Arsenal Ratings v West Ham by Peter Doherty
After what seems like a lifetime the Premier League has finally returned. There was a very valid fear that the six week break could derail Arsenal’s season particularly when Jesus got injured. The uncertainty surrounding how the team would respond after such a setback and the long hiatus was palpable, especially when West Ham took the lead. However the Arsenal responded beautifully….. and here are my ratings.
Ramsdale (7)
As with many of the ratings given to Ramsdale this season he didn’t have a great deal to do, but he did it well. Made a great save from Antonio and had a brilliant piece of quick thinking distribution that set up a counter attack.
White (9)
How he was going to react after the speculation surrounding his departure from the World Cup was always going to be a point of focus, and he was outstanding. For eighty minuteshe was perfect in his positioning, defending, distribution, overlaps and decision making. Would have got a ten only he seemed to lose focus in the last ten minutes and got caught in possession a few times.
Saliba (7)
Was at fault for the penalty, not just in tripping Bowen, but also making a poor decision by standing off Antonio when the ball was there to compete for. Despite that, he was his usual smooth presence for the rest of the game.
Gabriel (8)
Was commanding and nullified Antonio’s threat throughout, which is a huge achievement as he is a real handful. Made good decisions with his passing and made a few showy interceptions when it counted.
Tierney (7)
Struggled to contain Bowen at the beginning but soon got to grips with him as the game went on. Contributed a few meaty old fashioned tackles that lifted the crowd early in the second half. Was sorry to see him subbed as he was becoming increasingly influential.
Partey (8)
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it here again. The success of our season rests on keeping this man injury free. He dominates the centre of midfield in a way no Arsenal player has done since Vieira.
Xhaka (6)
Had one of his less influential games but still contributed. There was a time if Xhaka didn’t have a brain fart in a game that would be enough, but his standard has gone through the roof so expectations are higher.
Odegaard (9)
Captain Fantastic. Was on it from the outset and attempted a few incredible through balls that were inches from perfection, but served notice of what was to come. His assist for Saka’s goal look like a miscued shot, but with Odegaard you just never know. On this form he operates on a different plane and his Cruyff turn that nutmegged Paqueta will be a highlight reel for years to come.
Saka (8)
He’s now elevating into World Class level and the amount of shirt tugs and fouls he receives is a testament to the fact that defenders have no idea how to cope with him. Took his goal calmly and demonstrated that his goal scoring has developed enormously.
Nketiah (7)
Scored a beauty and thank the gods he did, because everything before that bore the hallmarks of a man who needed a goal to settle him. He made a lot of intelligent runs and had a few nice flicks but was also tentative when he should have been braver. The goal will give him the confidence to let his natural instincts guide him.
Martinelli (7)
Was poor by his own standards in the first half, but admittedly they are very high standards. Found his mojo in the second half and offered his usual threat.
Those are my ratings for the game and I would be very interested to hear how you other Gooners rate it.
Peter Doherty
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If u are not watching arsenal live dnt come to just arsenal for live comment on the game. They will give u heart attack. So much Paranoid comment even when we are playing well
After we equlize and went ahead I didn’t see Scarvnger again.
Well I actually did comment after the come back, so get your facts right before spouting nonsense.
Just like any Arsenal supporter I want thr team.to.do well and win,and when playing not so great am more than entitled to give my opinion.
Herewith my comment.
Much better from the guys,well done!
I also stayed up until after midnight witching the game, so forgive me if I go to bed instead of commenting further.
Some of us have work the next morning and it starts early, so less than 6 hours sleep.
White was extremely influential and Odegaard was superb being my man of the match. It was a terrific win and a difference in class and confidence compared to a year ago
His value has risen so much, I just want to see him be commanding and as influential against City.
I think having a solid Partey and Xhaka behind him makes a big difference as they have been great so far.
The team is solid ,we just need a strong bench this January Window and let’s focus on the league
Spot on SueP.Like Terri Henry , I was disappointed with Gabriel in that he repeatedly tried and failed to win the ball in the air and was caught way out of position on at least 4 occasions during the match.His first error of judgement led to the West Ham goal as Saliba was obliged to engage Bowen due to the absence of his CB partner.The exact same situation arose early in the second half but fortunately for us Antonio fluffed his lines.Sorry to criticise after what was a splendid display, but Gabriel worried me and certainly did not justify an 8 rating.White and Odegaard were excellent and I am so pleased for Eddie who showed terrific skill in scoring our third goal.
