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Man City Match Player Ratings
Starting Eleven
Wojciech Szczesny (7.5); Szczesny played really well. He made several decent stops, including a couple of nice ones on Sergio Agüero. Plus, I’ll give Szcz props for having his head in the right place following the match.
Johann Djourou (6.5); I was on the fence with giving Djourou a 6 or a 6.5. I’ll go with a 6.5 because despite being a bit slow to play right back full time, it’s not his normal position and €ity didn’t score until he went off with a groin injury.
Laurent Koscielny (6); Kos had a back & forth game. Played well at times but at others was caught out of position & gave away a few freekicks that could’ve been avoided provided Kos’ positioning, which can be spotty at times, was better.
Per Mertesacker (6); Same thing as with Djourou, I was on the fence whether to give a 6 or 6,5 but unlike Djourou, I’ll lean towards the 6 with Per. His understanding with Kos is getting better but it still can be better at times.
Thomas Vermaelen (7); The Verminator ended up moving to the middle from his left back starting position once Djourou went off with his injury. Vermaelen played well in both spots though there was a lot of space at times in the middle following his move there as we pressed forward. TM5 nearly equalized for us twice too with his damn fine long-range shot for a centerback.
Aaron Ramsey (6); I’ll be a little harsh on Aaron and just give him a 6 mainly because I can’t really remember any major contribution he made but at the same time that also means he didn’t do anything that I can recall that really put us under pressure, so I’ll give him a 6.
Alexandre Song (6.5); Song did his normal yeoman’s duty in deep midfield, breaking up attacks & winning balls but was maybe a little lucky to not have picked up a second yellow early on. Luckily, Phil Dowd didn’t fall for Barry’s semi-dive after the Cameroonian had already picked up a yellow.
Mikel Arteta (7); Arteta played pretty well, in my opinion, though it was one of those games his contributions may have gone a bit unnoticed by a lot of so-called experts. Mikel had a bunch of nice touches, little passes to link up some of the play from defense to attack, though his balls in the final third may have been a little better, but you could say that about everybody yesterday. Example from the good people over at Arseblog & their “By The Numbers” feature on Arteta’s play:
"90 – Mikel Arteta season average pass completion percentage92 – Mikel Arteta pass completion percentage v. Man City79 – Mikel Arteta season average pass per game rate73 – Mikel Arteta passes v. Man City****Leads all players"
Theo Walcott (6); Sort of quiet game from Theo yesterday but he is continuing to play pretty well in his defensive responsibilities & knowing when to track back & cover when the right back gets up upfield.
Robin van Persie (6.5); Movement was good again & actually had a lovely, deft finish on a goal that was ruled out when RvP had strayed marginally offside. Ok, ok, yes, we’re a bit too reliant on RvP for goals at the moment but if Gervinho could shoot we may not be. Which leads me to…
Gervinho (4.5); Was poor on the day. He shot poorly again, his decision making in the final third was pretty awful all day and he lost possession too early in the move that led up to Man €ity’s goal. Has all the guile & slickness of a top class winger / wide-forward but is very inconsistent with his shooting. By far the worst Gunner for me yesterday.
Substitutes
Ignasi Miquel, 47th minute (5.5); came on for the injured Djourou early on in the second half & played left back. Looked a bit nervous to me & was caught out a few times & the backline definitely looked a lot more shaky when the teenager came on.
Andrei Arshavin, 70th minute (5); Arshavin is lost at the moment. Came on for Walcott with 20 minutes to go, had a shot but was poor & lost the ball & killed a couple of attacks with his profligacy. Might be time to cash in a few million for Arshavin to go at the end of the year.
Marouane Chamakh, 83rd minute (5); Chamakh was also poor. Clearly has lost all confidence up top right now & had a spotty dive trying to win a freekick late on. Kind of crap thing to do & a sign he has no confidence to stand strong & try to make room for a shot or pass instead.