Arsenal vs AZ Alkmaar, 4-1: Full time thoughts, analysis and player ratings
The Game
A true football lesson. Not much AZ could do today against a hurricane which hit them for 90 straight minutes. Brilliant football, nice goals, morale incredibly high and important players rested ahead of a busy November.
My bet was on Dudu to score twice, didn’t happen but I’m still delighted of course.
Match Video Highlights
Match video highlights are now online and can be viewed by clicking here.
Player Ratings
Almunia: 6 – Virtual spectator. Did well in the air to block AZ’s crosses but could have maybe done better to prevent the goal.
Gallas and Vermaelen: 7 – Rarely troubled but gave maybe a little bit more than usual to the opposition, especially in the second half.
Eboue: 7 – Brilliant game, very active up front, providing that extra support needed to keep AZ under constant pressure.
Gibbs: 6,5 – Had a good game but I’m still not 100% confidence of his defensive capabilities.
Diaby: 8 – Glad to see Abou producing a fine display. As always, I had no doubt he would bury it when presented with the opportunity to score.
Song: 7 – Did his usual holding job well.
Fabregas: 8,5 – There are games where important players need to do important things. That’s Cesc for you.
Arshavin: 8,5 – The Gunners scored four, in three of them, the assists came from the Russian.
Nasri: 7 – Brilliant goal, amazing footwork and cool finish. Welcome back, Samir.
Van Persie: 6,5 – Produced a number of fine runs but an overall quiet game for Robin.
(Subs)
Eduardo: 6,5 – Enough to produce a lovely backheal pass and a number of fine runs.
Ramsey: 6,5 – Bravo Aaron. No fancy tricks, just did what he is supposed to do, keeping it simple.
Rosicky: No Vote – Lively, but very little to judge.
![[Video] Hull City vs Arsenal: Match Video Highlights, including Nicklas’ last-minute winner!](http://www.thegunninghawk.com/wp-content/themes/arthemia-premium/scripts/timthumb.php?src=/wp-content/uploads/video.jpg&w=80&h=80&zc=1)
After this game we want all the fun to be behind this great team with big trophies to come, and please give a Abou Diaby a chance he will be as good as Pat even better he still 22, Wenger know better what a lesson of beautiful game come on you goners G O N E R
good comment -so happy for Diaby -Fab amazing in factwhole team looked terrificicongratulations entire team
Diaby is never as good as Pat, no matter how you support him. He does not have quality to reach to the wold-class level. World class players play footfall with intelligent brains, not only with their strength and techniques.
Diaby can play well in this kind of game, even scores, because the opponent let us play our game, but the next game he will play like shi t when we face a tough team like ManU, Chelski, Liv, even Fullham or Sunderland.
But the team still need him when we want to rest our players. Use him more wisely, that is what Wenger needs
Still not entirely convinced about Abou Diaby as he can,t head the ball ,he gives the ball away to much ,dribbles ,to much and lacks concentration for the full 90 minutes plus of a game.Did score a great goal against Alkmaar but it was Arshavin,s pass that set him up .Nasri,s goal the pick of the bunch as he dropped his shoulder turned the defence in and out and placed his shot wide of thediving goalie,classt player.
Well, credit where credit is due as Diaby played a very good game, maybe the best way he can play for us.
But I agree.
We need to see him when we face tough opposition, AZ were simply too weak to use as a test measure.
Not sure if we were watching the same game…..
Eboue – 4. Back in his favourite position yet still could not keep the ball. terrible passing, far too long on the ball and never backtracked after his forays forward. I think persist with him in this position yet by far his worst game of the year.
Gibbs – 7.5. Had a blinder. Would have almost been man of the match had his shot crept inside the post. Defensibly sound and much more convincing than Clichy. In contrast to Eboue, great Passing and Ball control. Should be able to seal his place in the first side given an extended run. His future is in his hands.
