Match Report – Player Ratings – Infographic
Arsenal secured an important victory over Newcastle United thanks to Laurent Koscielny’s reaction finish which kept Arsenal in fourth position – the final Champions League spot at the expense of rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Here are player ratings.
Player Ratings:
Wojciech Szczesny | 7.0: Gets his mark for making a safe save from Cabaye’s drive. Didn’t really have a chance to show his class.
Bacary Sagna | 7.0: Had problems on the defensive in the first half but played much better in the second and earned a free-kick from which Koscielny scored.
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Per Mertesacker | 7.0: Didn’t look the best in the first half either but was excellent in the second making a vital block on Gouffran.
Laurent Koscielny | 9.0: Fantastic. For the second season in a row he has scored a goal worth almost 30 million pounds. Was the rock in defence and consistent in both halves. His partnership with Mertesacker has been the best part of our incredible run-in.
Kieran Gibbs | 7.0: Combined with Cazorla in first half. Was much better than in the reverse fixture when it came to defending.
Mikel Arteta | N/A: Got injured. He was a real captain this season and hopefully he’ll be there with us next season as well. Was withdrawn early for Oxlade-Chamberlain after suffering a reoccurrence of his injury.
Aaron Ramsey | 7.0: His final pass let him down on one occasion in the second half but he was fighting like a lion again.
Tomas Rosicky | 6.5: He had better games than this one but all-in-all, we won.
Theo Walcott | 7.5: Theo should have spared us in the last three minutes but it doesn’t go that way for us Gooners, right? Still, he made the cross that set up Koscielny and had one more chance to score at the very start of the second half. It would have been another blitz-goal from Walcott as it was the 28th second of the second half.
Santi Cazorla | 7.0: Didn’t score but still managed to reach a double-double for goal and assists in his first season in Premiership. Arguably the best player this season.
Lukas Podolski | 6.5: Did well to hold up the ball in a few occasions but failed to have his stamp on the game.
Substitutions:
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain | 7.0: Did his job well and had one attempt in the second half. Played in a deeper role than usual.
Jack Wilshere | N/A: Before his upcoming ankle surgery he got some minutes for tactical reasons under his belt.
Olivier Giroud | 6.5: Fought for the second goal in the last minutes but didn’t manage it. He helped our defense instead with a vital block from Ben Arfa’s attempt. He can be pleased with his first season at Arsenal but without the Bendtner-esque arrogance. He should improve his record in big matches.
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