Arsenal vs. West Ham: Man of the Match, Player Ratings, Gallery and Reactions
Arsenal fought hard to earn a vital three points at the Emirates through a late goal from Alex Song. It was hard for West Ham United because they did not get any reward for their efforts, but the result keeps Arsenal only five points adrift of Chelsea in the league table.
It was not glorious, free flowing football from the Gunners at the Emirates, but they would be relieved that they managed to gather all three points. West Ham United will feel disheartened by the result, but they should take some positives from their organized display at the Emirates. The win means that Arsenal are currently in second place with 20 points while West Ham are at the bottom with only six points.
In this article, I will rate all the players in the match, and name one player from each side as the man of the match. Also, both managers' reactions after the game are quoted in the last slide.
Arsenal: Goalkeeper
1 of 15
Lukasz Fabianski: 7
It was another error-free night for the Polish keeper, and he is slowly winning over his doubters. He was confident and assured, and did well to fist away two decent free kicks from Mark Noble. One moment of note was when he dragged Cesc Fabregas to a position he wanted him to be when Arsenal were defending a corner, and Fabregas headed the ball clear from danger. It shows that the Pole has gained a lot of confidence from his previous displays, and can be Arsenal's future No. 1.
West Ham: Goalkeeper
2 of 15
Robert Green: 9
It was a sensational performance from the Englishman, and he made one save after another. He controlled his box well, and also made numerous reflex saves to keep West Ham in the match. He could not have done anything about the goal, and was unfortunate not to bag a clean sheet for his impressive display.
Arsenal: Defence
3 of 15
Bacary Sagna: 7.5
Samir Nasri did not offer a lot of width, but Bacary Sagna made a lot of surging runs and tried his best to create the opener. His crosses were good, and he looks confident this season. He was also solid at the back, and did not neglect his defensive duties.
Sebastien Squillaci: 7
Squillaci has provided a calming presence at the back for Arsenal, and was composed against West Ham. He stuck to his task, and did not give much space for Frederic Piquonne and Victor Obinna. The Frenchman has been instrumental in Arsenal maintaining successive clean sheets, and seems to be a shrewd acquisition by Arsene Wenger.
Laurent Koscielny: 7.5
Koscielny was strong in the air, and had good understanding of the game. He made numerous important interceptions and tackles, and was put on a good display at the Emirates.
Gael Clichy: 7.5
Gael Clichy made some good runs on the left flank, and troubled West Ham defence with his good crosses. It was a solid game for the Frenchman, who seems to be back to his best. He provided a superb cross for Alex Song to score the winner after making an excellent surging run on the right flank.
West Ham: Defence
4 of 15
Herita Illunga: 5.5
Illunga struggled to deal with the threat of Samir Nasri and Bacary Sagna, and it was easy for Sagna for make those surging runs. However, he did not receive much help from the winger, which made his job even more difficult. Also, Theo Walcott made a great run from the right flank, and was unfortunate not to score.
Manuel Da Costa: 7
It was a good game for the central defender, who boasted good aerial strength. He was able to keep Marouane Chamakh quiet for most of the match, and also made some timely interventions and tackles.
Danny Gabiddon: 6.5
It was a decent game for the defender, and did not allow much space to shoot for Arsenal. The defensive partnership worked well, and was unfortunate to concede late in the match.
Lars Jacobsen: 6.5
Jacobsen had the tough job of ensuring that Andrei Arshavin does not create anything for Arsenal. In the initial 20 minutes, Arshavin got ahead of his man on some occasions, but as the game wore on, Jacobsen did well to stick close to Arshavin, and did not allow the Russian to get the better of him.
Arsenal: Midfield
5 of 15
Alex Song: 8.5
Alex Song has vastly improved in his attacking play and has scored some vital goals this season, but this will certainly be a goal for him to remember. The late winner sealed the three points for the Gunners, and Song has now scored in his three consecutive appearances for Arsenal. He was also excellent in midfield breaking up attacks and starting play from the back. Overall, a man of the match display from the Cameroon International.
Cesc Fabregas: 6.5
Fabregas was not at his best, and struggled at times to impose himself in the midfield. He had a slight hamstring problem, because of which he was not at his best today. Nevertheless, he produced an exquisite through ball for Theo Walcott, which could have provided Arsenal the lead.
Denilson: 5.5
Denilson had an average game by his standards, and was wasteful on more than one occasion. He passed neatly, but lacked creativity and vision to provide any meaningful attacking threat. He will probably return to the bench with the return of Jack Wilshere.
West Ham: Midfield
6 of 15
Scott Parker: 8
Scott Parker showed Fabio Capello what he was missing with another superb display at the Emirates. He was adept in breaking up play and tried his best to instigate West Ham attacks. He did not give much space for the Arsenal and shackled Cesc Fabregas to a great deal.
Mark Noble: 6.5
Mark Noble was good in the match, though he tended to fade off as the match faded. Noble posed a threat from set-pieces, and his two teasing free kicks caused Arsenal some problems. He tried his best to create something, but was let down by some disappointing play from the team's forwards and wingers.
Luis Boa Morte: 5.5
He was unimaginative in midfield, and could not create anything of note. To his credit, he worked hard, but without any visible purpose. Avram Grant should think of other options in the future, and he has some talented players like Pablo Barrera on the bench.
Arsenal: Wingers
7 of 15
Samir Nasri: 7
Nasri was good in his tricky interchanges inside the box, and tried to create the opener. It was not to be his day, and a magnificent free kick which struck the bar only confirmed it. It was another decent performance from the Frenchman, but needs to provide more width to the side. He was comfortable playing in the centre when Denilson was substituted.
Andrei Arshavin: 6
Arshavin looked to sharp in the opening 15 minutes of the game, and made some good surging runs down the left flank. But he has certainly lost out on pace, and his body language is not great at the moment. However, he worked hard today, and needs a goal or two to give him a mental boost.