Diaby – 7 Best game of the year but still needs better ball control. Happy for him getting the goal.
your are 1 what scum you will never be happy will you, i feel to throw a tomato at you seriously. How the hell can you give eboue a 4 he was excellent going forward, OK maybe he could of kept it simple and defended a little better but a 7 is just spot on for me and couldn’t agree less with you (blog man) lol, he was excellent from start to finish simple as, and to say that eboues dribble are not up to standards, his the best dribbler in our defense, your comments is just appalling (FRESH) and to say gibbs is more convincing than clichy, lol is just UNTHINKABLE have you forgotten clichy was voted best LB in the EPL 2 seasons ago, gibbs is quality but that is disrespect. you clearly don’t know nothing about the team you should just go sleep an stop watching football….
boys played excellent kept on pressing, and pressing until AZ’s pipes bursted, arshavin, cesc and diaby were the key for our win today just watch the game again people, my only issue is when were 3 or 4 nil up our defenders should not be pushing up with diaby and song up their too, seriously and thats how we conceded late even though i agree almunia shouldve done better seriously better but he also made a stunning save to deflect on to the bar, overall happy and cant wait till wolves on saturday.
great post by the way gunning hawk
Agree with you about Eboue, he had a bad game.
I don’t think Gibbs had a very good game, defensively. The goal we conceded was his fault, that’s kind of mistake is caused by the lack of experience. He should have wait for the ball or tried to get it aggressively, event made a fault.
And he was caught off position several time. Thanks to his pace that helped him to cover the situations.
Eboue doesn,t cut it for me ,to much clowning around ,diving ,can,t shoot ,backpasses ,won,t push on even though the score is 4-0, his slip in defence costing us a goal,should have closed down Lens much quicker.Arsene should sell him to PSG next transfer window and get as much as he can ,Ramsey ,or Wilshere can fill that gap.
Ramsey and wilshire can play right back??
Diaby deserves chances, no doubt. But I still think he needs to be more consistent. However, I recognize he played well today. I hope he continues to improve his game. I’m glad to see Nasri back. Fabregas and Arshavin were the best players in my opinion. I think no one performed poorly.
Diaby had a good game.
What I want to stop is how he has 1 good game and all his supporters say he has finally arrived, then he has a bad and all his detractors come out and say to get rid of him. I am not his biggest fan, I admit, but doesn’t it say something that he continues to have these up and down games? I know he is young, but for a club like Arsenal, he has been getting enough playing time to finally prove he is a consistent star… and I just don’t see it. However, Wenger will give him all the PT he needs this season, as one of his favorites, so I will be pleased to be proven completely wrong by Diaby and he does indeed turn into the next Patrick. Those are *huge* shoes to fill.
Is it not accurate to say 90% of the games in which he plays well come against teams in the bottom half of the Premier League table or opponents who lack the quality to advance beyond the first round of the champions league?
Wonderful game today! The goals were brilliant and plentiful, it was really a complete team game. I am so impressed with how unselfish these guys are (have fun in the Europa league Ade!).
Your player ratings are pretty close, in my estimation. But I rate Almunia’s performance a little higher than you did though. I’m not saying he was a 9 or 10, but he made some nice saves, and was well in control for most of the game. Sure, he could have done better on the goal, it seemed to catch him by surprise.
I also rate Rosicky with a 7, he made some good passes into the box and seems to be finding his form quite nicely. If he can only stay healthy…
I think Song is quickly proving to be the consummate CDM, the quality of his passing is improving all the time, he can cleanly tackle anybody, and his stamina is something to behold. Sure he makes errant passes every now and again, but who doesn’t. All players turn the ball over, it’s inevitable. I’ve said all along that we didn’t need to sign a new CDM, Song is the answer, and he’s proved it. When he leaves for the Africa Cup, I believe Denilson and Nasri, and perhaps Merida will step in. We probably need some reinforcement at the CB position, Gallas is older now, and I don’t if Senderos is capable on a consistent basis should Gallas get injured.
Gotta go, going to the Stars game tonight.
GO GUNNERS!!
We can agree on Song.
But doesn’t it concern you that the potential replacements for Song, for Africa’s Cup and injuries, have almost none of positive attributes you used to describe Song? Denilson, Nasri, and Merida couldn’t replicate the tackle on Keane from Saturday, or many other tackles Song executes casually, even once if they were given ten tries!
If Arsenal buy a good replacement CB I suppose Vermaelen could move to CDM in a pinch if Song is injured for a big match but right now they have no one.
