How would you rate the Arsenal players in order of importance?

Who is Arsenal’s most important player? by Briantole

A number of Arsenal’s players are considered by most of our fans as world class. Such as…

Sanchez – The fifth best winger in the world
Ozil – The world’s best number 10
Cazorla -The world’s best central midfielder at the moment.
Koscielny – Whom I myself consider the third best defender behind Thiago Silva and Sergio Ramos.
Cech – Masterful – Second best goalkeeper in the world behind Neuer.
All these are the first names to get the mentioned in terms of who are Arsenal world-class players. But in the entire Arsenal starting XI who’s the most important?

Olivier Giroud – He has come under great pressure in the recent past to become a hero. He has been ever present in the starting XI this season though he’s come in some as a substitute in some appearances. Well it is said that it is not known a person’s worth until the time he’s not around, but the one game he missed we lost however it was more of a defensive howler that caused the loss against Olympiakos.Nevertheless he has scored 10 league goals and he’s our leading scorer which proves his worth to the team and he lead one of our greatest escapes by scoring a hat trick.

Theo Walcott – He has the pace the finishing and the ability to cover ground like a midfielder.
We have won most of the big games he started against Man United, Man City, and Bayern but lost against Chelsea. He’s scored 3 league goals and 5 goals overall. His counterattacking pace and ability to run past defenders makes him such an important asset.

Alexis Sanchez – Our best player of last season. He has scored 6 goals and registered 2 assists in the league. But he’s proven his worth mostly in the Champions League, scoring three goals and providing four assists in 6 appearances. We’ve also won the past 4 games which he missed including that great escape in Champs league history which relieves us from the worry of being over dependent on him. But he still has a guaranteed place in this team when fit again.

Campbell – He’s becoming somewhat of a revelation this season providing 2 assists and scoring 2 goals in the league. He has the on ball abilities of a midfielder and attacking threat of a forward. He also does extremely well for his country scoring against the best like Spain and Uruguay. We all called for him to start after his successful campaign in the world cup. But it’s not until now that he has been given his chances. His all-round defensive and attacking abilities make him an important asset for Arsenal in the future.

Mesut Ozil – Already arsenals best player till now. An early contender for player of the season. He has broken several assists records such as consecutive assists and most assists in Europe’s top 5 leagues. The stats prove he is the most creative player in Europe at the moment. We’ve only lost once this season in which he was directly involved with a goal. That proves to be a very important statistic showing how important he is when on form. Goals against Bayern and Man United prove he is also a big game player. He missed just one game and though we won it we really missed his presence.

Aaron Ramsey – Well I’ll start by saying most people don’t see how he works. When he played at right wing he gave Bellerin the freedom to manoeuvre in the right wing as much as he wished protecting the full-back under that circumstance. Now playing in the centre he bosses the midfield, nullifying potent attacks and opening his own attacking instincts, hence people don’t miss the presence of Coquelin and Sanchez quite so much.

Cazorla – Santi is the Premier league’s best passer. The finest with the ability to keep hold of the ball. Priceless. He makes several defensive attempts. He gets thoroughly involved in games, more than any other player and averages the most touches in the League per game. He has great vision and high levels of football creativity and intelligence with a great amount of skill. Perfect ingredients for a perfect midfielder. The best in the world. Though after winning this many games without him, his importance might not be put under so much consideration.

Coquelin – The perfect foil of a defensive midfielder. We considered him irreplaceable in our team as we have no credible understudy. He has such impressive stats making him one of the best in Europe. He has decent passing stats as well and is improving his distribution. But we have won 5 games without him against Leicester and the past 4 games which overshadows his importance to the team, but his quality must not be overlooked.

Flamini – He has been recently drafted into the Arsenal side after Coquelin’s injury. Many said he should have been sold during the summer window, but he has put in an unusually good shift now and again and he has yet to lose a game at the Emirates. It’s been an important stat especially this season.

Koscielny – Certainly our best defender. He has been so good in breaking attacks and has good movement. He also has very good passing stats and vision. Koss is a force in defence and a threat in attack – the lad is world class. But then again we were without him in our victory over Manchester United.

Mertesacker – A player who has also come under scrutiny, although he has put an excellent shift against Man United, Leicester, Man City and Bayern Munich, our biggest threats this season. His importance has been undervalued due to his perceived lack of pace, but it must be said that he is usually our acting captain. I would be massacred if I dared to say he was more important than Koscielny.

Monreal – Our most consistent player. He has made the left wing his own, doing very well in defence and attack. He has yet to miss a league game this season and he hardly makes any mistakes at all. We lost the first two Champions League games (which he missed) and the Monaco game which he also missed.

Bellerin – We have not won any league or champions league game which he has missed. His speed and defensive work rate are important, especially in counter-attacks, clearances and goal bound attacks. He also does exceptionally well in supporting attacks when overlapping down the right wing.

Gibbs – Given the substitute role to finish a game off. The two Champions league games in which he has started have both been disastrous. He is decent in the England national team but needs to step up his game to push for a place in the starting line-up at Arsenal.

Chambers – He was benched ever since he was destroyed by Montero last season. He also had a disastrous first half against Liverpool. He came on against Chelsea and never put a foot wrong bar the own goal. Against Tottenham, he was the new John Terry. He comes own as a substitute to get games as a holding midfielder. Puts in a decent shift and gets fairly involved in the game. His versatility is what uplifts his reputation. Capable of playing right back, centre back and now hopefully in midfield.

Debuchy – Once our most trusted player. A very important squad member last season even usurping Sagna from the national team. This season has been very different, we have yet to win a league game in which he has played. He doesn’t even come on as a substitute. He needs to prove himself more to earn favours under Wenger.

Cech – He is said to win teams 15 points in a season. After the west ham game fans called for his head, but he has been a beast ever since and I think has won two MOTM awards this season. His quality and experience have proven priceless. He surely has won us more than 15 points already. He was the true champion at Chelsea not Mourinho.

Now there are players who are precious in this team while others are a disaster waiting to happen.
Rating the above from the priceless ones to the liabilities it would be….

Ozil
Cech
Bellerin
Ramsey
Sanchez
Koscielny
Coquelin
Cazorla
Giroud
Monreal
Walcott
Campbell
Flamini
Gibbs
Chambers
Oxlade-Chamberlain
Debuchy

How would you rate them in order of importance to the team..? Or even just the Top Five….

Briantole