Sunderland host Arsenal at the Stadium of Light in today’s 3:00 kick-off looking to follow the example set by Hull City last weekend.

The newly-promoted Tigers ripped up the formbook and made a mockery of the bookmakers who made them distant outsiders to take anything away from the Emirates Stadium as they left north London with a 2-1 victory.

That result has given the rest of the top-flight’s lesser lights belief that they too can compete on any given day with the top four and it’s fair to assume that Black Cats boss Roy Keane will have conveyed that to his players this week.

Injury concerns continue to hamper Keane’s plans though as he will once again be without Kenwyne Jones (knee), Teemu Tainio (shoulder), Nyron Nosworthy (hamstring) and possibly Phil Bardsley (ankle).

Arsene Wenger admitted he felt sickened by Arsenal’s ‘careless’ defeat at the hands of Hull, which also saw them relinquish their position at the top of the Premier League table to Chelsea.

However, the Frenchman was heartened by his side’s 4-0 Champions League thrashing of FC Porto on Tuesday night with Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin van Persie both bagging braces.

Domestically, Arsenal have now been beaten twice – which is just one less than the total number of losses they suffered during the entire 38 games of last year’s campaign – so Wenger knows any further slip-ups could be costly.

The Gunners remain unable to call on the services of Abou Diaby (thigh), Tomas Rosicky (hamstring) and Eduardo da Silva (broken ankle).

Predicted Starting XI

Almunia
Sagna – Toure – Gallas – Clichy
Walcott – Fabregas – Denilson – Nasri
Adebayor – van Persie

Match Prediction: Sunderland 1-3 Arsenal

Catch all the post-match reaction and player ratings here on Gooner Talk seconds after the final whistle.

Leave your views and predictions of this afternoon’s game in the comments section below.

Arsenal kicked-off match day two of their Champions League campaign with a tie against FC Porto of Portugal.

The Gooners inside Ashburton Grove anticipated a much improved encounter than the poor performance and 3 points dropped against Premier League newcomers Hull City last weekend.

Arsene Wenger’s ’sweeping changes’ involved replacing Emmanuel Eboue with Samir Nasri, other than that, the team was unchanged from Saturday’s loss to Phil Brown’s Tigers.

First Half

The Gunners started their game in nervous fashion. Several passes went astray but within ten minutes, the team in red and white started to get going.

Porto were on the back foot for much of the first half with Theo Walcott and van Persie both going close to opening the scoring.

But then the Gunners were given a real warning as Tomas Costa sped down the right wing and delivered a perfect cross to Cristian Rodriguez, whose diving header hit the ground before deflecting off the crossbar.

However, van Persie struck to give Gunners a real boost after 31 minutes.

Cesc Fabregas cut the Porto defence open and Adebayor picked out van Persie with a cross that the Dutch ace poked home at the near post.

Goal: Robin van Persie (31) – Arsenal 1-0 FC Porto

The experienced Portugese side were stunned. It was they who had the best chances of the first half but it was Arsenal who had provided the finishing touch to their own moves.

Little did they know, there was more to come from the flowing north Londoners.

With half-time approaching, van Persie returned the favour for Togolese frontman Adebayor by sending over a corner from which he rose unchallenged to power home for a 2-0 lead.

Goal: Emmanuel Adebayor (40) – Arsenal 2-0 FC Porto

Suddenly, the Hull City scoreline was completely forgotten about and Arsenal went in at the break with a superb lead over a tough set of Portugese stars.

Second Half

Another half, hopefully another batch of goals to come from the mighty Gunners.

It didn’t take long for the third to go in. Shocking defending by Porto, giving the ball away on the right hand side. Robin van Persie picked it on the edge of the box, ghosted past Freddy Guarin, and poked the ball into the far corner. Game over.

Goal: Robin van Persie (48) – Arsenal 3-0 FC Porto

It was a typical Arsenal comeback. Not only from the Hull match, but also at the critics dismissing the Gunners’ title chances.

Fabregas drilled a shot at Helton which he fumbled, before Wenger made his substitutions.

Bendtner > van Persie
Eboue > Walcott
Vela > Nasri

Danish striker Nicklas Bendtner was brought into the action immediately and caused Porto a threat with his gangly style.

Freddy Guarin hacked down Bendtner inside the penalty area and the referee pointed to the spot. Up stepped Adebayor and it was 4-0. Unbelievably comfortable for the mighty Reds.

