Chelsea
Petr Cech - 4 - Not the Czech's best day by a long way. Had his defense to thank for the most part for the 5 goals, but could have bailed Chelsea out and given them a lift if he had kept one of the three saveable goals out. He unfortunately wasn't up to the task.
John Terry - 6.5 - Certainly not blameless, but Chelsea's only defender to put in what might be considered a reasonable defensive effort on the day. Capped off his perfect first half of glorious long balls by forcing past Mertesacker to bundle home from a corner. His unlucky slip was probably karma for him being such an arsehole.
Branislav Ivanovic - 4.5 - Uncharacteristic performance from the usually bullish Serbian. Was hardly involved in the game and when he was it was to allow an Arsenal player in behind him for a clean look on goal. Perhaps is better suited to right back where he can see the game in front of him.
Ashley Cole - 5.5 Epitomized the tale of two halves of Chelsea on this day. Excellent in the first, hardly putting a foot wrong, only to have it all come crashing down. Theo was clearly the victor in their mini-contest. Ten men went to bed!
José Bosingwa - 4.5 - Did not look interested in doing any kind of defending what so ever, and this kind of performance leads one to question just what type of mindset Villas-Boas is instilling in his team. Also failed to provide his usual support bombing forward down the right, not that they really needed it.
John Mikel Obi - 5 - Looked comfortable in the early stages, but failed to really get into the game. He is presumably out there to disrupt his opponents passing through the midfield which he obviously was unable to do. I'd be surprised to see him start their next game.
Frank Lampard - 6.5 - Popped up in trademark fashion to grab his goal, and distributed adequately. Played some nice balls early in the game over the top to leave Arsenal gaping. Faded as the game went on though.
Ramires - 7 - Not his best game, but you can see why Villas-Boas can hardly leave him out of his side. He is all over the field, willing to mix it up, and can be an attacking threat as well. Never knew he had the bottom teeth braces until today.
Juan Mata - 8 - He looks a handful, and poised to do well in England. In the mold of his former Valencia teammate David Silva, the crafty little lefty was clearly Chelsea's danger man going forward. You wonder if Premiership defenders will adjust to the little Spaniards the next time they see them. Cracker of a goal too.
Fernando Torres - 5 - Conspicuously absent from the cornucopia of attacking play that Chelsea offered on the day. Should have gotten an assist if not for the woeful Sturridge, but still needs to be far more involved. You thought he might thrive with Mata's service and Drogba not on the pitch, but it wasn't to be.
Daniel Sturridge - 4- He's been scoring out of his mind so far this year, so he was probably overdue for a stinker. That being said, he really did make just about every wrong decision that he could on this occasion, and couldn't get the ball in the net despite the best efforts of Andre Santos to clear a path for him. If he has only a decent game, the score might have been 6-5 to Chelsea.
Arsenal
Wojciech Szczęsny - 6 - Maniacal to come out like he did and fortunate to only see yellow when Rob Styles would have sent him off for sure. Otherwise a solid performance and not at fault for any of the goals.
Laurent Koscielny - 7 - After the circus that was the opening 10 minutes, Koscielny turned in another stalwart performance at the back. It's almost as if he plays that much better because he knows he has to chase down all the long balls because his running mate is unable to.
Per Mertesacker - 4.5 - This was actually a step in the right direction for the big German, if only two of the goals weren't ENTIRELY his fault. On most days, this would have cost his team all three points, and he can count himself lucky that his physical ineptitude hasn't stolen the headlines once again.
Johan Djourou -5 - Comedic in the first ten minutes. He looked like a schoolboy who had never played organized football before, cluelessly allowing Ashely Cole to coast in behind him. Settled down after that, but is a long way from Bacary Sagna.
André Santos - 3.5- Some pundits might forgive his defensive lapses for his goal and tackling improvement in the second half. I simply cannot. His first half performance should be sold as a tutorial video titled, "What you have to do to be subbed off at halftime." I can't even go into specifics. But thank goodness from Arsenal's point of view that Wenger stuck with him, because he improved tremendously in his defending as the game went on and finished well when Song picked him out. Could it be that he plays better when he's tired?
Mikel Arteta -5.5 - Ho-hum. In an action packed game, he was uninvolved in most of the key moments. Could have been tighter to Lampard and Mata on several occasions, but was reliable as ever with his passing and is looking more and more at home in the Arsenal midfield.
Alex Song -7.5 - Much like Ramires of Chelsea, Song was willing as ever to play his terrier style of a holding midfielder and stick his nose into trouble and come out with the ball. He played the pass of the afternoon to play in Santos for the second Arsenal goal which really opened up an already porous game.
Aaron Ramsey - 8- This was one of the better performances in the young Welshman's career. You can see why he is already captain of his country with his adeptness on the ball and understanding of runs and passing. Deserved the goal that he got a few weeks ago at White Hart Lane.
Gervinho - 6.5 - Blew his customary early chance a la Adebayor, but did well to tee up RVP for Arsenal's vital first when it looked like Chelsea could have been up 4-2 at halftime. He is just a tad soft at times for the premiership which might be a worry.
Theo Walcott - 9- When Theo plays up to his potential, they're few better. He's always going to be the fastest man on the field, and you know Arsenal fans are delighted every time he gets the best of Cashley.
Robin Van Persie - 8 - That left foot of his is something else. He did well to dribble past Cech to get Arsenal's 4th, and the 5th and his third that he lashed past the hapless Czech was the cherry on top.
Chelsea Verdict - There wasn't the typical attitude from the players you'd expect against Arsenal and whether that's a product of off the field incidents, complacency, or European football is anyone's guess, but it carried over into the crowd, providing an almost surreal atmosphere. Their defense was pedestrian allowing Arsenal to waltz all over them. They must have been expecting to hammer the gunners considering recent history, but Villas-Boas might have to shoulder some of the blame for what has to be his worst loss as Chelsea manager.
Arsenal Verdict - They must have been thanking their lucky stars not to see Didier Drogba, but it was looking like a "here we go again" when Mata evened the game at 3 with ten minutes left. In typical Neo-Arsenal fashion, they don't win with defending and it was their counter attack that put the game beyond doubt. This team couldn't be considered Bergen County League title contenders, much less Premier league title challengers with a defense such as theirs.
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