Arsenal vs. Fulham: Rating the Gunners' Players in the 1-1 Draw

Arsenal rose one position in the Premier League following a home 1-1 draw with Fulham at the Emirates Stadium.

Aiming to close the gap on the top four following a string of five straight league wins, the Gunners came into the match in good form, and with top scorer Robin van Persie having passed the 30-goal mark for the calender year, most people's money was on a home win.

However, a sluggish performance in the first half from Arsenal in particular saw the sides go in level at the interval, and the game did not improve vastly on that in the second 45.

Goals at either end from defender Thomas Vermaelen—firstly an own goal, later an equaliser—ensured that spectators had at least something to rouse them from their slumber, but as a spectacle it was far from vintage Premier League.

Here are the Arsenal players' ratings from the 1-1 draw.

Goalkeeper: Wojciech Szczesny

Gunners shot-stopper Wojciech Szczesny had a relatively quiet game, where he had little to do for the most part, but he did make one or two smart saves to keep his side on level terms before the away side took the lead.

Moussa Dembele was more or less the only player to trouble him, with one sharp drive towards the near post causing the Pole a few moments of anxiety before Brede Hangeland headed over his crossbar with Szczesny stranded off his line.

He could do nothing about the goal, as Thomas Vermaelen slid the ball past him from close range.

Szczesny: 7/10

Full-Backs: Johan Djourou and Andre Santos

For many seasons a big feature of Arsenal's game-play has now been the thrusting attack of their full-backs.

Ashley Cole, Lauren, Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy all possessed great pace and a desire to attack as much as, or perhaps even more than, defend.

This season, however, they have yet to discover that formula on any regular basis.

On the right side, a long-term injury to Sagna has seen youngster Carl Jenkinson get a few opportunities, though he is also currently sidelined.

Laurent Koscielny had a go there last week and did a more than respectable job, but neither he nor Johan Djourou, who played against Fulham, are naturals in that position and struggle to really drive at the opposition defence.

On the left side, Andre Santos has not yet established himself as a top class attacking full-back in the Premier League, and today he had a real mixed bag, combining a few thrusting runs and dribbling moments with mindless diving into challenges and poor covering choices.

Djourou: 7/10

Santos: 6/10

Central Defenders: Per Mertesacker and Thomas Vermaelen

After chopping and changing earlier on in the season, Arsene Wenger seems to have settled on a pairing of Per Mertesacker and Thomas Vermaelen for the centre of his defence.

While Mertesacker has at times been troubled with attackers showing good movement or any semblance of pace, he was troubled with neither against Bobby Zamora and had one of his more comfortable games since joining the Gunners.

He went close with a glancing header at the end of the first half which bounced just wide of the far post.

His partner, Thomas Vermaelen, had an extremely eventful second half.

After blocking a John Arne Riise shot earlier in the game, when he seemed to twist his knee in doing so and struggled for a time afterwards, he then made a sliding challenge on the same player in the second half—directing the ball into the back of his own net in the process.

He did, however, show his desire to make amends by getting himself into the box later on in the game to score the equalising goal and salvage a point for his team.

Mertesacker: 7/10

Vermaelen 7 / 10

Central Midfield: Alex Song, Aaron Ramsey and Mikel Arteta

Arsenal's midfield trio failed to really impose themselves against Fulham after a slow-paced start to the game from which they were unable to recover.

The usual energy of Alex Song, the guile of Mikel Arteta and the composure of Aaron Ramsey was all missing in action during a first half largely devoid of attacking intent.

Ramsey was the pick of the bunch as he sought to stir his team into action, but it was generally an off-day for the Welsh captain when it mattered. He blazed wildly over the bar when well-placed in the first half and then just was unable to find the killer pass or space in the box, which he has become so adept at finding this season.

Song was moved back into defence in the second half when Arsene Wenger made a double change to move about the midfield and try to force the issue, when Ramsey was also replaced, but it was a puzzling decision from the French boss to leave Arteta on the field, who had offered little all game long.

Song: 6/10

Ramsey: 7/10

Arteta: 5/10

Attackers: Theo Walcott, Andrei Arshavin and Robin Van Persie

Arsene Wenger opted to give another run out to Andrei Arshavin, re-introduced to the starting 11 after 11 Premier League matches without starting, on the left of the in-form Robin van Persie.

Gervinho made way, but it was not a decision which paid dividends for Wenger.

Arshavin had the ball in the net after just three minutes, but he was offside by a yard and never really got himself into the match after that.

On the right hand side, Theo Walcott took a while to get into the game, but when he did, he looked like he would be a real threat.

His pace was clearly too much for Fulham's left-back, John Arne Riise, to handle and on two occasions he skinned the Norwegian to great effect, once providing a good cut-back for Ramsey to sky a shot over and later to drill an effort at Mark Schwarzer's near post, which was saved.

In the second half he again had to work hard to get into the game, but when he did it was to offer a telling contribution, providing a really top drawer cross for Thomas Vermaelen's headed equaliser.

Up front, Van the man was who people expected to provide the goods as usual, but he didn't really get any clear cut chances today until he fashioned one for himself in the second half, twisting the ball onto his left foot but seeing the eventual shot cleared off the line in somewhat fortuitous fashion.

His few other chances were hit over the bar, and perhaps he might have tested Mark Schwarzer a little more.

He led the line well and early on linked up well with his fellow attackers around the penalty box but will maybe be a little disappointed at the service he received himself, meaning he had to drop increasingly deeper to try and drag Arsenal back into the match.

Walcott: 7/10

Arshavin: 5/10

van Persie: 7/10

Substitutes: Gervinho, Abou Diaby and Marouane Chamakh

Dropped to the substitutes bench, Gervinho perhaps thought he had something to prove when he was introduced mid-way through the second half in place of Aaron Ramsey and Per Mertesacker as a double change along with Abou Diaby.

Both substitutes immediately offered the Gunners more attacking intent and pace than had previously been on show, with Diaby happy to run through the centre and make space for his team-mates and Gervinho running in from the left side to shoot or pass with his right foot.

Though Gervinho's best effort was fairly routinely saved by Mark Schwarzer in the Fulham goal, he did at least give Chris Baird something to think about, which was more than could be said for Andrei Arshavin, while Diaby provided additional strength in the box as well as his running from deep.

Marouane Chamakh made a late appearance as Arsenal sought an equalising goal but, as has been the case for most of his Arsenal career over the past 12 months, he was pretty much anonymous and offered little to the attack for the most part.

Gervinho:  7/10

Diaby: 7/10

Chamakh: 5/10