Arsenal 1 West Ham 0

Player ratings from Arsenal's hard fought road win today: Manuel Almunia - 7.0 - didn't have a whole lot to do but came through when necessary Bacary Sagna - 7.5 - rock solid again, what a signing by Wenger, possibly the best right back in England at the moment. Gael Clichy - 7.0 - and pairing up with the best right back in England, it's the best left back in England. Arsenal's fullbacks ability to completely shut down the opposition's wing play while also constantly getting forward into dangerous positions themselves (Clichy a little moreso than Sagna) has been a huge factor in the great start to the season. If these two aren't France's starting fullbacks in their next Euro qualifier, Domenech is an idiot (which he is and they won't be). Kolo Toure - 8.0 - superb as always, great leader, always makes the big tackle, rarely out of position, and even bursts forward with dangerous runs from time to time. One of the best centerbacks in the world imo. When he's gone for the African Cup of Nations in January and February, he'll leave a massive hole to fill. Phillipe Senderos - 5.0 - and the weak link of the defense - this guy continues to scare me, he lacks pace and doesn't make up for it with exceptional positioning. He also commits way too many clumsy fouls so he's always a risk to give up a PK or get a red card. He was ok today but Dean Ashton got the best of him several times, even getting open on a corner for a header, which is surprising given that Phil's greatest strength is that he such a strong player in the air. Gallas can't get back soon enough. Alexandre Hleb - 7.0 - he was playing well before a bad tackle knocked him out (Noble was lucky to get off with a yellow). Great cross to assist the goal. Abou Diaby - 7.5 - he was lively today, looking more comfortable on the left flank than any previous games - hopefully his superb goal against Derby coming into the middle from that position gave him confidence. Cesc Fabregas - 6.0 - off day for Cesc, it was a real battle in the midfield, and he held his own but wasn't able to excel like he has been this season. Unfortunately, his streak of I believe 7 straight games with a goal ended today - absolutely incredible run, especially for a guy who is a playmaking midfielder that spends hardly any time at all in the opposing teams penalty area. Mathieu Flamini - 8.5 - the best player on the field today, won the ball time and time again in the midfield and distributed it well. What a story he's been - was looking to find a new team before the season because he didn't feel he had a future at Arsenal and now has taken that holding midfielder role and made it his own, so much so that Gilberto, perhaps Arsenal's best player last season, has so far played almost exclusively as a centerback. Emmanuel Adebayor - 5.0 - off day for him but he still did ok, held the ball up well before passing it to Hleb for the cross that resulted in the goal. Robin van Persie - 7.0 - pretty inconsistent performance, invisible at times, and gave the ball away too easily on occasion. But also scored the only goal of the game on a nice header and could've easily had a 2nd if it wasn't for a great save by Green to push his shot onto the post. Subs: Emmanuel Eboue - 4.0 - first time I've seen him as a winger this year and I wasn't overly impressed. He was electrifying coming forward as a rightback but doesn't look as comfortable doing so from a more advanced position. But at the same time, I can't blame Wenger for converting him since Sagna has taken over at rightback and we are in desperate need of wingers. Hopefully, Eboue will grow into this new role. Gilberto Silva - 6.0 - I felt much more comfortable about holding a 1-0 lead when he was brought on as another defensive midfielder. Nicklas Bendtner - no rating - only second time I've seen him play this season, didn't really have a chance to do much. It was great to see Arsenal's amazing run to start the season continue with a tough road win over a decent West Ham team that could easily challenge for a European spot this year (though they'll probably finish around 10-12 imo). That's 6 wins in 7 matches in league play, with the only blemish being a 1-1 draw at Blackburn where Lehmann gifted the Rovers their goal, 3 wins in 3 matches in the Champions League, and 1 win in the League Cup (a dominating performance of Arsenal's reserves over Newcastle's 1st team no less). With Henry gone, not even the most optimistic Arsenal fan could've predicted a start to the season like this. But really, it seems that Henry leaving for Barca (he scored a hat-trick today too, good for him) has been a blessing in disguise as all the young players now feel more comfortable and don't have to worry about deferring to a star. Instead of a one-man show, it's a true team effort, game in, game out, and it's been awesome to watch. In Wenger I trust.