Arsenal player ratings against Chelsea – three players very low and three high

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.

106 Comments

  1. Good rating at all. I will give 0/10 to mustafi.
    Saka and martinelli played well.
    I think arteta bas to play a 4-3-3 system with torreira granit whaka and Maitland Niles or guendouzi or ceballos in midfield.
    The front three of aubameyang martinelli And Pepe will be lethal. Only speeder.
    Martinelli what a player.

    1. Poor rating overall. One of the best games under the circumstances. Under Unai Arsenal would have lost the game.

      1. You are absolutely right, that never happened under Unai Emery. Well if you ignore the 3-2 win over Aston Villa when Maitland-Niles was sent off in the first half and Arsenal was twice down by a goal. Is that what we are doing now, ignoring actual facts? Just curious so I understand where you are coming from.

        1. Admin, unfortunately some people don’t let the facts get in the way of their agenda.
          Great result and fight, given the sending off, shown just the same.
          Yes Mustafi made errors, but he did put his body on the line on a number of occassions. Given the situation everyone had to put in a shift to come back twice from a goal down, after losing Luiz.

          1. I do not disagree with that Ozzie, I said in the match review they showed spirit in the second half. My ratings were based on the whole game, not a spirited defence in the second half and I am not being critical for the sake of it but the first half was woeful and that affected everyones ratings. I also said my emotions were raw when I did the ratings, maybe tomorrow in the cold light of day I would have rated some players higher.

        2. With all due respect AdMart coming back against Villa at home is nowhere near as difficult a task as tonight.How often have we come away with anything at Stamford Bridge with 11 men let alone 10.
          And can I just add that the Away support tonight was Superb.The atmosphere in that Away section was incredible and that’s all down to the resilience MA has brought to the team.With some luck due surely at some time we could get ourselves out of this clusterf**k of a season with at least a top 6 place and a cup run.

          1. Admin Martin I think Ozil should get a minus zero for coming on the team sheet and give nothing. But I feel better with the draw so maybe two was right.

      2. I agree with you, Blago. Villa isnt the same as Chelsea away. Arsenal record against other top teams are horrible and we always find ways to bottle it. Nice to see we turned it around and I dont think they wouldve happened under Emery.

        1. Before Aston Villa when was the last time Arsenal came back with 10 men to win against anyone? The is some rank dishonesty amongst some Arsenal fans. Emery obviously could not get the team working as well as we would have liked but some of this re-writing of history is getting ridiculous.
          The fact remains that the team needs significant changes to be a top team again.

    2. All things considered, great result – 10 points from safety!!

      Martinelli- WOW!!
      Mustafi – what’s that all about?
      Xhaka – leave him at CB and bring in Bruno Guimaraes or use Matteo in midfield.

      Fun Fact – number of total goals for the season at 18 years old:
      Ronaldo – 6 in 40app (2003-2004)
      Messi – 8 in 25app (2005-2006)
      Martinelli – 10 in 21app (so far)

    3. I don’t agree with MA’s rating. He didn’t build this team and is limited at the moment. Mustafi would never be his first choice but he is still here and no one wants to buy him. I guess there are no options available for sale this January to bring in?

      The usual suspects are not improving under MA and are proving their limits. They will never be EPL quality!

      I always want to give Ozil a chance but I fear he needs a more creative midfield partner to be effective in his role. Unfortunately, Xhaka is not that man. He’s too slow. He’s more defensive and is not the right player for Arsenals attacking style..

    4. In your ssuggested midfield 3 there is no creativity. You need need someone who is going to link the defence and the attack and that where a player like Ozil is needed.

    5. Well, I would give Mustafi a 5
      This is because , while he was a 0 in the 1st half, he redeemed himself in the 2nd. Made 2 important blocks for Leno as well as help make the back compact.
      It’s feel it’s ok to also applaud his recovery like he was a family member.
      But I’d still sell him tho

  2. It is hard to disagree
    I would be kinder on Luiz who was given an impossible hand by Mustafi’s mistake.
    I was not surprised Ozil was subbed and 2 is about all he was worth.
    Xhaka on the tv interview looked a happier man and one who showed more than I thought he had on the pitch so credit to him
    Martinelli was youthful talent at its glorious best and well done to Bellerin who I thought was probably past his sell by date
    And yes I had a glass of wine in celebration of a much better performance under difficult circumstances

    1. I should have mentioned Arteta, who seems to be galvanising the team. I’m not good at your marking system but mid range under estimates his previous work which I felt came out in a gutsier performance. On the interview his face is almost without emotion, but there were hints of a smile here and there so he knows that his message might just be getting across. He handles himself very well

    2. See how biased the fans are, Luiz had to commit himself, so did Mustafi or else the score could be different. Everyone seems quiet about the midfield magician who did his usual vanishing act. Mikel needs to rework his midfield, the more he persists with the magician, the more he in undoing all the great work he is doing by getting the team to play better.Under these circumstances, a point is better then nothing.We would be 13th was it not for that point.Under the previous regimes, we would have lost this match. So well done Mikel, you got to find a way to rid that No10 as I wish you a long and successful tenure as our head coach.Fix that position, and the rest will be in place. The defense gets stretched due to our poor midfield.

