Player Ratings: Portsmouth 1-4 Arsenal

PORTSMOUTH

Asmir Begovic - 6 - Could not be faulted with Eduardo's deflected free kick opening goal and left helpless again for the second, but otherwise did ok for the strugglers.

Steve Finnan - 5 - Stood off Eduardo and allowed him to help set up the second goal during a relatively poor performance.

Younes Kaboul - 6 - His luckless lunge deflected Eduardo's free kick in for the opening goal and he did little to impress afterwards.  

Tal Ben-Haim - 6 - Solid if listless at times in a defence that struggled to contain Arsenal's elusive movement.

Hermann Hreidarsson - 5 - Failed to prevent Kaboul's deflection creeping in at the foot of the post as he obviously expected it to go wide but worked hard afterwards.

Hassen Yebda - 6 - Worked tirelessly without much reward in an outclassed midfield area where he was often chasing shadows.

Aaron Mokoena - 5 - His reckless foul on Ramsey led to the opening goal from Eduardo's deflected free kick and he picked up a caution just before the interval. Not much improvement afterwards.

Richard Hughes - 7 - Another tireless worker in midfield where his determination was a factor.

Nadir Belhadj - 7 - Solid and optimistic, he produced a couple of strong shots in a fine performance capped by a well-taken goal in the second half.

Kevin Prince Boateng - 7 - Capitalised on a slip by Song to escape into space, but his shot was saved easily early on and as the game unfolded his persistence stood out.  

Frederic Piquionne - 6 - Ran tirelessly without much reward as the sole striker, but failed to make much impact.  

Substitutes

Anthony Vanden Borre - 6 - On after 58 minutes, worked hard.  

Nwankwo Kanu - 6 - Not much time to impress, but looked dangerous at times.

Michael Brown - n/a - Only on for the final minutes

ARSENAL

Manuel Almunia - 6 - Not a lot to worry about, but still punched when he could have caught at times and did little to convince that he has the required authority.

Bacary Sagna - 7 - Overlapped consistently and worked well in defence and attack in a solid performance.

William Gallas - 7 - Strong in the air and on the ground in a performance that suggested he is returning to his best.

Thomas Vermaelen - 6 - Another consistent outing from the Belgian defender who also caused danger in attack.

Armand Traore - 6 - Looked comfortable at left-back and more assured than in some of his earlier performances, but caught exposed for Portsmouth's goal.

Alex Song - 8 - Impressive again in the shielding role, his covering, tackling and distribution were all excellent and he capped his performance with a very fine headed goal.

Aaron Ramsey - 6 - Took time to settle into the shape of the team and the rhythm of the game, but played a major part and his final assist led to Nasri's goal as well as scoring a superb individual effort himself.

Vassiriki Diaby - 7 - Another strong and athletic performance from the Frenchman whose running stretched Portsmouth every time he broke forward.

Samir Nasri - 7 - Played with increasing authority and took his goal clinically in a very efficient display of forward play before setting up Song's header for Arsenal's fourth.

Andrey Arshavin - 7 - An elusive target man, he produced several lovely touches without finding a finishing touch.

Eduardo - 6 - Had opportunities to score, failed with a header, but was a busy problem for the Pompey defence.

Substitutes

Tomas Rosicky - 6 - Looked as silky and skilful as ever in second-half cameo.

Craig Eastmond - 6 - Only played the final five minutes.