You wrote exactly what most people failed to notice in that game
Xhaka was an essential part of a midfield trio that utterly dominated the game. He earned an 8, easily.
Exactly Xhaka was really influential, he really made surr we didn’t get bullied. For me this 6 rating is really an insult
Odegaard was MOTM for me. Absolutely superb. Also happy Eddie scored
What’s everyone’s take on Mudryk, do you think we might get him as we might be losing someone like Saka?
Or maybe cover to use Martenelli up top to swap with Nkethia?
I hope it is not a replacement as squad is looking good provided we get more depth.
He’s not coming to be anyone’s replacement. He’s pure competition for Martinelli while ESR might get converted into Xhaka’s competition for the right-sided 8. We’ll be in the UCL next season and Arteta keeps making it clear that we need more depth.
Now that I remember Ian Wright’s comment about knowing of a player signing for us if we make UCL next season, I can’t help but think about Declan Rice. Wrighty sounded confident but refused to drop any further hints.
Mudryk would be a great signing, he might need time to adapt, but he’ll be a great one. Unlike most false statements that he’s effective only with space and is just a speedster (especially how Gotanidea always bangs on the fact that we don’t need him because we ESR and he’s a speedster).
Mudryk is actually more than that, there’s a reason Arteta’s been chasing him from last summer. He’s the only thing similar to Leroy Sane at City. When he has space, he prefers to beat his man with a bust of speed and quicken the attack, and when there’s no space and he’s standing 1v1 with a defender he still knows how to beat his man from a standing point and within a small space. The false image about him being only a speedster is because that’s his biggest strength and people make compilations of him beating people with space. If you actually find a day or two to watch his games, you’ll see there’s more to him than that. He creates also, he’s still raw but obviously I expect Arteta to improve his game like all wingers that has played under him. I’m excited we might be getting him, I hope we do.
Totally agree, Eddie. It’s very obvious he also has excellent technical ability and an eye for goal. The only doubt is that he plays in the Ukrainian league, but regardless, his ceiling is high and Arteta will find it. This is not a one-trick pony like Pepe but a much more rounded player. I can’t see a down side here.
Great analysis.
Why do you so fear losing Saka at all? Your fear makes no sense and has no basis in reality, imo! You also seem to have no real confidence in MA to know what is best for us.
I see a disappointing lack of faith in the club you support and that saddens me hugely as a life long Gooner now in my eighth decade.
Well Saka has not signed and I have not seen reports of him signing yet, same with Saliba. It has nothing to do with faith in the club but rather the fact the players are in position of power with contracts.
Martenelli just needs a pen,so I am sure we can find one there.
So you are 100% confident we will keep saka,Martenelli and saliba? I wish I had your crystal ball.
Arteta took us to two eight place finishes, he needs more than 15 games to earn my confidence without question. I do admit we are playing some really good football.
Let him contend for the title this season and push on next season maintaining standards and I will then have confidence in him.
Saka and Gabi I am 100% sure will sign. My only doubt is Saliba, whose head may be turned by all the flattery from clubs such as PSG.
@scarvenger if u have the choice, which coach will u have ur confident on if we hav to replace Arteta?
There are so many with a better resume, surely this is not a sincere question.
Can I kindly request that you get the spelling of my name correct, 2nd time it has been misspelled in this thread, it would be much appreciated.
Scavenger Firstly thank you for replying and in mature way too. I really wish that many other Gooners could see the bright near future for our club, as I see so very clearly.
I accept that a certain amount of faith is necessary in many matters in life where one is an optimist. But I see clear and valid reasons for faith in how MA and Edu are, and already have, transformed our team and our club.
It was steadily regressing for many latter years of Wenger , despite his former glory years. We had a far too self comfortable bunch of players and some who were actively harming us.
When MA first arrived I saw the clear sighted hunger of Arteta to totally change the culture of slow decay then present. Leaving aside the Ljungberg fortnight, he had inherited a mess left by the non English speaking Emery and had a massive job to turn around a ship sailing in the wrong direction.
