Arsenal player ratings

Given For all of Arsenal's possession he had less to do than in previous matches. One or two routine saves, and one very good one low down in stoppage time. 6

Richards His best game for months, justifying Hughes' faith in him. He dealt with Diaby and Clichy very competently, and was beaten less often than usual. Going forward he was more effective than usual with two assists - setting up Manuel Almunia to head home in the first half and putting a perfect pass across for Bellamy for the go-ahead goal. 8

Touré The new captain was very solid against his old club. Some crucial tackles, and a marshalling of the back line which limited the possession-dominant Arsenal to only a few chances. 7

Lescott Generally very good but for one misjudgement which allowed van Persie in to equalise for Arsenal. Some time behind Touré in his settling in at City. 6

Bridge Another good game - he's starting to look more like a £10m player. Quick and alert at the back, giving Bendtner nothing. He was not as involved going forward as usual but still useful. 7

Barry An excellent first half from the TLDORC Player of August, whose competency in all aspects of midfield play shone through again: tackling and passing everywhere while gliding across the pitch. Suffered after the interval, though, as Arsenal pegged us back. 6

de Jong Possibly his best ever game in blue. He was brought in to stifle Arsenal, to replicate Darren Fletcher's 'anti-football' tactics against them - and he did it perfectly. He bullied and hassled Arsenal all over our half, and was crucial to Arsenal's failure to turn sufficient possession into only a few chances and only one goal. A must at Old Trafford. 8

SWP As good as he has been throughout this season. Like Bellamy his running up and down the wing never stopped, and while he was up against a better class of defender than usual he kept on trying. He was crucial in helping out Richards in defence, and was key to our late three-goal surge. First he surged down the right, crossing for Adebayor's header. And then he picked up Bellamy's through-pass and chipped Almunia. 8

Ireland Another quiet afternoon. One would hope that two holding midfielders (as we played last year) would give him the license to influence, but it never really clicked for him. Substituted in the second half for Martin Petrov. 5

Bellamy Almost identical to Wright-Phillips on the opposte wing. He followed Bacary Sagna all over the pitch, giving Bridge the help that he never gets from Robinho. Never has any team missed Robinho less. Bellamy's supreme stamina meant that he grew as the game went on: he slammed in the goal to put us 2-1 up, before finding Wright-Phillips for our fourth. 8

Adebayor Was always going to be newsworthy and did not disappoint. Rather than accept isolation as the lone striker he spent most of his time dropping and drifting into deep and wide areas, chasing the ball and pressuring Arsenal. All this was rewarded with a perfect header for 3-1, although any gloss is removed by an unfortunately ill-judged and rather silly celebration. 7

Subs:

Petrov Ran with the ball a few times late on, in his best run out for a while. n/a