Arsenal Player Ratings v. Everton

Arsenal opened their Premiership campaign with a 6-1 thumping of FA Cup runners-up Everton.

Not only did the Gunners show class, great defending and attacking, but Arsene Wenger's men sent a strong message to the rest of the league.

Here are the Player Ratings for Arsenal:

Manuel Almunia: 6.5: Didn't have a whole lot to do, but when called upon didn't disappoint. Will be annoyed that he conceded a soft goal.

Bacary Sagna: 6.5: Solid from the reliable Frenchman, kept the dangerous Pienaar relatively quiet and was useful in attack.

William Gallas: 7: Strong in the air and on the ground, showed good strength when called upon and chipped in with a neat goal.

Thomas Vermaelen: 8: A superb debut. Sensational in the air, almost unbeatable on the ground and showed he can replace the vacant spot left by Kolo Toure. An excellent header to score his first Arsenal goal.

Gael Clichy: 7: Neat and tidy, was untroubled by Cahill on the left and provided handy crosses for his attackers.

Alexandre Song: 8: A strong performance from the Cameroon international, who keeps getting better and better. Dominated the imposing Fellaini in the air and stopped most of the Everton midfield attacks.

Denilson: 7.5: A slow start, but as the game grew, so did Denilson, provided beautiful passes for his attackers and netted a brilliant goal with a superb strike.

Cesc Fabregas: 8: The captain led from the front and pulled off a magnificent performance. Scored two brilliant goals, set up another and was involved heavily in others.

Nicklas Bendtner: 7.5: Showed he is no longer the clumsy ball runner with some terrific runs. Had Baines in all sorts of trouble every time he received the ball and really deserved a goal.

Andrei Arshavin: 7: Not his usual dominant self but still incredibly dangerous when the ball was at his quick feet. Unlucky to his the post with a good effort.

Robin van Persie: 7.5: May not have troubled the score sheet, but the Dutchman was involved in nearly all of them. Created space and was always a danger with the ball.

Substitutes

Emmanuel Eboue: 6: Came on and provided speed and pace down the right flank.

Aaron Ramsey: 6.5: Showed a great passing range as he replaced Fabregas.

Eduardo Da Silva: 7: The Croatian came on and showed skill and speed as well as netted an easy goal, his first League goal since 2008.