Player Rating for Arsenal v Forest – Great performances all round

Player Ratings by Peter Doherty
What a perfect response to all the naysayers and doubters who proclaimed the wheels were coming off for Artetas boys after the last couple of performances. Admittedly I had one foot in that camp from the thirty minute mark up until half time, but the storming second half quelled any doubts.
Here are my ratings for yesterday’s excellent game….
Ramsdale (7) Another match that left him with very little to do, but what he had to do he did it well.  A few speculative shots straight at him aside, he wasn’t particularly troubled. A confident claim from an inswinging corner was a relief after his midweek disaster.
White (7) Similarly untroubled by Forest’s attacking threat as very little went down his side. Constantly offering overlap options in attack which is an element of his game that he has developed massively. Has to be a shoo-in for the England squad.
Saliba (7) Was nervy in the latter part of the first half, but recovered well and then offered stability in his decision making. His speed is a huge asset when the team play a high line and he frequently won the foot race to shore up any danger.
Gabriel (6) Like his defensive partner was at sixes and sevens just before half time, at one point offering Lingard a glorious opportunity for an equalizer with an insane pass in the box. Regained his equilibrium and made a few important interventions.
Tomiyasu (7) Spent a lot of time in central midfield particularly in the first half, which enabled Xhaka to continue to rove forward. His adaptability and choice of pass displays a very acute footballing intelligence.
Partey (8) Sublime when in control, but was the worst culprit in the dodgy fifteen minutes prior to half time as he gave away the ball numerous times and was dispossessed in dangerous positions. Transformed again in the second half and dominated the tempo and struck another beauty, almost a carbon copy of his earlier goal in the season. When in the mood he is absolutely world class.
Xhaka (8) His renaissance continues unabated. Was constantly dangerous and his ball control in certain situations was a joy. His capacity to occupy the right spaces in his new-found role shows what a clever footballer he is.
Odegaard (7) If Partey is the conductor then this man is the lead soloist. His vision and passing range are well documented and he displays them with great regularity but his effort levels are inspired. Watching him close down a Forest defender with a lung bursting sprint in the ninetieth minute whilst 5-0 up should be taught in every PE class in the country.
Nelson (8) Looked unsurprisingly hesitant when replacing Saka and always chose the safe option rather than causing a threat of his own. However, after his goal, he was a man transformed and put on a wonderful display of all the skills that he has been associated with, but has never really delivered. High hopes that this outing will be the true beginning of his Arsenal career.
Jesus (8) Industrious, creative and a constant nuisance to the Forest backline, but boy oh boy does he need a goal. The beautiful craft of finishing seems to have completely deserted him and earlier in the season would have helped himself to a hat trick. Still managed to help himself to two assists and a tackle made almost at our own corner flag demonstrates his commitment.
Martinelli (7) Created and scored the first with a header of great subtlety.  Was subdued for a period thereafter by his own lofty standards, but was again instrumental in the gorgeous interplays that tore Forest asunder in the second half. Got a well deserved rest in the sixtieth minute.
A thoroughly pleasing outcome against a team that were starting to gel and could have caused us problems had they been encouraged to do so. Also a timely confidence boost before the Chelsea showdown next week.
Peter Doherty

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20 Comments

  1. There were more than one man of the match in that game. Almost half the team played their A game. The manner they dispatched Forest was the same as they did to Spurs, Liverpool and Leicester. If they carry on playing like this in all games, I don’t see why we can’t win the league. I’m not ahead of myself. I have watched Man City games. They have over us is squad depth. But we can match them in quality even surpass them in energy due to the youth of our team.

    1. Not trying to be a pessimist but You’re already ahead of yourself if you think we can match City’s quality already

  2. Some players hid in the shadows until we started tearing them apart. The scoreline papers over their performance but no worries. The leadership in the team isn’t strong which tells me some are only good for the good days. Partey, Saliba, Tomiyasu, Gabriel J. and Nelson were the best players for me.