Goal: Emmanuel Adebayor (70) – Arsenal 4-0 FC Porto

The whistle went for full time, a superb result for everyone involved with Arsenal Football Club.

Next up, Sunderland in the Premier League – watch out Roy Keane, Arsene’s boys are back.

Almunia (7) – Made a good save from Lopez in the first half, and even came out to punch a cross at one point.
Sagna (7) – Steady defensively, put some good crosses in tonight as well.
Toure (5) – Pretty awful at the back. Positionally all over the place and only wins 1 in 4 headers.
Gallas (5) –  Showed no leadership qualities, never mind the much-required organisational skills of a captain.
Clichy (5) – Lost count of the amount of times he was drawn infield next to Gallas leaving his left-back slot completely exposed. Booked for a reckless and unnecessary tackle in the second-half, seems to be losing the plot.
Walcott (8)  - A constant threat all night with his amazing pace and dribbling skills. The end product is still lacking but Walcott is a frighteningly good prospect.
Denilson (6) – Had a decent game despite his lack of defensive ability – he’s clearly not up to that specific job so no point blaming him for it.
Fabregas (8) – Much better today from the Spaniard, excellent range of passing – held the midfield together.
Nasri (7) – Wasn’t at his best having just come back from injury, but clearly offers so much more than Eboue with his ball retention, creativity and passing attributes.
Van Persie (8) -Much better from Van Persie, who upped his work ethic and finished off some moves – although it has to be said Porto’s defenders bore innumerable gifts.
Adebayor (7) -Responded well to his poor exhibition on Saturday. Scored an easy header – but at least he was there. Missed some good chances as usual, but despatched the penalty calmly.

Subs:

Eboue (6) – Disappointed to see him come on, seemed pointless – but did OK.
Bendtner (7) – Looks a tad slimmer and therefore quicker this season, and is mentally alert to everything around him.
Vela (7) -Didn’t see the ball enough unfortunately, but did one amazing dribble to get into the box. Increasingly like the look of him every time I see him.

Gooner Talk Man of the Match – Theo Walcott – Exploited Porto with his blistering pace. Needs to improve on his end product but other than that, superb.

Arsenal took on Premier League newcomers Hull City at the Emirates Stadium on a sunny Saturday evening in north London.

14 goals in the Gunners’ last 4 games gave Arsene Wenger’s side something positive to build from and it looked set to continue with an easy-looking game against Phil Brown’s troops.

Hull were certainly no mugs coming into the game though, 8 points out of a possible 15 would normally be the mark of a ‘top four’ team, something that Arsenal had to be aware of.

Arsenal Starting XI:

Almunia
Sagna – Toure – Gallas – Clichy
Eboue – Fabregas – Denilson – Walcott
Adebayor – van Persie

Subs: Fabianski, Vela, Ramsey, Song, Silvestre, Djourou, Bendtner.

Hull Starting XI:

Myhill
McShane – Zayatte – Turner – Dawson
Marney – Boateng – Geovanni – Ashbee
Cousin – King

Subs: Duke, Hughes, Garcia, Mendy, Halmosi, Folan, Ricketts.

First Half

The first period started with some neat passing from both sides, Phil Brown earlier admitted he’d be delighted if his troops got anything from the late kick-off.

Both sides were feeling their way into the game in the late-summer conditions. Denilson was brought down by Andy Dawson on Hull left but Van Persie delivered a free-kick straight at Myhill. Minutes later, Fabregas struck a decent opportunity wide from 18 yards when put through on goal.

Arsene Wenger felt his side should have had an early penalty as Robin van Persie went down under Michael Turner’s challenge on the edge of the box.

A Cross from Sagna was headed in by Adebayor but referee Alan Wiley had spotted handball. In the next attack, Dawson committed a goal-saving tackle on Walcott who found himself 20 yards out. Arsenal started stepping up through the gears – only desperate City defending stopped the Gunners from taking the lead.

Tigers’ midfield were only just managing to stem the Arsenal’s attacking thrusts. A speculative shot from Geovanni was high and certainly not very handsome.

Former Manchester United defender Paul McShane went forward in a rare attack and won attacking throw-in. City started to settle and had a rare spell of possession.

Interplay between Walcott an Fabregas almost created an opening and it was Arsene Wenger’s troops who looked the more likely to score.

