NUFC v ARSE

My two cents.

Thought we were over ran very easily in the first half and we just couldn't seem to get into a decent stride, surprisingly comfortable in defence though with the exception of Ryan Taylor who looked completely and utterly clueless and out of his depth at LB, thought we came into it more in the second half but never really looked like scoring.

Player by player:

Krul 7, didnt have much to do but was solid when called upon, would have been an 8 but he spilled that ball that simpson had to clear early on.

Simpson 8, Surprisingly one of the better players today, played in a no nonsense kind of way, got it clear immediately and got forward well at times.

Saylor, 7.5, Was very impressed with him today, though he was tough at the back and got very close to his man every time, won every tussle in the air and his passing was calm and controlled.

Coloccini (MOTM) 9, Very solid performance from our captain, put crucial tackles in well, got forward well, and put in an absolute peach of a cross at the end.

Raylor 6, Played out of position fair enough but was just absolutely awful at closing people down, worse than Simpson for backing off and even his passing wasnt the best, improved slightly second half though which is why its not a 4 or 5.

Barton 6, Pretty bad performance if you ask me, every delivery hit the first man and his passing wasnt up to scratch either, then factor in the daft shirt pulling on Gervinho and it equates to that.

Tiote 6.5, One of Tiote's worst performances in a Newcastle shirt IMO, was easily dispossessed and when he did win the ball he lost it almost immediately on many occasions, sloppy passing.

Cabaye, 6, Someone said earlier that he was close to unlocking Arsenal's defence and I think they are right, he was just one step behind having a great game, but most attempts with either over or under hit and I dont think he won enough battles in the midfield, I expect big things from this bloke still though.

Gutierrez, 7, Was pretty impressed with him today, couldn't be his usual attacking self due to the frailties of Raylor at the back, he tracked back very well and occasionally surged forward well, certainly put in a good shift.

Ameobi 6, Just another frustrating Shola performance, won the ball well at times but lost it very cheaply and was lazy on almost every instance.

Ba 6, Only on till half time, brought the ball down well at times but was completely marked out of the game, not much to say really.

Subs:

Obertan 8, From what I've seen he looks promising, and is IMO the fastest player in the premier league, showed some great skill and nearly set up Cabaye for a goal, impressive.

Lovenkrands 6, Didnt hear his name after he came on, same old same old.

 

I would say Cabaye 7, Shola 4/5 but I agree with the rest

 

coloccini was mint I'm sure we had two of them

 

I mentioned Cabaye "having the keys" on the match day thread and thought he looked brilliant in the 2nd half.

I thought Danny Simpson was ****e today, was easily by-passed by all of Arsenal's wingers. His positional awareness is non-exsistant. Not what I was expecting from him and certainly not what we saw from him last season! He is better than this performance!

 

its important to remember we were playing against arsenal.. and it is first game of the season, we were not exactly going to set the world alight... a good result i say.. just hopefully we can get a LB and striker in this week.

 

Krul 6
Simpson 6
S. Taylor 7
Coloccini 9
R. Taylor 5
Barton 7
Tiote 6
Cabaye 7
Jonas 6
Ba 6
Ameobi 5

Obertan 7
Best 7
Lovenkrands 6


Colo was easily our best player, absolutely outstanding. Barton was good at times but passing and set-pieces were off far too often. Ryan Taylor was awful, didn't know what to do with Gervinho - although he improved in the second half. Cabaye looked decent, was disappointed he was sacrificed when Pards went for it. Obertan is ridiculously quick and looked really dangerous!