Arsenal vs Leeds Player Ratings

Arsenal

Wojciech Szczesny: 8

Frankly, I rate him higher than Lukas Fabianski, and if any of you have seen his performances from Brentford when he was on loan last season, you'd agree! He's more more pro-active than his compatriot, and his reflexes, as seen by a close range save to deny Leeds United a certain goal in the second half, certainly shows his quality! Of course, he's not the finished deal yet, but give him two more years and I reckon Arsenal could have the next Peter Schmeichel on their hands!

Sebastien Squillaci: 4

His stock is falling fast amongst Arsenal supporters. His first season in England notwithstanding, the Frenchman is simply not authoritative enough, and looked a liability on several occasions. Thomas Vermaelen cannot return to fitness for Arsene Wenger quickly enough.

Emmanuel Eboue: 4

It seems the Ivorian's game seems to have taken two steps back with less time on the pitch- yes, he is quick in picking up pace on the counter, but rarely does Eboue actually dribble the player, and he falls over far too theatrically for my taste. And has anyone noticed that when Eboue gets to the box he stops right outside it, kills the ball and seems to run out of ideas?

Johan Djourou: 7

The young Swiss really should start more games- he is really becoming quite impressive, and I enjoy watching how he attacks the ball, rather than watching it like most other Arsenal players do. True, he makes the odd error, but seems to get away with it more often than not.

Kieran Gibbs: 6

I've ranted on at length about Gael Clichy before, and Gibbs is good tonic for my frustrated soul- he may not be as flashy as the Frenchman, but certainly a far more stable defender! Gibbs just needs a run of ten games, and I'm certainly Clichy will be spending more time in the reserves, or better yet, on his way out from the Emirates!

Tomas Rosicky (Off 79'): 4

Invisible, and with little end product, the little Mozart is playing to a tune no one else in his team is listening to on their MP3 players, clearly. What a pity that injuries have clearly taken the magic out of his game- he looks like another Eduardo in the making, with a quiet exit from the Emirates on the horizon.

Andrei Arshavin: 6

Really tried to get the game going, but clearly missed the penetration that would have been there if Cesc Fabregas or Samir Nasri were there. Faded rapidly in the second half, and the question is- can Arsenal afford to carry him like this for the rest of the season? Perhaps it's time to let the Russian make his big money move and find someone who will put in a shift of 90 minutes instead, Wenger?

Alex Song (Off 58'): 6

Was a tad too fancy with the ball on a few occasions, but still,I'm sure the entire Emirates was bemused to see him come off for Fabregas to go on. Wenger's substitutions are still a mystery to me. It was so obvious after he left that the whole midfield looked unbalanced- Denilson certainly couldn't hold the fort on his own.

Denilson:5

There was a touch of misfortune as he was in the wrong place in the wrong time to give up the penalty that Leeds scored with to take the lead, but he had a really forgettable game.

Nicklas Bendtner :0

Absolute rubbish from the Danish striker! If he continues playing like this, Wenger should really loan him out, not Carlos Vela! His game is so one-dimensional- no tricks and flicks to speak off, and a low pass-completion rate compared to Marouane Chamakh- the end may be nigh for him soon at Arsenal. Yes, I know, I don't have to give him a zero, but when you talk as big a game as Bendtner does...

Marouane Chamakh (Off 68'): 6

Put in a decent shift, but frankly, looking less and less like the 30-goals-a-season kind of striker the Gunners need to win silverware.

Subs

Cesc Fabregas ( On 58'): 7

The Spaniard is just so dependable for the penalties in the big games, but then again, if you've played a World Cup final and won it, what more could faze you? Fabregas certainly upped the tempo for Arsenal after he came on, though it didn't help that with Song gone, 50/50 balls were falling to a Leeds player with alarming regularity despite his best efforts.

Theo Walcott (On 68'): 6

On one hand, he could have scored on several occasions, but on the other hand, he did earn Arsenal their life-saving penalty. What a mixed performance from the England star.

Carlos Vela (On 79'): 4

One ineffective player came on for another as the Mexican replaced Rosicky- Vela is just not showing the right decision-making to take his talent to the next level! Wenger must wish he had nabbed the wrong Mexican- Javier Hernandez would have been a better buy instead!

 

Leeds United

Kasper Schmeichel: 8

The goalkeeper made himself big and denied Andrei Arshavin in the first half from giving the Gunners the lead- wonder who he learnt THAT technique from? Based on this display, I think that Danish goalkeeper is ripe for a return to the Barclays Premier League- Arsene, are you listening?

Paul Connolly: 6

Did well to stand up to the numerous Arsenal attacks in the first half.

Andrew O'Brien: 5

While I understand that O'Brien was given the brief to boot the ball away rather than take unneccesary risks, frankly, I didn't understand why he couldn't boot them more ACCURATELY rather than off the field so many times.

Ben Parker: 6

Did well to cover the runs of the many Arsenal attackers and provided a good counter-attacking outlet.

Bradley Johnson: 6

Wasn't spectacular, but he covered his position well enough.

Max-Alain Gradel: 7

Earned a penalty, and send the ball Fabregas-style on several occasions on the toes of his team-mates- he deserves a shot at the big time.

Jonathan Howson: 5

Gave the ball away far too many times in the first half, but then again, with the higher level of the competition, perhaps he was feeling a tad out of his depth. Improved in the second half.

Robert Snodgrass:6

Showed bottle to convert the penalty that gave Leeds the lead. Was manfully up for the task of denying Arsenal time and space on the ball, and put himself about well.

Luciano Becchio (Off 87'): 7

Put in a hardworking shift, and tried to make things tick for Leeds. Could have sealed the win for Leeds had Szczeney not made an amazing reflex save from his point-blank shot. I didn't think much of his time wasting as he came off though- yes, clap all you want for the away fans who came for your team AFTER the 90 minutes are over- it's simply too blatent to slowly stroll off the pitch the way he did!

Sanchez Watt (off 76'): 6

Starting brightly, the Arsenal loanee clearly wanted to make Arsene Wenger regret not rating him higher. With a lack of class around him though, this was never a match he was going to really shine in, especially since he had to track back to help defend more often than your average Arsenal striker usually does.

Alex Bruce: 6

Put in a fantastic shift in the first half, denying Arsenal on several occasions, most notably when he slid in to stop Bendtner from a glit-edged chance. Was limping badly at the end of the first half, but returned with vigour.

Subs

Leigh Bronby (On 76'): 6

Tried to help out his tiring team-mates, but there was alot of running but little end product from Bronby.

Davide Somma (On 87'): N/A