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The last Premier League game before Christmas certainly lived up to its billing as an end-to-end contest, and it was the home side – the Gunners – who held their nerve at the end to emerge 2-1 winners and give them a 4 point cushion over their title rivals Manchester City.
Mesut Ozil, as usual, oversaw both Arsenal goals, whereas Yaya Toure’s moment of ‘lethargic perfection’ ultimately turned out to be a consolation for manager Manuel Pellegrini, whose side remain winless in the Premier League on their travels since 12 September.
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We look closely at the high and low points of every player involved in the game and assign them a rating on a scale of 1-10 based on the impact their performances had on the game, be it negative or positive:
Arsenal
Petr Cech ( Goalkeeper ) – 7.5
The veteran Czech Republic stopper will have to wait for his record breaking 170th clean sheet in the Premier League due to Yaya Toure’s individual brilliance. However, he did make 5 saves throughout the course of the game, the most talked-about being Kevin de Bruyne’s first-half effort whizzing across the Emirates turf.
Hector Bellerin ( Right-Back) – 7
The 20-year old yet again used his searing pace to the best of his abilities, keeping in touch with left-back Aleksandar Kolarov. At the same time, he also showed his urgency to have a piece of Arsenal’s attacking philosophy, making those dangerous runs down the wings and delivering quality crosses to the French striker upfront.
Laurent Koscielny (Centre-Back) – 7.5
Did a fantastic job of marking Sergio Aguero throughout the game, never allowing him to make those dangerous breakthroughs into the penalty area the Argentine is well-known for.
Per Mertesacker (Centre-Back) – 8
The German centre-back had arguably one of his best nights in an Arsenal shirt, making a series of priceless interceptions and clearances to diminish the supply to a prowling Sergio Aguero in the Arsenal 18-yard area. His telepathic partnership with Koscielny in defence will be vital to ensure that Arsenal’s title challenge doesn’t fizzle out come May.
Nacho Monreal (Left Back) – 7
Another full-back who had a more than decent game on Monday. Left Kevin de Bruyne unmarked on one-or-two occasions but was otherwise pretty confident at the back as well as going forward.
Mathieu Flamini (Defensive Midfielder) – 7
Did the near-perfect job of a defensive midfielder, making crucial tackles to impede any promising City attacks and completing some key passes to set up Arsenal’s forward surge.
Aaron Ramsey ( Box-to-Box ) – 7.5
The cog in the Arsenal wheel, if you want to put it that way. With the assurance of Mathieu Flamini behind him, the Welshman had the license to play the box-to-box midfielder’s role – providing good quality balls for the wingers and full-backs advancing forward while also attempting a couple of audacious long balls all the way to Olivier Giroud up front.
His energy at the centre of the pitch was pivotal to Arsenal’s dominance in the attacking third.
Theo Walcott (Winger) – 7.5
Was a busy man down the wings for the Gunners tonight – involving himself in Arsenal’s attacking pursuits while also having to help Nacho Monreal out in defence to keep an eye on Kevin de Bruyne. His fabulous strike to give the Gunners the lead capped off a fine all-round display by the Englishman.
Mesut Ozil (Attacking Midfielder) – 8
As usual, the German puppet-master was at his usual top-gear on Monday night, perfectly setting up Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud for their respective goals to rack up his assist tally to 15 for the season. An invaluable member in Arsene Wenger’s title-chasing squad.
Joel Campbell (Winger) – 7
Used his strength and pace to offer another dimension to an Arsenal attacking unit that refuses to be bogged down by even the strongest of oppositions. With Alexis Sanchez returning to the squad from a hamstring injury, Campbell will be disappointed with his shooting boots – missing a couple of glorious chances to kill City off.
Olivier Giroud ( Striker) – 7.5
The Frenchman who right now does no wrong. His 6th goal in his last 4 games for Arsenal gave them a commanding lead before half-time, whereas his match-winning tackle to deny Nicolas Otamendi deep into the game showed that he has the attributes to help his side protect a lead when the situation calls for it.
Substitutes:
Kieran Gibbs(Winger/Full-Back) – 6.5
A replacement for Joel Campbell, Kieran Gibbs came off the bench to provide that extra defensive option for the Gunners, while also carrying a pair of fresh legs with him to continue Arsenal’s resurgence towards Joe Hart’s goal. Could not contribute much, but nevertheless did manage to do a few one-twos with Nacho Monreal to set the Spaniard up for a sprint in the forward direction.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain(Winger)– 6.5
Came on for the final 14 minutes in place of the ever-so-impressive Mesut Ozil. Made a couple of decent dashes down the middle, including one to successfully tackle Yaya Toure, but obviously didn’t get the required game-time to make any special impact.
Calum Chambers(Defender) – 6
Came on very late in the game to see the game out for Arsenal, and alongside Mathieu Flamini managed to do exactly that – clearing late Man City set-pieces to ensure the Gunners hung on to grab all three points at the Emirates.
