea A 1
    Everton H 3

  • According to reports, Vardy is out for 3 to 4 weeks so should be missing on Sunday.

  • Aston Villa A 0
    Tottenham A 0
    Crystal Palace A 3
    Brighton H 3
    Southampton A 3
    Man United H 1
    West Ham A 3
    Leeds H 3
    Newcastle A 1
    Chelsea A 0
    Everton H 3

  • Madhu, some interesting points there regarding the geopolitical situation in Eastern Europe, would you as an Indian consider the occupation of Kashmir as imperialistic?

  • Kev i have no hesitation in saying that there are many faultlines abd iam.not at all happy wiht the way Kashmir is handled by successive govts of India. I want my country to be a moral authority and not a military might, though both many not be mutually exclusive. I know the kind of siege Kashmir is in for the last 75 yrs hemmed in by one side Pak and other side by us. I have no hesitation is saying that Kashmir is similar to Palestine in the sense taht the citizens live thier life under the siege of Indian and Pak army.

  • There would have been no major military action at all, if the idiot U.S. braintrust didn’t keep floating the idea of Ukraine joining NATO. Vice- idiot Kamala was in Ukraine a few weeks back saying “you guys should join up”.

    Imagine if Canada or Mexico joined a Russian military alliance and was going to station Russian weapons there.

    If you think the Russians are paranoid.. millions of dollars laundered and paid out to sleepy Joe’s crackhead (actual- not alleged) son Hunter, and probably lots more U.S. politicians.

    War, not cool, of course.

    Zelensky asking for a no fly zone, which would cause WW3 for real, shows the clowns we are dealing with. Starving Russia economy and isolating them, pushing them closer to China alliance… remember what Europe did to Germany after WW1 …. hmmm.

    Just brilliant.

  • An alternative view, J, and with some merit. Everyone has to tread carefully and I think most politicians are just doing that right now.

    Still, Ukraine was invaded unprovoked and thousands are being killed or made to live in frightening conditions, and this needs to stop.

  • Perceptive stuff, J. There are a lot of agendas floating around in this murky world of ours.
    For me, nothing gets closer to a sensible interpretation of world events than a painting by, perhaps the most visionary artist who ever lived, Pieter Bruegel the Elder.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blind_Leading_the_Blind

    Allow me to encourage you to follow the link and enlarge the painting for better study. It is simply sublime in its execution and profundity. But then the inspiration for it did come from The ultimate Master.

    And, as you will see below, I am going to follow another fine Dutchman’s example with some glass overflowing predictions…

    Aston Villa A 3
    Tottenham A 3
    Crystal Palace A 3
    Brighton H 3
    Southampton A 3
    Man United H 3
    West Ham A 3
    Leeds H 3
    Newcastle A 3
    Chelsea A 3
    Everton H 3

  • Lol, Stuart. That’s quite the overflow. A time, there was, when our team was capable of such a run towards the end of the season, as we blasted our way to the title. With your predictions, we could win the title (or, at least, Place 2nd) with 87 points. That will send shock waves across the globe. One can dream.

    Here are my predictions for the games:

    Aston Villa A 3
    Tottenham A 3
    Crystal Palace A 1
    Brighton H 3
    Southampton A 3
    Man United H 3
    West Ham A 0
    Leeds H 3
    Newcastle. A 0
    Chelsea A 1
    Everton H. 3

  • Aston Villa, win Tottenham, win Crystal Palace, win Brighton, win Southampton, win Man United, win West Ham, win Leeds Utd, win Newcastle, win Chelsea, win Everton, win

  • Brentford v Burnley……….. Home
    Man United v Tottenham… Home (2-1)
    Spezia v Cagliari…………… Draw
    West Ham v Aston Villa…. Home (2-1)
    Arsenal v Leicester……….. Home
    FC Midtjylland v FC Copenhagen.. Draw (2-2)

  • Hey J, some interesting points there mate, as for Kamala well doesn’t she make you feel safe, in the comforting knowledge that her and her colleagues are well on top of the situation as she laughs her way through one crisis and onto another. God help us….

    Then there was the Canadian PM towering over the Queen without wearing a face mask, odd as she had just got over Covid, of course a few hours later he had his mask back on whilst meeting some other politician in London, I guess it looks good to the folks back home and sends the correct signals of virtue.

    Doesn’t it make you want to weep….

  • Stuart, what a great painting, was it depicting the World Economic Forum at Davos? 😉

  • Aston Villa A 3
    Tottenham A 1
    Crystal Palace A 3
    Brighton H 3
    Southampton A 3
    Man United H 3
    West Ham A 1
    Leeds H 3
    Newcastle A 3
    Chelsea A 0
    Everton H 3

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