Arsenal v Cardiff City - Player Ratings

Last updated : 17 February 2009 By Luis Anaconda

Aside from the obvious there were outstanding performances all over the pitch and while people might say "It's only Cardiff", this was an impressive win against a form side from the Championship who gave us a pretty good game at Ninian Park.

Lukasz Fabianski - 7 - Not much to do but was a reassuring presence and got to show off his rather pleasing ability to kick with both feet.

Bacary Sagna - 7 - Seemed to relish playing with Nasri and was frequently much further forward than in recent times. Produced some better crosses as well.

Kolo Toure - 7 - Alert at the back and adventurous going forward.

William Gallas - 7 - Kept up his recent good form.

Kieran Gibbs - 7 - An assured performance from a very good young player. Seems to have settled into the left back role now, but will have tougher tests.

Samir Nasri - 8 - More at home on the right and the movement of his fellow forwards meant he was able to drift inside to great effect.

Alexandre Song - 7 - A couple of sloppy passes aside he provided a solid platform for the attacking members of the team.

Denilson - 8 - 21 today - or rather yesterday - and gave one his best performances of the season, not least in showcasing his ball-winning abilities. One 50-50 tackle with Darren Purse ended with a convincing win for the "lightweight" Brazillian over the English powerhouse.

Carlos Vela - 8 - Wonderful dribbling skills and excellent movement created havoc in and around the Cardiff box.

Nicklas Bendtner - 8 - OK he racked up another contender for miss of the season, but this was a much-improved performance, typified by the way he was still chasing the ball into the corners in the last minutes and providing an excellent chance for RVP at the end.

Eduardo da Silva - 9 - Welcome back (apparently Darren Bent is still cack as well).

Substitutes:

Robin van Persie - 7 - Our top striker gave a reminder of who's the boss around here.

Aaron Ramsey - 6 - Got a good welcome from both sets of fans.

Amaury Bischoff - 7 - Looks another lively wide player.