The left back concern remains. Well, it was a beautiful win, time to enjoy, but still there were moments where the big teams in EPL could have capitalized more. Gibbs: Wenger surely needs to talk with him. How many times did you see him leaving his position, and then never coming back from him. Arshavin, Nasri, Song, Vermaelen had to cover for his position. We already have a very good attack, and very much capable of scoring numbers of goals against any team, but can’t keep the left flank that much vulnerable to the opposition attack. It just unnecessarily puts pressure on the center backs for the attacks which could have been killed in the flank itself. Actually, until Clichy comes back, I do not mind seeing Traore to start at the place – at least he deserves a chance. Comments are welcome.
Traore is more of a left midfielder that can play left back. He is excellent going forward, but his defensive abilities aren’t up to par. He was amazing speed, which means he can recover quickly, but he is not as god defensively as gibbs…who still needs to work on his positioning. Clichy is by far our best LB and the criticism levelled at him at the beginning of the season for sub-par performances seem especially harsh, considering that he was in considerable pain after, and during every match. Back fractures are one of the most painful sporting injuries a player can have.
You have no clue! Do you.
TRAORE is a natural LB.
GIBBS is a natural left attacking midfielder. It was Wenger who moved him on LB because he thought he could play better there.
BTW. Traore is better than Gibbs in every department. Faster, stronger, taller and Traore has more EPL experience.
From arsenal website,
Description for Gibbs:
“Converted from a winger to a full-back, the teenager deputised admirably for Gael Clichy when the French star was rested or injured last term.”
Description for Traore:
“The French left-back spent the entire campaign on loan at Fratton Park, making 28 appearances for the south-coast club under three different managers – Harry Redknapp, Tony Adams and Paul Hart.”
I agree with that sentiment ,Gibbs was not very confident ,to many backpasses to Almunia forcing the goalie to boot the ball and possession away .Traore if available will do a better job,Gallas still a major concern ,ball watching ,loss of concentration at crucial moments,Song clearly the best defensive midfielder ,but will lose him greatly at the African Cup of Nation ,come January 2010
Firts thank you I am proud
Beautiful game beautiful goals and a well deserved win my throat is dry and my hands enjoyed clapping but then the neighbours know i am an arsenal mad but having said that it really got hairy in defence i wanted a clean win and we couldn’t do it i was so disappointed as we played well and it was possible to keep it clean but then that’s football i was glad to see Nasri score and cant wait to see Rocisky score come on champions let’s keep this going and wipe Barcelona and Chelsea
We got the stars and the ability flair and class and GOALS let us persist to win
Aside from the goal, Diaby was his normal self.
Did you notice one time Fabregas showed his exasperated to him when his pass went astray again???
5+1(for the goal).
Just to reply to fresh first. I am wondering whether when you were watching this game if you were really fresh to see what was happening in the game? How can you honestly give Eboue a 4. You must have been smoking something or you probably have an issue with him (Eboue). Most pipo that could have been following my comments on this blog could have read something that i commented on Diaby. I said since we are stuck with Diaby at the moment then it calls for us the fans to back him and give him the confidence that he requires. When players are confident i promise they can do wonders i am talking from experience as a soccer player. To prove to his critics i bet he is delivering now and if the team continues to show these kinds of displays then Diaby will be a massive part of our team.
I think Arshavin and Fab. were just invincible in this game, they were totally amazing. Hope this trend continues. I have hope with the return of genius Samir and Rosicky there is just too much talent for to complain now. If we dont win anything this season we not gonna win anything even next season. Go Gunners make us proud!
bravo gunners, fair ratings Cris, except for song who for me is still consider for most of you as an anonymous player in the arsenal team squad. wake up guys this guys was named best holding midfielder of the ACN in front of Essien and Yaya Toure at just twenty. I mean this guy on the pitch is simply amazing… let me remind to you guys that Arsene choose to sell Flamini and Lassana diarra but fought against all odds to kept his tremendous young star.
Nasir is back and if you didn’t realise his celebration told it all dusting off the injury bug more attacking option 4 wenger n with B52, Denilson walcot out wat a bench. Am very optimistic about this season Keep the faith gunnerz
SPOT ON PAVEL,am glad someone shares my opinion on Gibbs.The kid still needs to work on his positioning and defense as a whole.I have been making frantic calls for Wenger to play Traore instead.Whoever says Gibbs is a better defender than Traore is clearly deluded.First he is faster than Gibbs,he is also stronger technically.The gud thing about him is that he tracks back well unlike Gibbs.Furthermore Traore is also more aggressive and a no nonesense defender, unlike Gibbs.I would prefer Traore to Gibbs any day.Had Traore not gone on loan last season,he would have been the one filling in for Clichy right now.I’ve got to say that i am so glad to see Nasri back.I am even shoked that he is not mentioned among the top performers for the night.Did you people see how he made a fool of the Alkmaar defender??That sight alone got me laughing for about 10 minutes kind of like watching Obertans debut for Man United jst hilarious.Anyway i promise you people that the man to watch is Nasri for the coming games.
