Arsenal player ratings – Mixed performance equals mixed ratings.
Wow, what a game that was, there were extremes all over the place, two halves that were as opposite as you can get, players that performed above and beyond and players that were absolutely rank poor.
I will jump straight into the ratings while the emotion of the game is still raw.
Arsenal player ratings
Leno – 7
Made some crucial saves, could have done better to slow the game down and some of his distribution, as usual, was very suspect.
Saka – 7
Another good game based mainly on his second-half performance was certainly not as bad as some in the first half.
Luiz – 2
Crazy to get sent off with his experience, he should have just tried to get a saving tackle in but accept that a goal was probably inevitable, to get sent off was criminal.
Mustafi – 2
He was so close to a 1, he was massively to blame for the first goal and to blame as well for the second goal by just standing there.
Bellerin – 8
Massive performance, a fantastic goal, would have been even higher if it was not for a bad first half but with Pepe in front of him he was always going to be handicapped.
Torreira -8
Another one that would have got an even higher rating if not for his first-half performance but like Saka was better than most in a wretched first 45.
Xhaka – 7
Put in a brilliant second half and did extremely well in defence but without sounding repetitive was bad in the first half and that has affected his ratings.
Ozil – 2
I will just leave his rating there.
Pepe -4
Starting to add up the number of games he has basically been useless in.
Martinelli – 8
Nearly gave him a 9 but I just cannot do it based on the full 90 minutes but what a brilliant purchase he is proving to be.
Lacazette – 5
Poor first half, better in the second half but Martinelli must be retained upfront when Aubameyang returns which means he should be dropped.
Subs
Guendouzi – 5
Got his customary bad tackle in but did ok with some defending and was a huge improvement on Ozil.
Manager
Arteta – 5
He is responsible for the team selection and got it well wrong but the team did respond in the second half and he gets credit for that.