Written by Filip Urbancík Monday, 12 September 2011 18:02

GunnerTalk Blog

By Filip Urbancik

Wojciech Szczesny (7) MOTM He made a very important save in the 1st half which kept us in the game. It would have been very difficult to attack against Swansea if they had taken the lead. His performance was absolutely without fear and nervousness, it only proves the strong mentality he has.  Saying it quite often but he´s the one who will shine at Arsenal for a long time to come.

Bacary Sagna (6) His usual standard of performance. Good at going back to his defensive position but I would like to see more of him going forward, joining Walcott. In the 1st half, right side of  the defense was better. The 2nd half was worse, I really don´t know if players were exhausted but we were outplayed in last 10 mins or so, mainly because of lack of activity on the right side of the pitch.

Laurent Koscielny (6,5) Good display from him alongside Mertesacker. He made some perfect sliding tackles but if he plays left side with Gibbs he needs to cover LB position more than he should.  I think the partnership between him and Per will work, they just need some time to settle. International caps have had a good influence on him, his confidence is higher.

Per Mertesacker (6,5) One of the best players in the first half. He isn´t scared of going forward and hold the ball. He knows exactly when to get back. His defending is what was Arsenal have been missing. Solid defending with winning high number of high balls clearances.. He had his bad moments but overall a good performance.

Kieran Gibbs (6) He just came back from injury and played in a very important match but his performance in the 1st half was one of the poorest on the pitch. He just couldn´t cover quick movement of Dyer. Quite good crosses, surely better than thr ones from Walcott. The 2nd half was so much better than the 1st one. If he stays fit he can compete with Santos for a place in a starting XI.

Mikel Arteta (6,5) The first match in Red and White showed what we can expect from him. He has a good vision but we can´t expect he´ll be as quick as Fabregas. He surely  brings much needed calmness in creating chances and defending deflected balls. I thought  he was more creative but maybe the match didn´t suit him or he needs more time to get on with players around him. The good thing is his understanding with van Persie was immediate. His sliding tackles are accurate and useful on many occasions.

Aaron Ramsey (6) He wasted a good opportunity and was almost invisible in the 1st half. I didn´t see how he played during an international brake but he needs to play better. I don't think he would have been on the pitch if Wilshere was fit. He´s still "coming back" from a long term injury, hope he´ll find his form in some less important matches. Awful cross at the end of the match, 4 against 1 and he hit the only player from Swansea!

Emmanuel Frimpong (6,5) He seemed to be very lively in the first half. Great number of accurate passes and intelligent movement around the opponent´s box. His style of play reminds me Patrick Vieira. Hard working display with loads of tackles and 1 on 1 situations. Promising match for him and we can only expect more in upcoming matches. Alex Song won´t have it easy this season and finally there will be a competion for the DM post.

Robin van Persie (6,5) He was still alone in the box and there was no one  around him. He can win headers but there aren´t players to help him. Magnificent effort in the 56th minute, he was just unlucky. This match didn´t suit him well, maybe because of an international brake but I would expect more from our captain.

Andrey Arshavin (7) One of the best displays from him I remember for a long time. Hard working, really determined to win every ball. Easy  but very important goal which he fully derserved for for his runs and activity in the 1st half. Well at least someone was trying to shoot from distance. Yossi Benayoun´s substitution came at the right time.

Theo Walcott (6) I like the way he changes position with Arshavin, it works well if our both wings are active. Maybe he plays better with Gervinho but only time will show that. But his crosses are so poor. For example Gibbs has got a better crossing ability than him. Second half´s performance was better but the yellow card was unneccesary.

Substitution: 

Yossi Benayoun (X) He´s really surprised me. I never rated him highly but his debut performance was promising. Hard working player who isn´t scared of going 1 on 1. We don´t have enough individually great players at the moment and when they have a bad day like RvP, it´s bad. I certainly want to see more of Yossi.

Francis Coquelin (X) Another promising substitution, it was a good move from Wenger to let him play for the first team. He will get enough opportunities to shine in FA or Carling Cup matches.

Maroune Chamakh (X) He was so close to scoring today. I still see light at the end of the tunnel for him.