Thanks GOONER B
…. I also agree with your comments on Nasri. Honestly speaking, I was so much waiting for him to make a return to the first team for so many weeks. And, I feel much more relieved seeing his movements on dribbles on the pitch. Hope we just avoid any injury during the crazy schedule of December and January.
Gibbs was outstanding. I was quite satisfied with his game. It was almost as good as clichy. In addition gibbs crosses the ball much much much better than clichy.
I was also paying attention to diaby. Well, he scored a goal. But I still realises that he does not know where to run on several ocassions. There was once, the midfield was passing about between nasri, fabregas, song and eboue. But then diaby was like being surrounded by them, and he was turning and turning looking and looking but not running to an area that is free.
Sometimes, I just had to admit, he is looking just like a headless chicken. Well, he may have done okay yesterday, but then lets see him he does it against wolves this saturday. Remember, he always have a good game and then several lousy ones to follow.
I would still prefer to have nasri and cesc in midfield, arshavin and rosicky out wide with RvP the main man. We would then be able to out pass any team and score as many as we want.
Bring on Chelsea and Barcelona!!!!
Defensively Gibbs was poor yesterday. The goal was his fault, and his positioning let him down several times.
Diaby had an excellent game yesterday. If he can defend like that every game, he is not a liability for the team, there is nothing to complain about. He made a few mistakes going forward, but did a few good things as well, and finished his chance superbly. To be honest, if he plays like this every game, Id say hes more useful in midfield than nasri or rosicky against most teams (considering fabregas is already going to be there) because he adds a bit more strength the others just cant. He really contributed to our midfield domination yesterday.
You’re right, he’s got to be consistent, so he needs to play this way again against wolves and in every game before we get too excited, but you’ve got to rate each performance as it comes and give credit where it’s due.
Mmm, I think you could switch the ratings for eboue and gibbs. Eboue worked hard and defended well, but tried to dribble out of defence too often and got caught a few times. He was a bit unlucky at times as well.
I was very impressed with gibbs. He seems to get better every time I see him. I agree he got caught a couple of times but actually handled dembele a lot better than clichy managed to in the last game. Still needs to get stronger, but he’s getting there.
Agree with gooner B a bit in that I think traore deserves a chance to impress. He looked good over the summer, a lot stronger and more solid than gibbs. This is a good opportunity to rotate them, ensure gibbs doesn’t get tired, and give traore a chance. Contrary to popular belief about wenger I think he does give the english players more of a chance than the foreigners sometimes, and its not always justifiable.
Nasri’s return is enormous for Arsenal. A surefire starting xi player, i guess the only question is does he play as a MF or winger in the 4-3-3.
Personally, I think he has CMF written all over him. The man has the ball on a string every time he touches it and is probably the best at keeping possession in the squad. He’ll make defenses mad and create that little bit of space for Cesc which could lead to a lot of goals.
I would say every Arsenal player get a 10. Great job Gunners. Terrific play.
Good morning friends
Glad we more or less agree this time. I believe Eboue needs to improve when in the final third but you can’t deny that as right back he always performs well. Gibbs, well, I again repeat I’m not 100% convinced of his defensive capabilities, especially in terms of strength.
ahaha I just laugh at some of these people who think they know football when they are just a simple spectator. They probably have never played and if so were not very good. People who say things like “give everybody a 10″ and “Eboue was a 4″ and “gibbs is more convincing than clichy.” The last one of these being the most absurd of course. Clichy is one of the top 5 left backs in the world. Not only england. he is up there for pace and ability and intelligence with marcelo, ashley cole, evra, and Phillip Lahm. In no certain order. Almunia should of maybe done better with the goal but it was a tough one because he anticipated the pass across to the other striker which would of left a tap in had he not tried to get a lead off in that direction. He made a handfull of crucial saves throughout the game. I am glad though to see the gunners playing solid football. We do however need to learn to see out games, but that will come with time and experience. I cannot wait to see walcott fabregas arshavin and nasri on the field at the same time. It will be just unreal
u can criticise others for making comments like that…but how can u say marcelo is in the top 5 defenders in the world? defensively is a ghost…he is terrible…real have the worst defence of the top teams…he is good on the offensive no doubt…but he is a defender not a striker or midfielder!
