Arsenal 1 – 1 MAN CITY – PLAYER RATINGS
30 Mar
Hart - One slightly fortuitous stop to deny Podolski in the second half but despite the home side’s improved efforts after the break, they posed a relatively minimal threat to Hart’s goal. His punching and command of his six-yard box was authoritative - 7
Zabaleta - Plenty of energy, as is always the case, whether in driving eagerly into tackles or bursting forward to support our attacks. He took up some great positions, especially in the first half, but his decision-making let him down and we couldn’t quite profit from his work - 7
Kompany - Another early booking when he was drawn high up the pitch but maintained his composure after that and was a solid enough presence in our backline. Seemed to anticipate Arsenal’s intricate throughballs well, allowing him to make a series of interceptions around our penalty area - 7
Demichelis – Continued his fine recent form with another powerful display, his positioning and heading ability in our box proving vital. Able to push up the pitch at will, as Gary Neville pointed out during the game, but blotted an impressive copybook when he let Flamini escape his grasp for the equaliser - 7
Clichy – Found life very comfortable before the break when he could advance down the left with no threat in behind him, but as Arsenal fought back after the interval, and Sagna pushed further forward, it was tougher for him to influence the game - 7
Y. Touré - A quiet performance, not particularly stamping his authority on proceedings. Some of his passing in the first half was pretty but he seemed to drift out of the limelight and matters largely passed him by as the encounter wore on - 6
Fernandinho - There were signs of fatigue as his normally intense pressing was a touch sporadic. When he did break with the ball he looked dangerous but flashed a couple of shots over the bar and struggled to impose himself in the second half - 6
Navas - A constant menace in the opening exchanges, his pace and movement tormenting Arsenal down the left-hand side. At times, he could be even more direct as he stutters on occasions before delivering the ball, but it was still surprising to see him replaced so early as he was one of the most likely sources of a goal - 7
Nasri - Against his former club, he was well shackled and we didn’t see enough of the driving purpose to which we have become accustomed this season - 6
Silva - His performance in the first half, of absolute control and precision, was as good as anything we have seen from him, but he struggled to find pockets of space after the break and with too many of his teammates around him having slightly quieter days, he didn’t have the off-the-ball options he requires - 8
Džeko - After the hard-working performance against United during which he resembled a top class striker, this was a reversion to the lumbered Dzeko we see on a far more regular basis. He was ineffective, unable to hold onto the ball and bring others into play, and his workrate was absent - 5
Subs
Milner - A couple of decent runs to create space for himself and others - 6
Garcia - No discernible impact - No time to mark
Negredo – Put himself about - No time to mark
Reasonable enough marks for a decent performance and in the context of a season a draw at Arsenal is not bad, but I did feel, especially after our goal that they were there for the taking. We must get Aguero back, and with an on form Negrado, if we are to win this league. For their goal I noted that Toure allowed Falmini to stroll into the box without following him. Maybe he was passing him on to Demichelis, but that in itself proved to be unwise as he completely failed to react to the ball coming in from the left. So yes, no matter how much Demich has improved and no matter how wonderful Yaya is, it was those two liabilities who cost us the goal.
Anyone has an idea about when will Aguero be back???
We need him now , especially against Liverpool where the league title’s fate is gonna be decided
I hate when we go to Merseyside, my worse nightmare… The time is approaching for us to get ready for war boys, a cross between strutter & fullmetal jacket… Private pyle’ what’s your major malfunction boy….. Etc etc, you get my drift.
Your negative marks for Dzeko are so predictable it’s becoming boring. Yet again his movement was good, had a hand in our goal, helped defensively at set pieces, brought others in to play. Had negrado put in a similar performance you would have scored him at least a 7. I’m not saying Dzeko is world class but you seem to judge him on a completely different scale to every other player.
Zabaleta was poor, positionally inept..again, should have stopped the cross. His decision making both with and without the ball was dire. In the last 2 games you have seen vinny have a word with him because of an error!
Anyone got any ideas why navas gets in ahead of Milner. I’m yet to see the point in navas, rat in a maze who seems intent on taking on running in to spaces not designed for him.
A point against arsenal is normally a good one, however, that arsenals side had 6 first team players missing so I think we have missed a great opportunity.
It’s still in our hands…come on city!!
Well said mate. He set the goal up and couldn’t do much more without the ball.
This guy obviously hasn’t played football much.
There are players at the highest level who can see the same performance and rate it differently and there are different attributes that people like. If hard work is one then Dzeko will always score lower Dzeko was anonymous yesterday and I would also say 5 or 6 out of 10. Oddly enough I don’t know of a world class footballer by the name of matt jones so to use the ‘not played’ argument about the author just because you’ve kicked a ball a few times in your life doesn’t count for very much I’m afraid.
Dzeko deserved a ’6′ out of 10 yesterday. Same as Demichelis, Yaya, Navas, Nasri and Ferny.
I don’t think it is an issue of having ‘played football much’ or not, but rather a pervasive dislike of certain players (Dzeko, obviously), coupled with an inability to assess those players objectively.
Set the goal up? Are you serious? He smacked his shot against the post. ALL of the work had been done by Merlin and its was him ended up finishing what Dzeko failed to do.
No doubt you believe that it was the post that set up Merlin’s goal, not Dzeko’s shot…what a plank you are!
I didn’t say set up the gaol! He had a hand in it. His movement to create space which enabled him to be found by merlin. His shot hot the post.
If you have a counter argument to my point of view, at least have the decency to read my point of view.
Dzeko was appalling and not worth 5. Its his slow movement and lackadaisical approach that meant that the superiority we enjoyed in the first half did not translate into a winning margin.
It’s the Dzeko show again on VFAB It’s pretty nonsensical to single him out since ‘The Beast’ has offered precious little since January and Dzeko has been a major asset in recent games. Thought ED did ok to be honest. He didn’t have anything to with and not a single decent cross in his direction all game. Nasri and Yaya the biggest disappointments for me, both failing to impose themselves on the game. Also Fernandinho’s wayward shooting when he had good options to play a colleague in. Also with a little luck we would have gone 2-0 a minute before they scored. Complacency and lack of intensity is my biggest worry. We’ll have to win at least once on Merseyside and learn to fight like men possessed against Liverpool in particular.
Here is your grading comment on Dzeko after great, I would think superb, performance against United last week:
“Džeko – When he’s in this mood, it only serves to frustrate that we so frequently have to watch the lethargic and disinterested version.”
Somehow his 2 goals and one of them being record braking still inspire you to start your comment negative.Shame.
It is clear …you are not objective when you comment, grade or think about Dzeko.
You are quite correct, and I think the author’s congenital inability to provide accurate assessments of certain disliked players is a big reason why this blog is generally laughed at by many Blues.