Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Birmingham City

Arsenal secured their fourth win of the season with a dominating 2-1 win over a doughty Birmingham City outfit. The Gunners win, however, was tainted by the sending off of teenage superstar Jack Wilshere in the dying minutes of the encounter.

The 18-year-old was easily Arsenal's best performer on the field, but a late, reckless challenge on the Blues' imposing striker Nikola Zigic ensured Wilshere will miss the next three domestic matches.

Nonetheless the victory was well deserved and hard fought after Wenger's men went one nil down in the 33 minute through Zigic despite Arsenal boasting better possession and chances. The 6'8" Serbian rose above a handful of Arsenal defenders and neatly headed home from 12 yards after Keith Fahey had swung in a tantalizing cross.

However, the North London giants took little under 10 minutes to respond. Marouane Chamakh was adjudged to be fouled by Scott Dann in the area and playmaker Samir Nasri had no problems converting from the spot.

Arsenal then came into the second period full of life and took the lead early, only two minutes after the break, when Chamakh combined impressively with Wilshere before showing tidy footwork to slot home the eventual winner.

The Gunners continued to dominate from there on in, enjoying the weight of possession and chances. Birmingham's attack stemmed and Alex McLiesh's men rarely looked a threat. The win elevates Arsenal back up to second spot thanks to unexpected draws from Manchester United and Chelsea, however, Manchester City have a game in hand.

Player Ratings

Lukasz Fabianski, 7.5: A confident, assured performance from the Polish shot-stopper, who never looked likely to make a glaring error or being beaten. Made a number of well-timed saves and is slowly reinstating himself back to the Arsenal fans.

Emmnauel Eboue, 7: Calm, composed and energetic despite making a rash two-footed challenge on Birmingham defender Liam Ridgewell. The Ivorian defended strongly and was a threat in attack, even if a little erratic with his control.

Sebastien Squillaci, 6.5: A solid effort from the captain, who deserves credit for containing Nikola Zigic for majority of the afternoon. The Frenchman was caught out in the air on occasion but all in all a good performance.

Johan Djourou, 6: The imposing Swiss still looks rusty as he was caught out to often with poor positioning and lack of speed. However, grew in confidence as the game wore on.

Gael Clichy, 6.5: The Frenchman kept the left flank neat and tidy for basically the whole encounter. Clichy was also a credible contributor in attack with some threatening runs. However, was nervy under the high ball.

Alexandre Song, 7: Worked tirelessly for the whole 90 minutes and made a number of gallant and vital interception. The Cameroonian was also very active in attack, generating a number of passes and attempting to orchestrate a number of Arsenal moves.

Jack Wilshere, 7: A clumsy, reckless challenge mares what was a terrific performance from the English starlet. Conjured up a number of Arsenal chances with quick feet, composure and incisive passing. Always a threat with the ball and the Gunners will undoubtedly miss Wilshere in the coming weeks.

Abou Diaby, 7.5: Strong, evasive and powerful. The lanky Frenchman tormented the Birmingham defence with power-fueled runs and neat, impressive footwork. However, Diaby did lack that clinical finish in the final third but none the less a strong performance.

Samir Nasri, 7: Active without setting the scene alight. Played a number of delicate balls that held up beautifully and created havoc for the Birmingham defence. The classy Frenchman wasn't afraid to get gritty and tenacious either.

Andrei Arshavin, 5: The Russian was lacklustre, disinterested and all up poor. Refused to run or find teammates which resulted in a rightly substitution.

Marouane Chamakh, 7: Question marks may be raised over the penalty call and whether contact was evident or not but there's no denying the Moroccan's work ethic along with his effective goal.

Substitutes

Tomas Rosciky, 6: Gave Arsenal an added spark late on.

Nicklas Bendtner, N/A: Rusty, and rightly so, as the Dane returned from injury.