Arsenal vs. Chelsea: Player Ratings from Gunners' 0-0 Snoozefest

Who thinks of "conservative tactics" and "steady pace" when they think of the London derby? Certainly not me, but that's exactly what we got when Arsenal hosted Chelsea this Saturday afternoon.

No one expected the kind of low-scoring, few-chances result we saw this afternoon at Emirates Stadium. I figured Arsenal would score three or four goals.

After all, Chelsea was playing tired after a week that included a 5-1 win over Tottenham in the FA Cup semifinals and then a 1-0 win over Barcelona in the Champions League. Not only that, but they had reserves in that I bet even Arsene Wenger had a hard time naming. Ryan Bertrand at left-back? Who's that guy?

Instead of Arsenal pouring it on thick and netting a lot of scores, we got a game that was scoreless at halftime and saw only two—yes, two—shots on goal in the first 45 minutes.

In the second half it was more of the same, as neither team looked comfortable and few more shots were taken at either goalkeeper.

All that aside, even with the draw, Arsenal is still sitting pretty at third place in the league table, and their Champions League hopes for next year haven't been jeopardized.

The Gunners looked decent overall—neither good nor bad—but how did the players rate out individually? Join me and read on!

Goalkeeper

Wojciech Szczęsny: 7.0

Only had a couple of significant saves on the afternoon, but still got the clean sheet—his 13th of the season. The beginning minutes of the second half were tense for the home crowd, but the 22-year-old Polish international held his ground and cleaned up well, even with the distraction of a boring match.

Defenders

Bacary Sagna: 6.5

Played well in his full 90 minutes on the pitch. Very physical play that bordered on fouls, especially early in the match. Should have been called for a penalty on his taking down of Salomon Kalou. Lucky for Gunners fans, he wasn't.

Thomas Vermaelen: 7.0

Showed the most spirit of anyone on the defensive back line. Physical, intelligent play throughout the match. Wish Arsenal's forwards had half of the energy Vermaelen displayed.

Laurent Koscielny: 7.5

The most solid of all the defenders. Stayed true to the right half of the field and supported well so that Bacary Sagna could assist in possessions and so Szczesny was never alone.

Kieran Gibbs: 7.0

Was better tonight than most other appearances he's made for Arsenal. Played the left sideline with energy, enthusiasm and intelligence and stayed disciplined to the center of the pitch. Dangerous play, but took the chances his teammates weren't willing to take.

Midfielders

Aaron Ramsey: 4.5

All over the field for Arsenal, but in the worst of ways. Did he ever cross the midfield line?

Alex Song: 6.5

Like much of Arsenal's midfield, looked out of position for much of the match, but distributed the ball well. Stayed back to support the defense, but it looked more like he was doing it out of fear for Chelsea's midfield rather than following tactics.

Theo Walcott: 7.0

I'm sure he would have scored a goal if not coming off in the 60th minute with a pulled hamstring. Potentially, a very disappointing end to his league season.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: 7.0

It's about time Wenger gave The Ox another start! Unfortunately, he was taken out in favor of Santos in the 70th minute. Why? You'll have to ask the Arsenal manager. Oxlade-Chamberlain displayed more confidence than you'd think from someone who's so rarely used.

Gervinho: 6.0

Out of position often and didn't look like he had the pace to keep up, even though he was only in for the last 30 minutes of the match. Ugh.

Andros Santos: 5.0

Tried to do a lot of attacking, that's for sure, but looked out of place in Arsenal's tactics. Why was The Ox taken out?

Forwards

Robin van Persie: 6.5

Inconsistent and looked to lose pace (and enthusiasm) late in the match. Wasted several good opportunities late in the second half and miss-hit the ball often, causing his shots to hit the post a few times.

Tomas Rosicky: 6.0

Like his attacking partner, Robin van Persie, Rosicky looked good in the first half, taking several good sprints at Cech early on, but lost pace and drive late and had to be subbed out in the 65th minute in favor of Abou Diaby.

Abou Diaby: 5.5

Was Wenger toying with us when he put the rarely used (two appearances, eh?) Frenchman in for Rosicky? His pass to no one in the final minutes of the match evoked the loudest of groans from those at Emirates.