Arsenal vs. QPR: Rating the Arsenal Players in 1-0 Win

Robin van Persie scores when he wants. And he picks up Man of the Match awards from B/R when he wants, too.

No surprises here—RvP is our Man of the Match from Arsenal's 1-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers on Saturday. And to us, it wasn't even close.

Van Persie not only scored the winning goal, but he also did a little bit of everything for Arsenal. The Dutchman held up play, created chances (thanks for nothing, Gervinho!), won 50-50 balls and even tracked back far enough to get whistled for a foul on Arsenal's end line.

All in a day's work for the Arsenal captain.

With the win, Arsenal climb to fourth in the English Premier League table with exactly half of the season played. We can't wait to see what Van Persie does in the second half.

On to the ratings:

Goalkeeper

Wojciech Szczesny: 7.5

Szczesny had little to do apart from a one-on-one against QPR's Shaun Wright-Phillips in the first half. Szczesny saved expertly, preserving the scoreless draw. As ever, the Polish keeper was a rock for Arsenal.

Defenders

Thomas Vermaelen: 6.0

Forced to play fullback instead of his preferred central role, Vermaelen nonetheless performed admirably. He defended well but didn't get forward as much as he normally does. That hurt Arsenal's offensive fluidity, but since Vermaelen was playing out of position, it's hard to fault him too much.

Laurent Koscielny: 7.0

Koscielny continued the progress he's made this season, playing well in the middle of Arsenal's defense. Playing in Vermaelen's normal position, Koscielny got into the attack much like Vermaelen normally does. In fact, Koscielny pretty much played like Vermaelen usually does.

Per Mertesacker: 7.0

The big German was beaten far too easily early in the first half by the combination of Adel Taarabt's through-ball and Wright-Phillips' speed. Other than that, however, Mertesacker played perhaps his best league game in an Arsenal shirt.

Johan Djourou: 6.0

Djourou made a few mistakes, especially in the first half when he allowed QPR's attackers too much space down the flank. Overall, though, Djourou played decently, even if he didn't add much to the attack.

Midfielders

Alex Song: 6.0

Song performed his defensive and holding duties very well, but his passing was below standard. Too many predictable, flat passes were easily intercepted by QPR's midfield.

Mikel Arteta: 6.0

See above. Arteta played a decent game, but his passing generally lacked the edge necessary to spark Arsenal's attack. Lacking width, Arsenal relied on too heavily on direct attacks, and Arteta wasn't creative enough.

Andrei Arshavin: 5.0

Arshavin rates this highly only because of his assist. That was easily his best pass of the game. The rest of the time, Arshavin dribbled aimlessly, lost possession and made uncreative runs. He also refused to track back, allowing QPR fullback Luke Young to make dangerous, overlapping runs into Arsenal's box.

Theo Walcott: 4.0

In the first half, Walcott was anonymous. In the second, he somehow failed to score from a one-on-one breakaway. On that chance, Walcott hurried his shot and missed the target entirely. Walcott seems to be suffering from a loss of confidence. Maybe a break would help.

Aaron Ramsey: 5.5

Ramsey was listed as a forward, but he played such a withdrawn role that we're listing him with the midfielders. Ramsey contributed a couple of good shots, one each in the first and second halves, but was mostly quiet. The withdrawn role doesn't quite seem to suit him.

Forwards

Robin van Persie: 8.0 (Man of the Match)

Van Persie was immense. He took his chance well (but he did miss a couple before then) and contributed to the cause up and down the pitch. This was an excellent showing from an outstanding (and soon to be legendary) Arsenal captain.

Substitutes

Francis Coquelin: 5.5

Coquelin replaced the out-of-position Vermaelen and played out of position himself at fullback. Some poor defending nearly gifted Taarabt a goal in the second half, but Coquelin did enough for Arsenal in a pinch. As a plus, he got forward much better than Vermaelen.

Tomas Rosicky: 5.5

Rosicky replaced Arshavin and promptly played pretty much the same way the Russian had. Like Arshavin, Rosicky didn't provide enough cover for his fullback. But at least he did look committed in his challenges.

Gervinho: 6.0

Gervinho is one of the league's most dangerous players when it comes to getting in position to score. But he's one of the worst when it comes to actually scoring. As usual, Gervinho's dribbling and quickness created chances.

But as usual, he did nothing with them, as his awful near-post miss from Van Persie's pass demonstrated yet again.