But look what he has now done and where we are today!! If you really cannot see the huge difference from then to now, then you must have your eyes clamped tightly shut.
I hope and believe you do not have them shut and that you, as so very many others have done across his three years in charge, (albeit only some saw it right from the start and others much later) are now clear seeing and have lost those needless doubts.
If you still cannot see how well we are doing NOW, of all times, then perhaps you are doomed NEVER to be able or even to WISH to be able, to see the present glorious near future.
Your own choice entirely SCAVENGER!!
Jon, Emery himself went on a really good unbeaten run before it all fell apart.
This stint is too short to be overly optimistic like some.
Presumably you watched Emerys unbeaten run? Can you honestly say, HONESTLY NOW, that Emerys unbeaten run had even a remote similarity to how we are playing THIS SEASON?!!
We are all allowed our own opinions, but all l I ask of you is to be honest with yourself in your reasoning. If you are being totally honest with youself and still think the same , then good luck. Because we would neve be of one mind!
When proven over a longer period I will move over from sitting on the fence where I am now.
Some will blindly follow like seep,but I am no sheep.
I was wanting Arteta out but have moved onto the fence so things are looking better.
Totally agree with you, Jon. We haven’t seen anything like it since Merci Wenger’s first Arsenal decade. 40 points after 15 games are amazing, 13-1-1. In addition we are doing it in a more competitive league than ever before, and it’s a relatively young team with huge potential. With a few extra quality players Arsenal will become a World class team. Arteta and Edu knows exactly what they are doing, and this is only the beginning 🔴⚪️
I’m confident that our players will extend their contracts. But if we are going to sell one of them it’s about making one step backward to make two steps forward. It will be a calculated operation to make us even better, the Liverpool strategy.
M 200% sure he, soon to be legend will sign.
If m Saka will will sign. Tons of reasons.
I do find it interesting that several folks have speculated that Mudryk interest means either Saka or Martinelli must be leaving. I wonder if Liverpool fans are speculating that Gakpo means bye bye to Saleh or Nunez. I doubt it. They know you need quality depth to win PL. Mudryk adds quality. Nobody has to leave.
Voyageur, Whilst firmly agreeing with your post, I find it more depressing than I do “interesting”.
To explain more fully, I think it an unthinking view to think that because we may well be bringing in Mudryk, that means we then sell such as Saka or Martinelli.
But, then again, I have always found unthinking dull wittedness to be deeply depressing.
Why some people refuse to engage their perfectly adequate brain is extremely depressing a puzzle.
Perhaps it’s a case that we have seen our top players sold for a decade so we are conditioned to think we can’t have nice things.
I think those days are over and we have a team, on and off the pitch, who are acting like title contenders. Maybe some Gooners are playing catch up.
The players you mention are not entering the final year of their contract so there is clearly a difference.
Reasonable deduction skills aren’t even needed to see what possibly Maynor may not materialize.
Saka is going next season
I’m confident Saka will stay but not so with saliba according to reports his agent demanding extortionate money for him to sign new contract plus still believe he holds a grudge against Arteta for sending him out on loan when he believed he was ready to play that’s why in my opinion he will end up having to be sold!
Here is a perfect example of that unthinking dull wittedness!
Scavenger, Saka is going nowhere, it’s the gaffer’s style to have an abundance of attack options in the final third.
Another reason why he’s going nowhere, where will he goes ? To the citizens? Does Jack Girlish looks happy to you?
Yet the biggest reason Saka is going nowhere is because he has smart people in his corner.
But the gaffer has put Arsenal in a very strong position around the bargaining table, what is building is very special even our legendary Frenchman needs a closer bird eye view of what’s going on.
Dominated the first half, despite the score-line, and were brilliant in the second half. It’s the sort of game that always had “Slip-up and beginning of a fall down the table…” written all over it with the old Arsenal when leading at Xmas, but dealt with admirably by Arteta’s new Arsenal and looking good. I’m still nervous about the lack of options for CF though, and a new striker is important in the long run. Moyes has a terrible record against Arsenal, West Ham are in bad form, and were just a warm-up for what’s to come.
Xhaka 6? Xhaka was involved in making sure we kept the ball neatly and made intelligent runs into the box while Martinelli completely ghosted the first half and was nowhere to be seen on his wings until the second half. How did you watch the game? Because Martinelli didn’t offer any width in the first half and he was hardly there to receive the ball from his wings? Admittedly he improved in the second half and got a neat goal, but if that earned him a 7, Xhaka who got the assist and was important in how we kept the ball gets a 6?
Solid performance from everyone for me, Saliba obviously hasn’t played in a few weeks, so he was rusty at first and gave away the penalty but found his mojo back.
Not his biggest fan, but I wonder what the Nketiah critics will say after again he’s proven to be a finisher in nearly all the games he’s started. Not sure that performance was what Dan would be pleased with since he didn’t dribble, or have many touches, and harry the West Ham defenders like Gabi Jesus does. Maybe if you guys start giving Nketiah half the love and support you give to Saka, Saliba and Martinelli, maybe it’ll help grow in confidence too, but what do I know.
Happy for the win. Full focus on Saturday. We must keep on trying to get wins
I take your point on Eddie, Eddie. I’ve not had great confidence in him but credit where credit is due. He stepped up yesterday
SueP, I think he needs the support and backing now more than ever. I was happy the fans in the stadium echoed his name in the stadium last night. Every single player needs our support and baking now moe than ever to keep pushing them forward, thereby pushing the team forward, and I’m glad the fans in the stadium understands it and they do it
I Rate him as a decent finisher but this is not enough, he needs to have better ball control and have the ability to make something out of nothing when against the run of play.
I don’t think he has that in him at this moment.
Let’s see how he performs in our tough run of fixtures, of he turns up in these big games I will give him.more credit and start lto.have faith in him.
I’ve never been his biggest fan, even though I watched him play for our academy and I followed all his loan moves and games. One thing Nketiah has in abundance is the ability to beat his man, he’s a neat dribbler and effective one, especially in 1v1 situations, but just like the Nelson debacle. Seems like he’s lost that part of himself and doesn’t have confidence when it comes to that anymore, because he’s always under the pressure to try to get a goal. Just like he was desperate to get one yesterday and made some poor decisions in the first half. The kid is not my first choice for our starting striker, but I will admit he’s actually not as terrible as Dan and others try to paint him. The point is he’s always under pressure to try to get a goal so he impresses fans instead of trying to enjoy his football. It’s clear in his games and how he makes quick and poor decisions. There’s a reason Ian Wright personally took him as his understudy and mentored him, there’s a reason Arteta despite what everyone thinks has been insistent the kid has something to offer. I’ve seen it in his younger years, which is why I made my last statement about maybe if he gets even as half as the love fans give to BS7, GM11 and WS, maybe it’ll actually do him good rather than this constant pressure he’s always under. Also, I think his response yesterday should let you know. Most young players yesterday would’ve answered that filling in Jesus’s boot would be impossible but that they’re happy to be contributing to the success of the team. Rather his answer was that playing for Arsenal comes with pressure. Never heard any of our young players say that
Strongly agree with you Eddie, the kid needs love.
Your warm heart felt appealing is genuine, when every thing is said and done he’s one of our own.
That goal was “something out of nothing”. I watched his previous 22 goals and saw he can score good goals. I think it’ll do us lots of good to know he isn’t G Jesus and know team has two players of same qualities (not even Man City). I doubt if Gabby would have had that turn too.
Xhaka is underrated, he has stepped up this season.
@eddie.
Well said, absolutely agree.
Saliba seems a little distracted, though his all round performance is superior to the former Brazilian, like David Luiz he does has a mistake in him in each game, think that’s the reason Deschamps didn’t trust him in the world cup.
Captain Odegaard 8
Partey 8
Saka 8
Martinelli 8
White 8
Xhaka 7
Eddie 7
Tierney 7
Ramsdale 7
Saliba 6
Martinelli grows cold in front of of goal as he scores from an almost impossible angle and ran off to celebrate with the faithfuls, very compose finish from Saka, but what more can I say about Eddie finished, you could feel the relief off the lads shoulders
Saliba is 21, we hade Luiz when he was 32…
Saliba is the new cambell come on. The best defender we have,
And if he stays for 10years maybe the best ever…
Where in a really good position with these young guys going into negotation the new contracts… the future is bright…
City and Lpool have like the oldest squads,,
I rate Saliba highly, he carries the highest ceiling as a young center back in my opinion.
