We rate the players in the game between Arsenal and West Ham at the Emirates on Saturday.

By Abhishek Mehrotra

Arsenal

Manuel Almunia - 7

Preserved Arsenal's lead with a superb save to deny Alessandro Diamanti from the spot. Had a quiet outing otherwise with West Ham managing to conjure up nothing but weak shots on target.

Thomas Vermaelen - 6

Did a good job of containing Guillermo Franco in the first half until his sending off - which was a harsh call by the referee. Vermaelen only fault was allowing Franco to cut across him and get into a tangle which conned the ref into giving a penalty.

Sol Campbell - 6.5

Was given the run-around by Alessandro Diamanti and the crafty Italian managed to carve open space for himself occasionally. The veteran defender adapted well to make for a good partnership with Alex Song after the latter dropped back to fill in for the dismissed Vermaelen.

Emmanuel Eboue - 7.5

Was neat in defence in the first 45 minutes but really came into his own in the second half with some barrelling runs on the right. Drew West Ham players with him every time he had the ball. Covered a massive part of the pitch in the second half to balance his attacking and defensive duties.

Gael Clichy - 6

Was at his slippery best when going forward in the first half. Realised the need to concentrate defensively in the second half and did not allow West Ham to take advantage of their one man advantage.

Alex Song - 8

Arsenal's player of the night. Took control of the midfield to make up for the off-colour Cesc Fabregas. Some of his first time touches were absolutely sublime and he set the Gunners on the attack time and again. Was immense in defense as well - especially at centre back to keep Carlton Cole and Mido shackled.

Denilson - 6.5

Put the Gunners ahead with a crisp shot right into the bottom corner. His adventurous side was on display as he went forward at every possible opportunity to open up more attacking avenues for the Gunners. Slid in seamlessly into a defensive role once Vermaelen was sent off.

Samir Nasri - 6

Made some good runs on the right and linked up well with Eboue. His close control helped the Gunners keep possession in the final third for large parts of the match. Drew regular fouls from Fabio Daprela.

Cesc Fabregas - 5.5

Was not on top of his game. The injury lay-off seemed to have taken the edge off his play and his normally impeccable timing - while making runs or picking put passes seemed to be off. Dead ball delivery was nothing to write home about either. Made up for his lacklustre display by winning and then converting a penalty to put the game to bed.

Andrei Arshavin - 3.5

Looked a little leggy and there were only a couple of those barnstorming runs the Russian has become famous for.

Nicklas Bendtner - 7.5

This was probably a far better performance from the striker than even his hat-trick against Porto. He may not have scored - but set up Denilson with a lovely cushioned ball. Won balls with an unusual regularity and for once was unselfish enough to slip balls to teammates in better poisitions.

Subs

Abou Diaby - 7

Did not allow the Gunners to lose their sting moving forward - despite the withdrawal of Nicklas Bendtner. Was constantly in the opposition's face - winning balls, getting in tackles and setting Arsenal away with some great balls from the midfield.

Bacary Sagna - 5

Did not have any influence on proceedings.

Eduardo - n.a

West Ham

Robert Green - 6

Maybe could have gone down a little faster for Denilson's strike - but really did not have the chance to do much on the night.

Matthew Upson - 4

Gave away the penalty which consigned the Hammers to yet another defeat on the road. Struggled against the strength and height of Bendtner, but did a far better job of keeping Arshavin in check.

James Tomkins - 3.5

Struggled to contain Arsenal players who cut in from the left. Gael Clichy ripped past him a few times and so did Arshavin. Luckily his teammate at right-back Jonathan Spector was at hand to help him out of some tricky situations.

Fabio Daprela - 4

Struggled at times against the smooth Nasri and rarely got the chance to go forward.

Jonathan Spector - 6

Did a good job of controlling Arshavin and Clichy and kept Arsenal's attacks from the left to a minimum. Like his partner at left-back, struggled to get up the pitch and test the Gunner defence with some crosses.

Radoslav Kovac - 4

Was made to look foolish occasionally by some snazzy Arsenal passing. Conceded a few fouls on the edge of the box - especially against Eboue and Fabregas - and left his team vulnerable from set-pieces.

Valon Behrami - 6

Did far better than his partner Kovac in midfield. Anticipated Arsenal's movement well and cut off important attacking channels. Was not afraid to go forward either and it took some excellent tackles from Song to stop him really hurting the Gunners.

Junior Stanislas - 7.5

Was the most threatening Hammer on the pitch and combined really well with Mido. Was involved in almost every West Ham attack and one of the few players who looked like scoring for the team. Caught Eboue out a few times when the right-back was up the pitch - unfortunate not to be better rewarded for his efforts.

Alessandro Diamanti - 3

Missed the penalty which would have restored parity for the Hammers. Looked off the pace and was never really any threat.

Guillermo Franco - 5.5

Did well to win the penalty and get the one man advantage for his team. Was not really involved in the game otherwise and never looked like scoring.

Hossam Mido - 7.5

Probably the best player on the pitch for the Hammers along with Stanislas. Was a handful for both central defenders and often dropped deep to win the ball and slip it to his striking partner.

Subs

Carlton Cole - 6

Unlucky not to score when his shot skipped off the outside of Almunia's right post. Could not not bully the dogged Song.

Mark Noble - 5

Did not have any impact on the game.

Benedict McCarthy - n.a