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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.

Arsenal booked their place in next season’s Champions League with a win that means Portsmouth are still yet to secure their Premier League status.

Pompey goalkeeper David James gifted Arsenal the opener when he fumbled Nicklas Bendtner’s header into his net.

The Dane then grabbed a second from the penalty spot after Sean Davis was ruled to have fouled captain Andrey Arshavin.

Carlos Vela lashed home a third before Noe Pamarot was sent off for bringing Arshavin down when through on goal.

Arsenal’s victory moves them 13 points clear of fifth-place Aston Villa, who play on Monday, and they are now mathematically guaranteed to finish at least fourth.

They are unbeaten in 21 league matches and have scored at least three goals in each of their last five away league games, equalling a club record set in 1932.

Wenger praises Arshavin ‘honesty’
Portsmouth are seven points clear of the relegation zone but need another six from the remaining nine available to make absolutely sure of their survival.

Their run without a victory over one of the ‘big four’ extends to 17 games but they will be confident of avoiding the drop, with Blackburn, Sunderland and Wigan their final three opponents.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger clearly had an eye on his side’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Manchester United on Tuesday, and made eight changes to the XI that started the first leg at Old Trafford in midweek.

But the visitors immediately settled into their usual rhythm early on and posed countless problems to a Portsmouth defence which struggled to cope with their attacking threat all afternoon.

Vela had a penalty appeal rejected when he was hauled over by Sylvain Distin – referee Lee Mason awarded a corner despite Distin appearing to make no contact with the ball – but Arsenal’s pressure would soon tell.

606: DEBATE
It could have been so different today – James should have saved the first, the second wasn’t a penalty as Davis got the ball and we left Arshavin unmarked for the third

pompeyman909
Portsmouth could only clear the resultant set-piece straight back to Arshavin and his cross was met by Bendtner, whose header squirmed embarrassingly through James’s hands and into the net.

But Portsmouth were not without chances of their own.

Inside the first 10 minutes, Nadir Belhadj broke clear of a brittle-looking Arsenal back four but sliced his shot horribly wide and Peter Crouch poked inches wide after fine build-up play.

Yet as the half wore on Arsenal assumed complete control and their advantage was doubled when Bendtner slotted into James’ left-hand corner following Davis’ challenge on Arshavin.

Replays suggested the midfielder might have got a toe to the ball as he slid in on Arsenal’s stand-in captain and Portsmouth were furious with referee Lee Mason.

Missed chances ‘hard to swallow’ for Hart
Pompey caretaker manager Paul Hart introduced former Gunner Kanu and John Utaka at the break, and the hosts began the second half in determined fashion.

Utaka screwed wide from a glorious position before Crouch and Kanu went close with driven efforts and Utaka failed to get a shot away having rounded Lucasz Fabianski.

The home crowd were in full voice but they would soon be deflated as Arsenal broke away and Arshavin laid the ball back for Vela to lash into the bottom left-hand corner of James’ net from the edge of the area.

Portsmouth continued to probe for a route back into proceedings and Fabianski was forced to tip a dipping Crouch effort over the bar before repelling a Distin volley from point-blank range.

But their day went from bad to worse when Pamarot was shown a straight red card for dragging Arshavin to the ground as he raced on to Aaron Ramsey’s searching pass.

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Portsmouth manager Paul Hart:
“The boys are adamant that it was not a penalty for their second goal and I agree with them. There was no physical contact.

“I am not here to vilify referees. We have had a few decisions go against us recently but it is a tough life for referees and it is for us.

“Everyone around us in the table has lost today, so there is no change. We just have to look after ourselves.”

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger:
“I wanted to give a breather to some of the players

“I have no doubts about the younger players because I see them every day and what we work on, you could see that on the pitch today.

“We were sharp, composed and mobile with a great attitude.”

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Portsmouth: James, Pamarot, Campbell, Distin, Hreidarsson (Kanu 46), Pennant (Utaka 46), Davis, Hughes, Mullins, Belhadj, Crouch.
Subs Not Used: Begovic, Primus, Nugent, Basinas, Cranie.

Sent Off: Pamarot (78).

Booked: Campbell, Kanu, Davis.

Arsenal: Fabianski, Sagna, Song Billong, Djourou, Eboue, Walcott (Bischoff 64), Denilson, Ramsey (Randall 82), Arshavin, Bendtner (Merida 77), Vela.
Subs Not Used: Mannone, Coquelin, Emmanuel-Thomas, Frimpong.

Booked: Arshavin.

Goals: Bendtner 13, 41 pen, Vela 56.

Att: 20,418

Ref: Lee Mason (Lancashire).