  3. Jesus was busy in the front, our midfield and defense areas. He seems to always prioritize the team over his personal goal tally

    As for Nelson, he was very composed and clicked well with the other Gunners. If he can’t compete with our other wingers, I bet he can be a very good CAM

  4. Saliba for me ,not sure when he looked nervy in the first half ,best CB in the league ATM .
    Happy for Nelson ,took his chance well and maybe should have had a hatrick.
    Arteta got it right with Tomi also .
    TBF everyone did their job ,but would have liked to have seen changes a little earlier on as we were 4-0 nil up after 57 mins and I think the wholesale changes happened 20 mins later .
    Great performance all round 👏

  5. Does my head in how every game day you all underappreciate Ben White.
    Arguably been our best defenders this season alongside Xhaka both have zero errors.
    The only reason over half of y’all don’t appreciate him is because over half of you all started hating him after making claims he took Saliba’s position last season and is the reason Saliba didn’t play last season.
    Looks a steak for that 50M.
    Solid defender, intelligent footballer, it I understand fans will be to scared to admit the management got it right with him

    1. Agree wholeheartedly Eddie.White is a class act but yet another aberration from Gabriel which ought to have been punished.Despite our lofty position I have concerns regarding our Brazilian CB, but I sincerely hope he goes on to prove me wrong.

    2. It also does my head in too @Eddie. Ben White has been the unsung hero. It’s not his fault he cost £50 million. That’s what happens when you buy players from Brighton, ( something Arsenal should learn when selling, instead of giving players away, or paying them to leave). The lad has gone about his job without making a fuss. He would have been disappointed in not securing his position in the centre of defence. Goes to show how he’s matured as a player. He could have thrown his toys out of the pram but didn’t. I hope he is retained as right back. As much as I like Tomiyasu, he’s doing fine as a left back. That guy can play anywhere in the back line. He’s like that for Japan. I really hope Ben White is rewarded, and gets selected for England. My God they need him. And imagine what that will do for his confidence as a player. And there were those who said, Arsenal would fold come the month of October. Wrong again.

    3. Why do you assume the role of spokesman for others? How did you come to the conclusion that some people dislike White because they thought he took Saliba’s position last season? Did you conduct a survey or is it just your opinion?

      1. Because it was obvious here and the on the internet last season?
        Are you gonna pretend we didn’t have fans talking about how If we didn’t spend 50 on BW that Saliba would’ve been here? Like fans weren’t going on about what a waste of money he is because we had Saliba who we should’ve kept?
        Really are you gonna pretend that wasn’t a thing on here and all over the internet?

  6. Nelson was flourished cos he knew to position himself inside the box that made Jesus works perfect cos he also need someone to position themselves for him ! He is a dribbling forward

  7. Does anyone here has information on Facundo Torres? I heard Arsenal are interested in signing him in January?

  8. While accepting that ratings type articles do attract Gooner comments, my own view is that unless and until all ratings , individually are made clear as to EXACTLY WHAT THEY MEAN, then they are only subjective and therefore as reliable indicators of how various players did, are largely meaningless.
    One fan can agree with another about how so and so played and yet one can give a seven and the other a nine .

    I prefer the long established newspaperratings, decades long and widely accepted ratings that 5 = below average, 6= average , 7 =above average ,8 = very good, 9 = excellent, and 10 is practically never used at all.
    Only in recent times have marks below 5 been much used in the papers. 3 = extremely bad , 4 = bad. UNTIL THESE RATINGS ARE WIDELY ACCEPTED AS THE NORM ON JA, THEN ARTICLES SUCH AS THIS, THOUGH WORTH READING, HAVE LITTLE REAL MEANING, SAD TO RELATE.

    Unless you compare LIKE with LIKE, then comparisons are void and meaningless.
    I have said this countless times across the years and it remains as true now is it has always been and always will be!

    1. I totally agree with you Jon. Some Arsenal Sites give player ratings immediately after the match. Some show bias towards certain players,,, as if some players can do no wrong. If I were to give player’s ratings, I’d have to watch the match at least three times to be able to give an accurate rating for each player. When I was a kid, I used to love reading the players ratings in the magazine called Match Weekly. It gave players ratings from the 1st Division, right down to the 4th Division. It also gave player ratings of the Scottish League. By memory,, 4=poor. 5=fair. 6=adequate. 7=good. 8=outstanding. 9=excellent. 10=out of this world. Very rare that a player received a 10. Maybe a goalkeeper. Match Weekly also did the Home Internationals,, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. I don’t recall Republic Of Ireland being in that competition. I used to love watching the Home Internationals back then. Them were the days

  9. Seems like Xhaka gets an 8 from you for just being on the team sheet. Was he really that good? Let’s hope he doesn’t go missing when the big games come the way he did along with his mate Elneny up at Newcastle last May.

  10. Maybe we could start with a front 3 of Marquinhos, Nketiah and Nelson against Zurich on Thursday, assuming ofcourse that Marquinhos is fit to play. If Marquinhos is not fit, maybe Viera could start in the front 3. Arteta should give the main men a rest to be fresh for Chelsea on the weekend. That said, if Nelson continues at this rate he could start against Chelsea if Saka is still not ready by that time.

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