Norwich City vs. Arsenal: Rating the Arsenal Players

I'm going to name Robin van Persie the Man of the Match for Arsenal.

Who else would it be?

Van Persie scored two more goals Saturday as Arsenal came from behind to defeat Norwich City 2-1 at Carrow Road. That makes five straight league wins for the Gunners, who now have 22 points—the same as Chelsea and Tottenham—through 12 matches.

After such a disastrous start to the season, Arsenal's run of form lately has been nothing short of superb.

On Saturday, several players played up to it, too.

To the ratings!

Goalkeeper

Wojciech Szczesny: 6.0

Chezz didn't have much to do. I think he could have been a bit more aggressive on Norwich's goal, but it would be preposterous to blame him for the incident.

Defenders

Per Mertesacker: 4.0

The giant German (who's getting dangerously close to earning the nickname "Little Giant") gets the blame for the goal. At 6'6", he was out-muscled by the much smaller Steve Morison.

Arsenal didn't allow any more goals, and Mertesacker didn't make any other glaring errors, but he was unable to match up physically with Morison throughout the match. He'll have to get better.

Thomas Vermaelen: 7.0

We think he could have been a bit more vocal on Norwich's goal with something like a "Man on!" for Mertesacker. Again, though, it would be preposterous to blame him. As usual, Vermaelen was immense for Arsenal in defense. He was particularly strong on set pieces, but that's nothing new.

Andre Santos: 6.0

Santos gets forward so well that he can almost be considered another midfielder. His defense isn't nearly as good, and it showed again Saturday. He was off the pace throughout, and though it went unpunished, other opponents might not be so generous.

Laurent Koscielny: 6.5

Saturday served as a pleasant surprise for the Arsenal defense in at least one respect: Koscielny showed he can play right back just as well as center back. He doesn't get into the attack, but that's not a problem for now. With Koz playing out of position, it's enough that he played such solid defense.

Midfielders

Mikel Arteta: 7.0

Arteta controlled the midfield, serving as a link between the defense and attack. He rarely lost possession and got into the act offensively with a nice shot in the second half.

Alex Song: 7.0

The other tower in Arsenal's two-man central midfield axis, Song admirably supplied the physicality that he normally provides. He also was into the attack with the assist on Robin van Persie's second goal.

Theo Walcott 7.5

Walcott created several opportunities on the wing with his speed and dribbling. He hit the post with a shot. He could have collected multiple assists if not for some poor finishing. In the end, he settled for one on van Persie's first goal.

Gervinho: 7.0

Gervinho did everything right except finish. He'll know how he failed to score after rounding the keeper in a one-on-one.

Aaron Ramsey: 6.0

Ramsey played the withdrawn forward role and got involved with several moves throughout the match. He couldn't find the final pass, though.

Forwards

Robin van Persie: 9.0 (Man of the Match)

As van Persie goes, so go Arsenal. Van Persie was immense again. He took his chances expertly and created havoc throughout the attacking third. He's truly a world-class player that Arsenal cannot afford to lose. Thank goodness he took the night off when Holland played Germany.

Substitutes

Yossi Benayoun: 5.0

Benayoun played a bit part after replacing Gervinho late in the second half. That will probably be the case with his entire Arsenal career.

Johan Djourou: no rating

Djourou replaced Walcott for basically the final 60 seconds of the match. He didn't have enough time on the pitch to make an impact.