Arsenal 4 v 1 Norwich: Player Ratings

Match Report – Player Ratings – Infographic – Video Highlights

Arsenal v Norwich
Barclays Premier League
Emirates Stadium
Kick off:October 19, 2013 3:00 PM BST

A contender for goal of the season by Wilshere, and a fantastic late surge by the Gunners, see’s Arsenal back to the top of the League after a 4-1 win. Here are the player ratings:

Don't Miss:

Wojciech Szczesny | 8.0: I thought he was fantastic today, dealt with a number of long shots comfortably and was quick off his line when he needed to be. Needed a bit more help from his defenders for the goal.

Bacary Sagna | 7.0: Excellent going forward, producing a number of decent crosses. Wasn’t too bad defensively, but gave away a little too much space at times. Let Olsson and Redmond get a few too many crosses in.

Laurent Koscielny | 8.0: Didn’t put a foot wrong tonight. He seemed to be everywhere at the back, winning slide tackles and making vital interceptions. One of the best players on the pitch.

Per Mertesacker | 7.0: Not as reliable as he usually is, but his leadership was definitely needed after Flamini went off.

Kieran Gibbs | 7.0: Superb first half, disappeared a bit in the second half, and just like Sagna was guilty of giving away too much space for crosses. Was also partly responsible for Norwich’s goal.

Mathieu Flamini | 7.5: His influence on the pitch was more noticeable after being substituted. Norwich were given far more space and time on the ball and we really missed his leadership and aggressive streak.

Mikel Arteta | 7.0: Still doesn’t look completely match fit, but helped compose things and keep possession ticking over when we needed to. I still think we should be playing with either him or Flamini, not both.

Mesut Özil | 8.5: Two fantastic goals and instrumental in a lot of the build up play. Makes being world class looks effortless sometimes.

Santi Cazorla | 7.0: You could tell instantly he wasn’t completely fit, a few of his passes were stray and he didn’t look as comfortable on the ball. Still linked up well with the rest of the midfield, and played a big part in Wilshere’s goal.

Jack Wilshere| 8.0: Starting on the right really seemed to work for Jack, he was able to cut in onto his left and really do some damage. I felt a lot more confident with Sagna behind him rather than Gibbs too. Took his goal superbly and was really a driving force today.

Olivier Giroud | 8.5: Another superb game from the Frenchman. Two assists and unlucky not to get on the score sheet. His hold up play was again superb, and he gives the other attacking players much more space to play with.

Substitutes:

Aaron Ramsey | 7.5: This was a difficult one. For the final 15 minutes I thought Ramsey was the best player on the pitch; deserving of a 9.0. For most of the game however, he was a relative ghost. His passing was sloppy and he looked tired from international duty. Scored a great goal and assisted Özil in the dying minutes though, and really came to life.

Thomas Rosicky | 7.0: Came on for Cazorla when it was obvious the Spaniard needed a rest. Played decently, but was overshadowed by the performances of others.

Nicklas Bendtner | 7.5: Even though he was only on for a short time, Bendtner looked really sharp today. He was unselfish at the right times and had a couple of chances to score. He needs to work on his willingness to go for and win the aerial battles the way Giroud does, but I’m really glad he’s actually putting some effort in.