Arsenal tried to almost walk the ball into the net when the best opportunity of the half reached them. Emmanuel Eboue was given a sublime pass by Emmanuel Adebayor and instead of shooting tried to pass to Robin van Persie, but Hull managed to clear. A ridiculous piece of play from the Ivory Coast international.

It was the hosts who had the lion’s share of possession in the first half but City – often with their backs to the wall – had done enough to frustrate and shade the honours at the break.

Second Half

An early Boateng drive was deflected over in Tigers’ most threatening move of the match as the second half begun in full force.

Turner and Zayatte were outstanding in back four for City both defenders were cancelling out van Persie and Adebayor.

City were having the better of exchanges before Arsenal finally struck.

A thrilling run from Theo Walcott occured, the England wizard crafted a bit of lucky magic after Adebayor clipped the cross and McShane turned it in with Cesc Fabregas claiming the goal.

Goal: Paul McShane (50 – Own Goal) – Arsenal 1-0 Hull City

Adebayor almost made it two nil minutes after but his goal-bound shot was blocked by Turner. Arsenal turned the screw City started to lose some of that composure that earned them a goalless first half.

Theo Walcott laid the marker down for Hull’s defence and his pace found him in a threatening position. Arsenal’s attacking power started to expose City.

Hull regained some composure and started to pass the ball around well, Geovanni got the ball, moved in field and launched an unstoppable shot into the top left hand corner – a massive blow.

Goal: Geovanni (61) – Arsenal 1-1 Hull City

The Brazilian’s strike was arguably the goal of the season so far and Daniel Cousin almost added another seconds after

Momentum was with Hull and they won a corner on the far side. Andy Dawson smashed it in the box and headed Cousin burst the net with a crisply taken header, William Gallas was caught on his heels.

Goal: Daniel Cousin (65) – Arsenal 1-2 Hull City

What a comeback by the Tigers. Don’t forget only West Ham have ever won at the Emirates in a Premier League game so this, if it happens, would be one of the great wins in the top flight by anyone, ever.

Walcott’s cross failed to find a head and the Gunners’ support started to get ncreasingly restless- and who could really blame them.

Marlon King ran in on goal and brought a save from Almunia as Arsenal otherwise engaged at the other end.

City tried to wind down the clock and were helped by an offside flag which used up a few more seconds. Four minutes of added time, the Gunners needed a goal.

All bodies in the way on every occasion Arsenal went forward. Dawson headed over and from resulting corner, Gallas struck the bar with a header.

A Cesc Fabregas drive brilliantly tipped over by Myhill and Toure strikes wide from resultant corner. Van Persie just over the top but it was City’s day and an unbelievable result.

Arsenal’s 60 game unbeaten home record and Arsene Wenger’s 12th anniversary at the club will now go largely unnoticed thanks to a magnificent display from Phil Brown’s resoloute Hull troops.

No Player Ratings for today’s game – a shocking display, all players below 4’s.

Arsenal’s French defensive duo Gael Clichy and summer signing Mikael Silvestre are fit for Saturday’s Premier League match with Hull City.

Clichy, 22, was on the receiving end of a strong challenge from Bolton’s Kevin Davies and was immediately driven to hospital with what looked like at the time, a broken leg. Luckily for the former Cannes youngster, he only sustained bruising to the shin.

As for Silvestre, the ex-United defender looks set to play a part in the game after recovering from a mixture of thigh and ankle injuries since joining early last month.

“I am really pleased that Gael is available,” said the manager. “He had a training session today for the first time and he should develop well in the next 48 hours.” said Wenger.

“However Mikael Silvestre is available and we did not have any injuries from last week [against Bolton]. The likes of Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott have recovered fully so everyone is available.”

Cameroonian International Alex Song took a knock on his hip during the latter stages of Tuesday’s Carling Cup mauling against Sheffield United and remains a massive doubt.

“Alex has a fitness test tomorrow,” said the manager. “He had a kick on his hip [in midweek] and it is very tender.

Saturday’s opponents Hull City have injury problems of their own. Neither Greek legend Stelios Giannakopoulos nor Anthony Gardner will take part in the gamel.

Gooner Talk will provide all the build-up towards Saturday’s 4pm kick-off and a match report will be posted up immediately after the full time whistle – stay locked, on the #1 site for all of Arsenal’s first team news and views.

