February was a strange month for Arsenal. From six games, they garnered four impressive wins. However, the two defeats they suffered were hugely damaging and cast a shadow over an otherwise successful period.
The results of north London derbies are always significant. Losing 2-1 at White Hart Lane was a major blow to Arsenal, and it seemed to briefly hand Spurs the initiative in the race for Champions League qualification.
Arsenal's impressive domestic form set that right, but another disaster struck their European campaign when they lost 3-1 to Monaco in the first leg of their Champions League tie.
In this piece, we identify the heroes and villains behind Arsenal's February, listing the three best players and the three worst. Each player must have been deemed to have made a substantial contribution to the month's fixtures—there's no point listing Abou Diaby as the team's most ineffective player when he has barely stepped on the pitch. Equally, sustained positive performances are rewarded in the best-player category.
It’s worth qualifying what we mean by best and worst. This is not a list compiled according to the fundamental attributes of each Arsenal player. Instead, it’s about their contribution to the month relative to their potential. Did they exceed expectations? Did they underperform? Crucially, we also factor in the degree to which their performances impacted the team’s results. If they turned a match or cost valuable points, that’s an important consideration.
Let us know your thoughts on the rankings below.
Note: These assessments only take February in to account, so the recent 2-0 win over Everton is not deemed relevant.
from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1DvU4zf
via IFTTT March 02, 2015 at 06:20AM
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