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Wojciech Szczesny: 7/10 - No chance with the penalty even though he went the right way, made a great save in the first half with his face, looks more solid since his return.
Bacary Sagna: 3/10 - Ghastly for the goal, the pass was bad enough but chopping down the Dutch Skunk was brainless. Could have been sent off in the 2nd half for a reckless lunge on Evra. Above all else it’s sad to see a player who was so consistent play so poorly in what’s likely to be his final season at the club.
Per Mertesacker: 7/10 - Solid and the partnership with Koscielny continues to impress. Obviously did something to annoy van Persie because he was chopped down by the former captain – in a very similar manner to the way van Persie nailed him at Old Trafford too.
Laurent Koscielny: 8/10 - Arsenal’s best player on the day, his aggressive defending complements Mertesacker’s good reading of the game, and bar the penalty van Persie offered little all game.
Kieran Gibbs: 6/10 - A 6 performance if ever there was one. Not sure what else to say.
Mikel Arteta: 6/10 - See above.
Aaron Ramsey: 7/10 - Ran himself into the ground for the team. Some of his passing was a bit wayward but tried to make things happen.
Tomas Rosicky: 7/10 - Faded and replaced on the hour mark, but got the assist for Walcott’s goal and could have scored in the second with a trademark outside of the footer. Like Ramsey, worked his arse off, particularly in the first half.
Santi Cazorla: 7/10 - Stung de Gea’s palms twice with rasping shots from distance, which looked our best chance of scoring another goal. Ostensibly picked on the left side but has a very free role which isn’t always to the benefit of the team’s balance.
Theo Walcott: 6/10 - Scored. That was it.
Lukas Podolski: 5/10 - We can see why he’s not picked as a centre-forward often. Involved well in the goal but really struggled and it’s hard to know how much of it is form, and how much of it is his lack of fitness.
Subs:
Jack Wilshere: 6/10 – Replaced Rosicky.
Gervinho: 6/10 – Came on for Podolski.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: 6/10 – He took the place of Ramsey. None of the subs did very much.