One has to wonder what goes on at shooting practice behind the sacred doors at London Colney.  Despite racking up a more than healthy number of goals in the club’s last handful of games, I have become more and more frustrated at the amount of simple chances that appear to evade the team all too easily.  Rather than winning 4-0, we could be winning 8-0 without breaking a sweat, and the psychological messages that those types of results send out are priceless.

Looking at the stats from each of Arsenal’s Premier League games will paint a picture of team who, I feel, are under-achieving in the shooting department.

Starting off with the first match against West Brom.  Sitting in the stands at the Emirates I could not contain my nervousness as Arsenal had failed to capitalise on any of their chances, bar the one in the 4th minute, and had therefore left the door ajar for West Brom to snatch a point.  During the match Arsenal had 18 shots on goal and could only manage to convert one.  At the start of the season a team is always going to be slighting lacking in terms of sharpness, but guilt-edged chances that were handed to Adebayor and Bendtner on that day did not go unnoticed.

Next up, the dark day at Craven Cottage.  Arsenal’s final shot tally came in at twelve in comparison to Fulham’s six.  If there was further evidence as to why Arsenal lost three points that day, look no further than the lack of edge possessed by the Gunners front-men.  Van Persie missed a simple opportunity, Adebayor hit the post when he should have headed home, it’s these moments that can shift the momentum of games, and it was clearly the case against Fulham.

Back to the Emirates and a polished performance dismissed a solid Newcastle side by 3 goals to nil.  A fantastic result, but fans were left to question, why wasn’t it more?  Over the 90 minutes Arsenal had 19 shots on goal with a majority of them (12) on target.  Step up, Emmanuel Adebayor, as once again you must receive your award for best chance missed for yet another match.  Gallas skied a tap in as well, but forgiveness for him is easier to find as he didn’t score 24 goals last season like a certain Togolese striker I’ve heard of.

Ewood Park, and yet another classy demolition of a well-organised and consistent team in Blackburn.  Adebayor atoned himself for his howlers in earlier Premier League games with a hat-trick, however, this time it was the passing decisions that cost us cheap and easy goals that were there for the taking.  Walcott, Adebayor and Eboue stormed away on the break from a corner, all Walcott had to do was pull it back to Eboue and it was a tap in.  Alas, Eboue was denied a rare Premier League goal by Walcott’s high and wide shot.  Another tap-in went begging a matter of minutes later, as Van Persie opted for beating Robinson at his near-post rather than cutting it back for the unmarked Adebayor on the edge of the six-yard box.  This apparent selfishness was even cottoned onto by Wenger, who stated “I am after my players to make the right decision and many times you see when a player shoots, someone could be in a better position. So I want my team to be capable of making the right decision without being greedy.?  Maybe it was a lapse in concentration that saw Kolo Toure choose to take the more appealing option of trying to karate kick the ball into the net, forgoing the easier and more efficient methods with included heading or the conventional kick.  Either way Toure somehow turned a glorious chance into yet another miss.  At the end of the day Arsenal had had 15 shots on goal.

This theory is also applicable to the team’s European outing on Thursday and yesterday’s victory at Bolton.  Both matches should have been over at half-time with Adebayor seemingly incapable of finding the net in both and the post becoming Bolton’s second best player on the pitch (Jasseklainan being the best).  Nails were bitten until the 87th minute when a slick Denilson goal injected a much needed dose of relief straight into Arsenal fans’ bloodstream.

But am I just being brutally harsh and unforgiving?  Should I just shut-up and settle for 4-0s and 3-0s like a Man United fan would?  The simple answer is no.  While I am more than pleased with the recent results that have provided more than enough eye candy in the form of goals, I want more.  Football is not just a physical sport, many of football’s greatest battles are fought in the mind, and mentally, Arsenal need to toughen up.  The way in which Arsenal can mentally rattle their fellow Big Four members may sound far too obvious but it is simple: take more of their chances.

It doesn’t sound like anything new, in fact even when I read it back it looks a little stupid, but it will make much more sense in due course.  If Arsenal could take just two more of there abundant chances their scores would read around 5-0 or 6-0 nearly every week.  Psychologically these two extra goals are massive, when the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Man United look across to Arsenal’s results they will see a monumental amount of goals the team is capable of scoring, and regularly too.  In turn, this will put far more pressure of the rest of the Big Four to score as much as Arsenal and win as easily.