West Ham: Wingers
8 of 15
Valon Behrami: 5
He was anonymous for large periods of the game, and did not do anything worthy of a mention. He needs to improve if West Ham are to get better over the course of the season.
Victor Obinna: 5.5
Obinna brought in a physical threat for Arsenal, but did not do much throughout the match. His set-pieces were not good enough, but he can prove to be an asset to West Ham in the future.
Arsenal: Striker
9 of 15
Marouane Chamakh: 6.5
Marouane Chamakh has started in nine Premier League games in this season, and is one of the most important players for Arsenal this season. However, he could not create much against an organized West Ham defence. His link up play was good, and he tried to bring others into the game. He moved to the wing in the later stages of the game to accommodate Nicklas Bendtner in the centre.
West Ham: Striker
10 of 15
Frederic Piquionne: 5.5
It was not an inspiring performance from the former Portsmouth man, who struggled to make an impact at the Emirates. He could not hold up the ball long enough to bring his teammates into the game, and had a poor game by his standards.
Substitutes For Arsenal and West Ham United
11 of 15
Arsenal Substitutes
Theo Walcott: 7
It was almost the dream start as he beat his marker with stunning speed to race through on goal. But he could only hit the post, which made Wenger think it might be one of "those" days.
Nicklas Bendtner: 6
He provided a towering presence in the box, but did not see much of the ball after coming on as a late substitute.
Emmanuel Eboue: N/A
West Ham Substitutes
Carlton Cole: 6
He tried his best to hold up the ball and bring his teammates into the game, but they could not get the ball to the burly striker. Hardly a touch for the England hopeful.
Pablo Barrera and Julian Faubert: N/A
Arsenal's Man of the Match: Alex Song
12 of 15
It was a superb performance from the Cameroon International, and he has grown into a complete midfielder this season. He has scored as many goals this season than he has done in his entire Arsenal career before this one. He is one of the first names on the team sheet, and has improved tremendously to establish himself as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world.
His diving header to seal the three points for the Gunners could prove to be crucial in the title race, and Song has been in great goalscoring form of late, scoring in his last three appearance for the Gunners. He has also shown great passion and respect for the club, and holds high regard for Arsene Wenger. At only 23 years of age, there is still room for development and Arsenal supporters will hope he will become a great player for them in the future.
West Ham's Man of the Match: Robert Green
13 of 15
Robert Green suffered probably the worst moment in his career when he fumbled Clint Dempsey's shot to let in a very soft goal for the USA against England. He stood up and accepted the blame like a man, but his image had been tarnished, and he still is one of the most criticized goalkeepers in the Premier League. But on Saturday, he showed why Capello had selected him to be the No. 1 goalkeeper for England.
He was outstanding at the Emirates, and pulled off numerous reflex saves to deny Arsenal the goal they craved for. His saves off Fabregas and Song showed his quality, and he was excellent against Arsenal. he could not have done anything about the goal, and was unfortunate not to be rewarded with a clean sheet for his efforts.
Manager's Reactions: Arsene Wenger
14 of 15
Arsene Wenger was relieved that his side had won at the Emirates, and applauded his team's patient efforts. Also, he said Cesc Fabregas is an injury doubt for the game against Shakhtar Donetsk, which is a worry for the Gunners.
"When you win with two minutes to go, it is always a relief," Wenger said. "We needed to be patient, intelligent and not to make a mistake at the back against a team who had a strong spirit and were well organised. We did not do anything stupid, kept trying to be intelligent and that got us the goal.
"I was thinking it was one of those days when the ball went onto the post and came back into the goalkeeper's hands, that is not a good sign. But we kept going and out of this game we have once again shown a great attitude."
"We have matured, you see that in the game the way we handle it when it does not work for us, the players remain calmer than before," Wenger said. "We have a good chance [for the title], yes, but we want to show consistency first. We go step by step and we still need to step up a gear to completely achieve that."
"But on the other hand you feel there is more to come out from this team, we have good potential on bench today and some players to come back. If we can keep a good injury record then we have a chance."
Wenger added: "It is too early in the season, but I have belief. We need to show from game to game we can handle every single game with a different aspect which the Premier League has - today we played against the team bottom of the league and it was a real battle. We have to show can compete like that in every game."
Wenger hopes captain Cesc Fabregas will be fit to travel to Shakhtar Donetsk for next week's Champions League game.
"Cesc played a bit within himself. He had a bit of tension in his hamstring. Let's hope he has no setback," Wenger said. "At halftime, I had a hesitation to take him off. Then I left him on, I thought 'just for 10 or 15 minutes', but in the end he got better and better."
Manager's Reactions: Avram Grant
15 of 15
Avram Grant was disappointed with the result, but praised his players for their superb organized display against Arsenal at the Emirates.
"When you come to just two minutes from the end, and it was 0-0, Arsenal almost did not create many chances, because we defended well and played well, so we are very disappointed," the Israeli said.
"We have played a game against a very good team who just beat us in the last minutes, so we can take a lot of positive things and also from many things which have happened in the past week"
"I don't want to talk about history, whether things are possible or not possible. We are not in a situation where we cannot do it - we can do it. We need to win games, we have deserved to win games and will try to do it in the next game."
"We are not yet in November, so we have time to do it. There are six or seven months until the end of the season. Even if we were in this situation in April, I would not think it was the end of the world."
Grant added: "We are not in a good situation in the league, but we are in a good situation with our performances so we need to take more points like we deserve.
"I really believe we can do it because the team have a good spirit and it was an heroic performance today. We know the difference to us winning games is not so big, so let's continue to fight. The players are not giving up, they are fighting, it is a good basis for the future."