I wonder what player will stay on the bench from these guys: nasri rosicky walcott or even denilson when they are all 100% fit? I can’t rule one of them out….Diaby will certainly go out…
the best starting eleven is almunia,CLICHY,sagna,vermaelen,gallas,cesc,arshav,song,rvp
and 2 of three guys mentioned…i don’t think that anyone can argue with that…
I can argue with Bogdan as the midfield (the best) is Arshavin ,Rosicky,Cesc,and Nasri,with each player able to move independently ,as Arshavin showed with his pass to Diaby ,the 4th goal.Gallas is nowhere near as good as people think ,can,t concentrate for long periods ,that slash at the ball ,bouncing off Sagna ,against Spurs ,just one example ,of panic(lack of concentration) ,the equaliser by Da Silva in the first game with Alkmaar ,another ,ball watching like a former ballwatcher Sol Campbell.Edu
ardo needs more game time ,specially now that Bendtner will be out for some time.
arshavin,cesc,nasry,and rosicky? as midfielder . where will you placed song
Gibbs wasn’t so bad but needs to stop getting pushed round so much, jus like in the CL semi final he slips over every 5 seconds, I
Think Wenger needs to buy him some new boots! I still don’t get why Wenger INSISTS on playing Diaby, one goal does not mean you are Arsenal worthy. After seeing Wilshere
At the Emirates Cup I would much rather see him play than Diaby, at least he isn’t so clumsy! I wish Arshavin could play more like that every game too, he hasn’t really
Impressed me too much this season, for every blinding game he has he has 2 non existant ones!
V happy to see Nasri back, and once Rosicky is fully back I would love to se our team consist of ArshavinN Nasri, Rosicky and Fab, can you get a much better lineup
Than that? I don’t think so.
I, Too, think Song is underrated but again Eboue scares me a little and his diving pisses me off! We’re meant to be the good guys here,
Can’t wait till Eastlands now to smash man city!
Good points with a potent midfield,clearly the best in the League,with Song the defensive anchor.Nasri is sure to be one of Arsenal,s greatest players ,like Ljungberg,Limpar,small in stature but great in technique and skil.
nice performance from gunners squad..
Plenty to praise in last night’s performance and the entire team are to be congratulated on a fine 4- 1 win.
But! With ten minutes to go and 4 – 0 up what was our defence doing piling forward for a corner? We were left exposed and punished by the AZ goal.
When will this team learn how to close out a game that is already in the bag.
Last night’s concession of a late goal won’t matter in the long run but the two against West Ham might and the teams propensity for giving away goals when in a strong position must be corrected.
Glad to see someone highlighting this even after a comfortable win. As you said, West Ham should have taught the lads to keep on going until the end although of course, 4-0 is not 2-0.
A good time to be a gooner averaging over three goals a game with 16 different players.I get this feeling that this team is showing signs of the side of the year before last.One can perm any 3 from 7 to make the midfield and attack flow.Nevertheless I still have reservations about Almunia getting caught to often at his near post and sorry Chris I can’t give Eboue the same rating as Gallas,vermaelen and Nasri who deserve a higher mark, and 6.5 for RVP who to me is now showing he is a great player oozing with confidence .
Looking through the CL results so far, with the luck of the draw we have an outstanding chance as the commentators said last night, “no one will want to play us”.
Breaking news is that Kroenke has bought another 200 shares today taking his holding to 29.9% which initially I thought was a blocking move,but to buy the extra shares so soon after the last acquasition is a bit of a surprise.Any thoughts.
To those who rate Eboue and Gibbs ,not so fast please ,as Eboue likes to clown around ,dives to much ,can,t really shoot and score goals,lacks concentration,Gibbs passes back to much ,giving away possession when Alminia has to kick the ball upfield, not quite there yet .
whats the matter with gallas always missing around the midfield am telling you guys he’ll soon ask for the holding midfield position. as he did with the central back position when he was a right side defender…
For when Song is away, right?
It would be nice but who would partner Thomas?