But isn’t that the case now?  Partially.  The rest of the Big Four will no doubt recognise the threat posed by Arsenal this season, but they, like all of us, will also see the skip-load of chances that have passed the team by.  If these teams can construct a sturdy defensive performance, that they are all capable of doing, they could feel confident that Arsenal will not take any of their chances, the numbers of which will be reduced due to the rest of the Big Four’s defensive quality.  However, If Arsenal are more clinical with their finishing and score the majority of their opportunities, then the rest of the Big Four will be quaking in their boots, as they would know that any chance given to Arsenal is one that they would take.

It may sound both callous and greedy to ask for more goals from the Gunners considering that they have scored 11 in their last 3 Premier League games.  But as pundits and mangers alike repeatedly state, to win the Premier League you need that little bit extra.  Looking back to last season, if Arsenal had been more opportunistic at Old Trafford then the trophy may have been at the Emirates, and the same applies for the painful amount of games that the team drew.  When it comes to games that decide the winners and the runners-up Arsenal may be left to rue taking none of their usually guilt-edged chances.  Arsenal may be top of the table now (maybe not even that depending on when you are reading this) but in order to stay there, clear-cut chances like ones the team has missed in every Premier League game this season,  need to be taken with aplomb.

Arsenal will be looking to shoot down the white’s in a tough looking clash at the Reebok tomorrow afternoon.

Gary Megson’s side don’t have a very good record against Arsene Wenger’s boys, and pundits are already writing them off despite Arsenal’s draw against Kiev in midweek.

Games between the two sides usually create plenty of goals, and Bolton fans may be tempted by the 9-1 on offer for the in-form Kevin Davies to bag the opener.

He has already netted two goals in the four opening games of the season and could prove a real handful for the Arsenal defence.

Injury News

Arsenal will again be without midfielder Samir Nasri (knee).

Recent signing Mikael Silvestre remains out with a muscular problem but there were no fresh injury worries from the midweek Champions League trip to Kiev.

Tomas Rosicky (hamstring), Abou Diaby (thigh), Amaury Bischoff (groin) and striker Eduardo (leg) all remain in recovery.

Almunia
Sagna – Toure – Gallas – Clichy
Eboue – Fabregas – Denilson – Vela
Adebayor – van Persie

As for Bolton, Megson is still without defender Gary Cahill who completes his three-match ban tomorrow following his Carling Cup sending off against Northampton.

Matty Taylor is still unavailable through a broken toe while Portuguese striker Ricardo Vaz Te kept himself in the manager’s thoughts with a goal in the reserves’ 3-0 victory over Newcastle.

Match Prediction: Bolton Wanderers 1-2 Arsenal

Bolton v Arsenal build-up starts at 4pm tomorrow afternoon and will be broadcasted live on Setanta Sports 1with kick-off at 5:30.

Catch all the post-match reaction and player ratings here on Gooner Talk seconds after the final whistle.

Leave your views and predictions of tomorrows game in the comments section below.

Arsenal faced a tough trip to Kiev, somewhere they have been before on many occassions yet never come out of with a win.

But with 11 goals in the Gunners last three matches the team were on a high as they kicked off their Champions League campaign.

Dinamo Kiev Starting XI

Bogush
Betao – Diakhate – Mykhalyk – Nesmachniy
Vukojevic – Yussuf – Yeremenko – Aliev
Ninkovic – Bangoura

Arsenal Starting XI

Almunia
Sagna – Toure – Gallas – Clichy
Walcott- Fabregas – Song – Denilson
Adebayor – van Persie

First Half

Arsenal started off where they left off at the weekend with man-of-the-moment Theo Walcott playing a neat ball through to Robin Van Persie, but the striker failed to find the net as the shot was straight at the Kiev keeper Bogush and out for a corner.

Arsenal were keeping possession well in the midfield but the Ukrainians were slowing begin to assert themselves and the possession was becoming more and more even in the centre of the park.  But Arsenal still had the upper-hand. Dinamo gave the ball away cheaply at the back, but Adebayor failed to capitalise and all he could do was curl his shot wide of the post from 15 yards out.  It was a guilt edged chance that the Togolese striker should have buried.

Kiev were struggling to get any clear cut chances on goal, as a free kick from 30 yards was poorly taken and Arsenal were able to counter.  Adebayor was breaking, and carved up two players along the way, but a poor touch meant that the Kiev defence could clear the danger.