Manchester City
Joe Hart (Goalkeeper) – 6.5
England’s first choice keeper had a mixed day at the Emirates, making 2 decent saves to deny Joel Campbell and Aaron Ramsey, but will have to hold himself responsible for allowing Olivier Giroud’s effort to roll through his legs to double Arsenal’s lead seconds before half-time.
Bacary Sagna ( Right Back) – 7.5
A performance full of intent by the 32-year old full-back returning to the Emirates to feature against his former club. His cutting runs into the Arsenal box kept Nacho Monreal on his toes. His layoff for Yaya Toure’s special albeit pointless goal made it a satisfactory night individually – if not as a team – for the Frenchman.
Eliaquim Mangala (Centre-Back) – 6
Although he did make two important tackles to stop Arsenal from penetrating into the City penalty box, he will once again become the subject of criticism thanks to the concession of possession that led to Arsenal’s second goal right at the stroke of half time. Another relatively poor performance by the standards of a £30m-plus recruit.
Nicolas Otamendi (Centre-Back) – 6.5
A game where the Argentine centre-back struggled for form, as he was repeatedly being tested by the threat of Olivier Giroud upfront. The Frenchman’s ability to meet the odd long pass and latch onto an intended through-ball inside the penalty area made life difficult for Otamendi.
His performance was summed up by the second goal, where he was outrun by Giroud, giving him space to score through goalkeeper Joe Hart’s legs.
Aleksandar Kolarov (Left-back) – 7
Tried his level best to make a positive impact on the game, but was constantly shut out by the pace of Hector Bellerin during the game and as a result was always struggling to get to the bye-line to give the 20-year old full-back any major setbacks.
His powerful left-foot managed to help him deliver quality free-kicks into the box, but that was all the Serbian could provide on a difficult night for Manuel Pellegrini’s men.
Fernandinho (Defensive-Midfielder) – 7
The Brazilian defence-shielder was a positive in an utterly disappointing outing for Man City – completing 5 tackles successfully and dribbling past his opponents on the same number of occasions to keep Arsenal’s relentless attack in check.
If not for his tackles, City might easily have ended up conceding more than the 2 they did last night. The fact that he lasted the 90 minutes without getting booked epitomizes his rise to a mainstay in the Man City starting XI.
Yaya Toure (Box-to-Box) – 8
Tried his level best to engineer the City attack with some fine passing and purposeful approach play, but was ultimately let down by his wingers and attacking midfielders who failed to get the final ball into the proximity of Aguero or Bony to cause the Gunners’ defence any major issues.
His lazy-looking elegance with the ball at his feet was there for everyone to see – his deft finish to bring a goal back for City being the silver lining on an impressive performance, but for a losing cause.
David Silva (Attacking Midfielder) – 6
A below-par performance from the Spanish playmaker by his own standards. Failed to get the decisive through ball he is so adroit at doing, and was disciplinarily poor as well, getting booked for an accumulation of poor challenges in an attempt to win the ball back from Aaron Ramsey and Mathieu Flamini.
Kevin de Bruyne (Winger) – 8
The Belgian playmaker was a constant menace with his fleet-footedness throughout the 90 minutes in the right side of midfield. He was always worrying Theo Walcott, Kieran Gibbs and Nacho Monreal with those dangerous forward runs towards the attacking third.
Fabian Delph (Winger) – 7
Former Aston Villa captain Delph played a pretty solid 45 minutes despite being played out of position on the wide left of City’s attacking midfield trio – linking up well with left-back Aleksandar Kolarov on the flanks, and making a couple of key passes to feed off his teammates in the Arsenal penalty area to set up goal-scoring opportunities.
His sublime lay-off to Yaya Toure in the 13th minute showed that he wasn’t just signed to make up the squad numbers. Was understandably subbed off at half time for a pacey Raheem Sterling to rescue the game for City.
Sergio Aguero (Striker) – 6.5
Was kept quiet by Arsenal’s centre-back pairing for large periods of the game, and when he managed to meet a cross or a free-kick, there was Petr Cech in the way. A hardworking, though fruitless night for the Argentine goal machine. Came off with a suspected injury midway through the second half.
Substitutes:
Raheem Sterling ( Winger) – 6.5
Came on in the second half to inject some pace into the City attack desperately seeking to overcome a two-goal deficit. Managed to boss the left-flank initially before being subdued by the pace of Bellerin and Joel Campbell later in the game.
Wilfried Bony (Striker) – 6
Replaced an injured Sergio Aguero in the 64th minute to provide City with some fresh shooting boots. The supply to the Ivorian was coming mostly from a fellow substitute in Jesus Navas – and his wastefulness in front of goal also ensured another goal-shy night for the Ivorian striker.
Jesus Navas (Winger) – 7
The Spanish winger made a terrific impact since replacing David Silva; creating chance after chance from the right side of the midfield to set up Wilfried Bony and Yaya Toure on multiple occasions, but his efforts ultimately counted for nothing in the end.
