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RATINGS: Arsenal 1-3 Aston Villa: Wenger A Disgrace, Referee A Disgrace

By on August 17, 2013

Arsenal lost 3-1 to Aston Villa on the opening day of the season in a highly controversial game that saw the visitors awarded two penalties while Koscielny was sent off midway through the second half. Here are my player ratings from the game;

Szczesny 4/10

Took down Agbonlahor for the penalty but almost made up for it by saving Benteke’s spot kick. Went awol from his area just before half time that almost lead to another goal. Didn’t get near Benteke’s second or Luna’s third.

Gibbs N/A

Forced off with a nasty looking cut just above the eye. Must be a major doubt for the Fenerbache game now.

Sagna 5/10

Moved to left back when Gibbs for forced off. Did his best to fill in and looked to have picked up a nasty neck/back injury when he landed awkwardly late on.

Mertesacker 5/10

Wasn’t particularly at fault for any of the goals but was part of a shambolic defence. Needed our captain for the day to settle things down and Per failed to do that.

Koscielny 3/10

Absolute nightmare. At fault for the Villa equaliser as he was done by Agbolahor then gave away a penalty in the second half when he brought down the Villa hitman again.

Wilshere 5.5/10

An up and down day for Jack. You could see how much it meant to him as he was fired up for it. While he showed glimpses of he excellent play, he never really got hold of the game.

Ramsey 6/10

Allowed Agbonlahor to burst through the midfield far too easily for the first penalty but did his best to hold it together in midfield when we were down to 10-men.

Rosicky 5/10

Good work in the build up to the opening goal as he slipped in Chamberlain down the left. Missed a golden chance to make it 2-1 when he blazzed over when through one-on-one then missed another golden chance to make it 2-2 when he shot straight at Guzan when put clear. Had some lovely interchanges but just couldn’t put the ball in the net.

Chamberlain 6.5/10

Superb assist for Giroud’s opener, bursting down the left and picking out the Frenchman with a pin-point cross. Best performer of the first half but was forced off at half time after a collision in the dying minutes.

Walcott 5/10

Lively down the right when he saw the ball in the first but just get in the game enough. Quiet in the second half.

Giroud 6/10

Swept home the opening goal with a cool finish. Harshly pulled up for several fouls throughout the match but his first touch was off for much of the game.

Subs

Jenkinson 5/10

On for Gibbs and was eager going forward but his crossing was poor. Didn’t really offer much with Walcott down the right in the second half.

Cazorla 4/10

Gave away possession cheaply in midfield which allowed Agbonlahor to burst clear into the box and win a penalty. Very sloppy from the Spaniard and turned out to be the turning point in the game.

Referee 1/10

Absolutely clueless. That’s all I can say. Disgraceful all afternoon.

Like our summer, this game was an utter shambles. We can all lay blame at the shocking performance of the referee, because it was truly awful, but Arsene Wenger has to take a huge amount of the responsibility as well. He chose to go into the opening game with only two available centre-backs. When Koscielny was sent off, we had no option but to play Ramsey as a make-shift defender. Embarrassing.

Gibbs went off and we had to play our right back at left back. We had no alternatives on the bench as we were struggling to create up front. Everything went against us today but we have to point the finger at the manager as he has created a venomous atmosphere at the ground due to his lack of transfer activity.

He’s got just over two weeks to sort this mess out. Over to you Arsene….

What were your thoughts on today’s game? Do you blame the manager? The ref? Both?