The love he gets from the fans myself included is endless, the gaffer treats him presently with kids gloves.
I wants him to sign a new contract and remain at Arsenal for well over the next decade
Am hoping the return of our former legendary manager will speed up the process., surely a word of wisdom in the kid ears could tip the scale.
Arsene Wenger personality is infectious, they speak the same language and the elder Frenchman is easily understood.
What about Gabriel who was caught out of position for the West Ham goal and repeated the error in the second half?
Martinelli yes he was guilty and I honestly haven’t seen him played that poorly as he had played in the first half in a very long time, he may have been a little confused with instructions coming from the gaffer in my opinion.
He was a different animal when he re enters the pitch after half time.
Grandad I USUALLY RESPECT YOUR FOOTBALL WISDOM THAT COMES WITH AGE AND EXPERIENCE.
But on your regular critical view about our CB, Gabriel, I majorly disagree with your regular far too critical view.
I suggest you closely watch even the widely respected VAN DYKE and SEE HOW HE TOO MAKES COSTLY ERRORS AT TIMES .
IMO, a wise fan weighs up the amount of good and sets that against any mistakes made, in order to properly judge any CB.
I see a player regularly picked as first choice pairing by our esteemed MA and , frankly, think you have Gabriel as wrong as can be.
Simply put Grandad, I value MA’s player judgement far more than yours. esp about Gabriel.
Only rating I would say was completely wrong would be Martinelli,who was MOTM for me ,Odegaard and white next best .
Happy Eddie got on the score sheet .
I have to agree with you Dan.
It’s all about opinions but I thought that was Odegaard best match for Arsenal he was outstanding and head and shoulders above anyone else on the field def man of match by a country mile!
Dan you have not post the prediction for this weekend
It will be posted very soon….
We really bossed this game, im so glad to se that Arsenal are so comanding, high pressure, press at the right times and won back the ball every time, like in the second half it was like 10min that westham didnt even get over halfway line…
For me ödegård was the man of the match but still Partey is a beast, nothing gets past him,, if his passing would be better then for me his the motm…
But overall a really good team display..
Brighton next gonna be hard, and then Newcastle..
I live in sweden and for my 40years present i got a ticket to London and money for the ticket for Arsenal vs Chelsea could be a title disider game cause we play city 3 days prior. Could in my wildest dream think when i got this gift that Arsenal would be the team that gonna challege city for the title. So proud of the team, great job from Edu, Arteta and the rest
Nketiah proving the doubters wrong as expected.
A struggling West Ham at home… that game was a potential banana skin and a slip-up has now been avoided.
The next game, Brighton away… that’s a tough game these days and will tell us more about our season.
I looked at the penalty replays but I couldn’t see any contact between Saliba and the WHU guy. Maybe the ref thought that by having his leg so high Saliba illegally forced the guy to lose his balance to avoid it… which might be fair enough, but it calls for a lot of subjective judgement from referees and that will mean inconsistency.
I still don’t know why Arsenal goal was disallowed and agree don’t think there was enough there to give a penalty bowen went a on for another 4 or 5 strides before falling poor decision by ref bowen should have been booked for diving!
@Mark Exactly, I still do not get the ruling of the first goal for offside, havin’ watched it over and over.
@Mark Exactly, I still do not get the ruling of the first goal for offside, havin’ watched it over and over.
I thought it was pretty clear that it Saka’s foot before going through to Eddie. Great call be the linesman.
Watch it again..
Saka was onside..
A defender at the far end kept him On
Great team performance
@OTS, when the ball tourches saka’s leg,Nketiah was already at offside position.Right call by the referee
Yeah, now I get. Thanks, man.
Individually you would have to say that City is the stronger team, more numerous than ourselves. But collectively Arsenal is the best team, so far, the league does not lie. I would rather be collectively the best team, sure that’s what it’s all about