Without a doubt, the point today was far better for us than for Chelsea. Don’t get me wrong, I’d have loved the full 3 points, but the point today was a very important point and may make all the difference at the end of the season – assuming we win our next 3 games (yea, I know, big assumption and all that).

I have this image of Arsene Wenger and the team on a trek through some lovely mountains in Europe somewhere, dressed in lederhosen (and puffy coats) and carrying walking sticks. They come to a fork in the trail – the sign pointing to the left says “The Easy Road.” The sign to the right says “The Hard Road.” Arsene stops for a moment, shrugs his shoulders ever so slightly and marches on confidently to the left, strolling along, taking in all the picturesque scenery and basically enjoying himself – until he suddenly realizes no one is behind him. He stops, throws his water bottle to the ground, puts his hands in the pocket of his puffy coat and says, “What the fuck!?”

Today’s game felt a bit like the walking dead on the pitch at times, both teams fairly lethargic – like George Romero wrote the script. So, in honor of the zombie-like performance from Arsenal, here’s the dead celebrity edition of Arsenal player ratings.

Szczesny (John Wayne) – John Wayne’s kind of a bad ass. Saved the day on multiple occasions. ‘Nuff said.

Sagna (Israel Kamakawiwoʻole) – Another quiet, soft-spoken guy who just gets it done. Game against Wigan was a complete anomaly for Sagna, but he looked mostly back to his old self today.

Vermaelen (Geoffrey Lewis) – Great character actor, he’s been in a million shows. Always there, always puts in a performance, but never the start. Verm had a good game today, but Koscielny was the star in defense. Ok, technically he’s not dead (Lewis, that is).

Koscielny (Andre the Giant) – Speak softly and dominate the shit out of your opponent. For me, Koscielny is the glue in the Verm-Koscielny partnership – he was fantastic today.

Gibbs (Ian Curtis) – So much promise and so much talent is starting to shine through at such a young age. Gibbs has put in solid performance after solid performance and is a real asset to the team.

Song (River Phoenix) – River was a very streaky actor, showing periods of exceptional promise followed by periods of befuddlement. Song is in one of those latter stretches. Not his best game today.

Rosicky (James Dean) – Infinitely cool and composed. Rosicky played another very solid game today. His passes were just a bit off the mark today, but the right idea was there. I was a bit surprised by his substitution.

Ramsey (Curly Howard) – Do I really need to say anything else? Played himself more into the game as the match wore on. I still believe he will be a key player for Arsenal, just not this season.

Walcott (Jimi Hendrix) – Just when you think Walcott is experienced, you wonder whether he really is.

Chamberlain (Janis Joplin) – Not the most attractive celebrity on the planet, but sultry, smooth, raw and a master at her craft. She knew how to engage an audience. Ox is a bit raw at the moment, but he is simply bristling with talent, skill and vision.

Van Persie (Sid Vicious) – Things kind of went awry for Vicious toward the end of his life. Ok, the wheels fell completely off the wagon. Now, not to say that we need to sell Robin or anything, but to say he had a very uncharacteristic performance today in front of goal would be an understatement. Usually, you would have banked on him making 1 or 2 of the opportunities presented to him today.