Bangoura’s shot flashed wide of Almunia’s goal as the home fans were beginning to find their voice and the Kiev players were responding well.  The striker proved to be a threat as he saw the Arsenal keeper off his line and attempted to fool him by trying an audacious long shot.  But the ball flew over the bar, much to Almunia’s relief.

Aliev managed to beat Clichy on the left but the resultant cross amounted to nothing as the game died down yet agin.  A slick passing play starting at the back with Sagna and found its way to Van Persie in the area, however the Dutchman’s thunderous shot fired into the side netting, he should have done better.

On the edge of Kiev’s box, Adebayor won back the ball to float in a pinpoint cross to Van Persie on the left who pulled the ball back in one touch to Fabregas.  But the talismanic Spaniard could not get a clean connection on the ball, and his shot bounced safely into the keepers hands.  Another chance had gone begging as the half finished a scrappy 0-0 draw.

Second Half

Arsenal starting off play well in Kiev’s area, but the first chance fell to the Ukrainians.  Walcott went down on the halfway line as Dinamo played on on the break.  The defence was all over the place as Ninkovic’s low drive was tipped onto the post by Almunia.

Robin Van Persie had yet another chance with the striker blazing over from the left side of the area.  Arsenal were closing down Kiev well but the Gunners failed to find the breakthrough and possession was being lost too cheaply.  Kiev were beginning to attack more often as the defence finally snuffed out an attack that starting by exposing the vulnerable left flank.  Another Arsenal movement saw the ball fall to Fabregas on the edge of the area, however attempt at a screamer was straight at the opposition keeper.

Gallas missed the ball and released Bangoura, the defence was incapable of stopping the cross.  Sagna was then deemed to have pulled down the awaiting striker but replays showed that the attacker had twisted round and through himself to ground.  Bangoura stepped up to the spot and cooly slid the ball into the bottom right hand corner as Almunia dived the wrong way.

Goal – Bangoura (61 mins)

Arsenal were slipping all over the place and and losing possession at nearly every turn.  As Kiev were sending wave after wave of attack which the Gunners back four looked to be struggling with.  Bendtner came on for Song as the team tried to increase their attacking threat. Bangoura had far too much space and time on the edge of the area but curled the ball over the bar and wide.

Eboue was brought on to replace Sagna as Arsenal desperately strived for an equaliser.  Walcott broke away and another cynical foul was unleashed on the English man.  Fabregas stepped up to whip in the free kick as the Ukrainians struggled to clear and the ball was deflected out for a corner.  Van Persie’s corner was met by Adebayor but his header was easily saved by the keeper.  Carlos Vela was then called on as the replacement for a lacklustre Van Persie.

A two-on-one break from Kiev should have punished Arsenal but an awful touch from Bangoura allowed Clichy to recover.

Arsenal kept the pressure on and a sublime cross from Walcott found its way through to Gallas who made no mistake in hammering it into the roof of the net.  Gallas find the breakthrough again.

Goal – Gallas (88 min)

The full time whistle was then blow on a poor performance from the Gunners that saw them lucky to salvage a point from a tricky encounter in Ukraine, despite the penalty decision being highly skeptical.

Player Ratings

Almunia – 6.5: Not much to do, but solid but called upon, especially when he tipped the ball onto the post

Clichy – 7.5: Probably the best player on the pitch, had to cover on the left due to Wenger’s tactical failure, and covered well in two-on-one situation

Gallas – 6.5: Failed to create solid back four and lead team, but the goal was vital, and he is beginning to establish a knack for them

Toure – 7: Made some superb saving tackles but he gave the ball away for too often

Sagna – 6.5: Lost the ball too easily, but the decision against him for the penalty was very harsh

Denilson – 5: Was mystifyingly played on the left and thus failed to make and impact and left the left side exposed

Fabregas – 4: Completely out of sorts, failed to impose himself of the game and made little impact

Song – 5: Lack of match practice showed as he gave possession away too often and couldn’t consistently set up passing moves

Walcott – 7: Worked tirelessly and was the victim of many a rough tackle, but provided a beautiful assist

Van Persie – 5: Should have done better with the chances he was providided

Adebayor – 7.5: Should have scored with guilt edged chance, but worked harder than anyone else and was highly involved in goal

Subs:

Bendtner – 3: Poor touches when on and made no impact

Eboue – 5: Sufficient cover at right back

Vela – N/A: On for too little time

Man of the Match: Emmanuel Adebayor – worked tirelessly and was always at the heart of every Arsenal chance, atoning for his missed sitter.