Premier League: Worst 11 of the Week

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With man of the match awards, and the EA SPORTS Index, we know who the best players during Matchday 3 were, but do we know who were the worst?

The players who were anonymous, who showed no determination, who were incompetent, whose antics became news.

Here is the Premier League Worst 11 of the Week.

Also how many Arsenal players will be in the 11?  

Goalkeeper: Ben Foster

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Performance grade: C

As Stoke City goalkeeper Asmir Begović kept his team in the game, Ben Foster's schoolboy error cost his team the game. 

Stoke's customary 'boot-the-ball-high-and-away-whilst-praying-hail-Mary' worked in the 90th minute.  

With the ball up in the air and dropping rapidly, Gabriel Tamaş did a mediocre job of shielding Ryan Shotton, Foster charged out, missed the ball as Shotton toe poked it around the embarrassed Foster and scored.

Game over.

 

David de Gea watch: Saved a badly taken Robin van Persie penalty, but then let Theo Walcott's shot through his legs.

In four games for Manchester United, De Gea has made three mistakes.  

Defender: Carl Jenkinson

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Performance Grade: F

What has Carl Jenkinson done since being signed by Arsenal?

Scored an astonishing own goal against Köln in pre-season. 

Was dealt a cruel blow when manager Arsène Wenger played him as a left back for 30 minutes against Udinese, where he was run ragged by flying Chilean winger Mauricio Isla.

Then, when played in his natural position of right back against Manchester United, he was the worst player on the pitch by a Finnish mile.

Do you know how many tackles Jenkinson contested against Manchester United?

Three, and he lost out on all three.

Constantly caught out of position, he was fed to the lions against Ashley Young, gave away a freekick which led to Wayne Rooney scoring, misplaced nine passes and didn't deliver a single successful cross.

Did I mention he's not an Arsenal calibre fullback? 

Arsène Wenger has found his own Gus Caesar.

Defender: Younès Kaboul

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Performance grade: D

Younès Kaboul had a decent start, as he won several tackles and distributed without any problems. 

That was until Edin Džeko came to the party. 

As Manchester City mounted the pressure, Kaboul was all over the place. 

Was finally given some respite when referee Phil Dowd blew for full time.   

Defender: Johan Djourou

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Performance Grade: F

There was speculation before the game that Johan Djourou would play as a defensive midfielder, a position he hadn't played since 2007. 

He probably should play there from now. 

The way Arsenal conceded their first goal, all because of Djourou ball watching, set the precedent for how Arsenal defended for the rest of the game. 

Defender: Laurent Koscielny

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Performance grade: C

I've been a vocal critic of Laurent Koscielny in the past, but he was the best Arsenal defender against Manchester United (not that it means anything), and if not for him and Wojciech Szczęsny the scoreline would have reached double figures. 

Koscielny didn't give the ball away once, made five interceptions and made a crucial block.  

But—my oh my how many times was he caught out of position?

I don't understand why he decided to give so much space to Manchester United. 

Time after time, Manchester United made incisive runs behind Koscielny's inexperienced and incompetent backline. 

He will be the only survivor from this forgettable back four. 

Defender: Armand Traoré

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Performance grade: F

I'll try not to use the insensitive analogy Sky Sports pundit Tony Cascarino conjured up to describe Armand Traoré's performance.

His defence was nonexistent, he was lost on the pitch, and at times more focused in charging up forward than defending.

Isn't it an odd sight when Nani is carrying the ball on the right wing with no-one tracking him?

Then, when Traoré was close to Nani, he was consistently burnt by a simple drop of the shoulder or a burst of acceleration. 

Will now call Loftus Road home after being shipped off to Queens Park Rangers. 

Midfielder: Luka Modrić

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Performance grade: D

Leading into the game, a disgruntled Luka Modrić trudged into Harry Redknapp's office and essentially said I don't want to play.

Modrić was true to his word, and played at half tempo with no heart, no determination and no leadership in midfield. 

Midfielder: Radosav Petrović

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Performance grade: F

I became interested to know who Radosav Petrović was after James Pearson at Sky Sports named the Serbian to be the flop of the season.

Sure enough I was watching Blackburn Rovers vs Everton and, by chance, Petrović comes on in the 35th minute replacing a hamstrung Morten Gamst Pedersen. 

First time Petrović gets the ball, he gives it away to Johnny Heitinga. 

About five minutes later, Petrović passes the ball to Mikel Arteta.

Then the Serbian had no positive impact for the rest of the game, either slowing down momentum or just not doing much. 

Supposedly he's a defensive midfielder but he gave away the possession five times attempting pretty basic passes.

Will need to ensure he can retain, and distribute, possession if he wants to break into a struggling Blackburn Rovers first 11.

Midfielder: Tuncay

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Performance grade: F

It's so disappointing watching Tuncay play because, years ago, he was seemingly destined to become a great player.

People forget he scored a stunning hat-trick against Manchester United, albeit against a side containing a 17-year-old Gerard Piqué, Quinton Fortune, Eric Djemba-Djemba, David Bellion and Liam Miller.

Now on loan at Bolton Wanderers from Wolfsburg, Tuncay came on in the 57th minute against Liverpool and gifted them ball on countless occasions.

Bolton manager Owen Coyle would have grounds to substitute the substitute, like Wolfsburg manager Felix Magath did against RB Leipzig.  

Forward: Victor Anichebe

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Performance grade: D

Victor Anichebe hasn't scored a Premiership goal in 22 consecutive games. 

At least he scored a few days ago against Sheffield United in the Carling Cup.

He didn't look like he was going to score, and he gave away possession 11 times.

The only positive point worth noting was that he competed and challenged for the ball.  

Forward: Fernando Torres

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Performance grade: F

If Fernando Torres can't score against Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion and Norwich City; how are we going to expect him to score against Manchester United, Manchester City, Barcelona and Real Madrid?

Torres has regressed in the past two games after promising signs against Stoke. 

The incompetent Spaniard took 77 minutes to register his first attempt on goal, and even after great service from Juan Mata, Torres still didn't score.  

What's sad about Torres is that Franco Di Santo, yes the one that couldn't buy a goal, has scored more goals than Torres this season. 

It's no surprise that as soon as Romelu Lukaku came on, we looked more dangerous and the prodigious Belgian had more shots in 18 minutes than Torres did in 83 minutes.

We should have spent £50 million on Sergio Agüero. 

Liverpool really screwed us over.

 

Please also read Comprehensive Champions League analysis for the groups involving Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal.