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Arsenal v Chelsea

Player Ratings

Arsenal

Lukasz Fabianski (5): Looked uneasy coming off his line and was culpable for the own goal that essentially ended the game as contest, when he was caught in no man’s land.

Bacary Sagna (8): Was an outstanding individual performer, defending well and always a force up front, supplying Arsenal’s solitary goal with a good cross. Was up against it when Malouda and Cole doubled up against him, but that was more due to the lack of support from Walcott than anything else.

Kolo Toure (6): Generally did very little wrong, and was unfortunate to poke home the own goal and looked shaky for the closing stages.

Mikael Silvestre (4): Not a game to remember for the ex-Man United man. He was out of his depth man-marking Alex from a free-kick that the Brazilian headed home and was also perhaps guilty of standing off an onrushing Nicolas Anelka as he smashed home Chelsea’s second.

Kieran Gibbs (6): Was fortunate that Chelsea didn’t start with a right-winger and thus he was never under tremendous amounts of pressure, but was nevertheless one of a few who were wasteful in possession when it mattered.

Theo Walcott (5): Looked full of promise early on and, in general, he had everything but the finish. Typified Arsenal’s performance this afternoon, which, ultimately, was not good enough.

Alexandre Song (6.5): Missed arguably the easiest chance of the game but otherwise enjoyed a good outing in midfield, never looking too overrun and facilitating a lot of Arsenal’s early dominance.

Cesc Fabregas (7): Didn’t stand out, but was certainly quick to give and receive the ball throughout Arsenal’s most dominant periods. Lacked a goal threat.

Samir Nasri (7.5): The pick of Arsenal’s midfielders. Full of invention, ideas and good movement. A constant creative force.

Abou Diaby (5.5): Had a good chance that he took off the toe of Fabregas and missed. Generally came in and out of the game in a somewhat unfamiliar left-wing position and was too inconsistent.

Robin van Persie (5): Not really a lone striker by trade and it showed. He was not a box presence as he should have been and had a couple of chances that he failed to stick away.

Substitutes

Nicklas Bendtner (7.5): Looked a real force in the air, scoring one header and looking full of the physicality to battle Chelsea’s back line.

Denilson (5): Introduced late in the day and was unable to affect play.

Emmanuel Adebayor (5): Looked dangerous and full of energy, but took a dive when put through on goal, when he could have made a stretch and attempted to score. This led to Chelsea rushing down the other end and scoring a fourth.

Chelsea

Petr Cech (8): Looked strong in the Chelsea goal and made a handful of solid and essential saves.

Jose Bosingwa (6): Found himself under fair amounts of pressure when Arsenal went forward and was not able to get forward and provide any service, either.

Alex (8): Provided a towering header that set the Blues on their way to an amazing win. At the back, he was strong and made good last-ditch challenges.

John Terry (7): Was certainly taken aback by Arsenal’s early onslaught, but later settled into the game and was comfortable for its majority.

Ashley Cole (7): Was targeted by the Arsenal boo-boys from the off and it did affect his ability to maintain composure throughout. That said, though he did struggle to contain Walcott and Sagna’s double-act at times, he won the dual by virtue of his surging runs forward, one of which provided the third and decisive Chelsea goal.

Michael Essien (6.5): Did not have too telling an impact on proceedings and was, in fact, quite subdued for the majority of the game.

Jon Obi-Mikel (5.5): Certainly found holding in midfield a difficult task, especially in the early stages, and was unable to contain the passing and movement of Nasri and Fabregas.

Frank Lampard (7): Was, for large periods of the game, kept quiet by Alex Song, but his withdrawal allowed the England international a little bit more freedom and he was instrumental in Malouda scoring the fourth. A tidy, if not outstanding, performance.

Nicolas Anelka (8): Stunned his former fans by smashing in a superb second goal from distance. His pace was useful on the break, though he was generally marked quite tightly.

Didier Drogba (7): His midweek antics also made him a subject of ridicule all afternoon, which clearly showed in his sub-par performance. With that, though, he still showed his class, delivering a beautiful free-kick from which Alex scored the opening goal.

Florent Malouda (7.5): Continues to impress under Guus Hiddink, really holding his wide line and backing himself to beat his man and squeeze in threatening crosses. Deserved to get on the scoresheet at the end.