  3. I disagree with Luiz rating, he was too close to Abraham to just leave him to score without showing concern, I would have blamed him if he did so. Probably he could have done it better, a penalty could be saved by goalie or get squandered, but a goal is irreversible. Maybe am a bit emotional, I feel the red card was a bit overboard

    1. fair comments apart from the red card. It was a red all day long and he should have done far better with his experience.

    2. he shouldve just kept trying to block him. Mustafi was almost back in goal at that point too. The worse thing you can do is concede a red and put us down to 10 men. Someone with David Luiz’s experience should know better than that. But this is why he isn’t rated highly as a defender. He makes poor choices.

      1. I think some of you are being a bit harsh on Luis. He was put in an extremely difficult position by Mustafi’s actions. Luis would have had no time to weigh his options or see where other team members where. The red card was obviously justified.

    3. Adajim, best comment. How could he have stood and watch Abraham stroll and score? He was emotional and led to a bad foul. The most painful one is the 3 match ban. Agree or not and as bad as he is, he’s the best CB in the team at the moment.

      1. He does not look happy at Chelsea, now is the time to get him as torriera n Xhaka replacement….he has been placed out of position for two years even when he is the best DM in world. Here I thought only we get delusional managers like UE hahaha.

        1. Who can blame him?! 😜 I can’t see us going for him…reckon he’ll cost mega bucks! Are we still paying for Torreira?!

  4. Really think we must now play Xhaka as a regular CB after tonights performance. Mustafi must never again wear our shirt. I’d rather even play Ozil in his place at CB, as Mustafi is THAT bad. He must be the single most mistake ridden player Arsenal has ever had. Even worse than Gus Caesar, for those who are unfortunate enough to remember him. Mustafi is less a player, rather more a disease!

  5. Average ratings Admin Martin.
    You go on and on about Arteta getting the line up wrong. Could you please enlighten us on who he would have played instead of the starting eleven? Bear in mind that Rob Holding is still rusty judging from his terrible performance in the leeds match.
    Who would you have at LB instead of Saka?
    Who would you have instead of Martinelli and Bellerin?
    Who would you start to lead the line instead of Lacazette?
    Who would you start at the right wing instead of Pepe?
    If he had not started Ozil, you would be amongst those criticizing him for dropping the “former” assist king.
    As Admin on this site, you owe a responsibility to be fair in your authored articles and if you want to air your personal opinion, then do so using a different name without the admin attached to it.

    1. I invite anyone to send articles in and we will publish. The idea that authors of articles on any club site do not write based on their own personal feelings is for the fairies, that is why we have comments, so you can disagree with what I write and you will notice some do agree with my ratings, is it the case that if anyone disagrees with you that they are biased? Are you seriously suggesti9ng that a partnership of luiz and mustafi against a team like Chelsea was not flawed and that there were no other options. In my team prediction, I said I would drop Ozil and Lacazette and bring in Ceballos and Nketiah. I would suggest I called that one right based on the performances of Ozil and Lacazette. As for assist king Ozil, you clearly do not read my articles on here often enough otherwise you would never have written such a comment. Every regular on here knows I am his biggest critic and always have been. I would suggest before you attack me and my motives that you research what I actually do write. Do I pretend to know it all, of course I do not and I am by far the most criticised person on here and for the most part I accept it but you know what is strange, I get criticised by both sides of an argument regardless of what I write and you have proven that with your comments.

      1. Admin Martin, you seriously believe Lacazette should have been dropped in favour of Nketiah? Really?
        What qualities do you see in Nketiah have influenced your train of thoughts? His number of goals scored for leeds in the Championship where he couldn’t displace a vastly inferior striker to lacazette in Bamford. Or his non-existent hold up play? Please do enlighten me, except you threw his name up just as a reason to
        have a stick with which to beat Arteta with.

      2. You will drop Lacazette for Nketiah after watching Sheffield utd? Thank God you are not Arsenal football club manager. You are privileged to be an admin and it’s pretty obvious you are bad at it.

      3. Really can’t believe u said that drop laca for a guy dat couldn’t make leeds 1st eleven….wow…..

    2. Thumbs up, and with that red card, there was virtually nothing Ozil and Co could have done rather than running around like headless chicken. Kudos to the manager for being alert to make amendment on time.
      As for Lacca, I hope he finds his scoring boot asap, I prefer him leading our line to AUBA, apart from AUBA goals, he brings almost nothing to add up, but lacca still fight for ball, break up possible potential goal bound attack

  6. You’d do anything to blame Arteta though.. Blaming Arteta for starting Mustafi when Holding got back from an injury and show so much rustiness against Leeds.
    Also his subs were spot on and early, so he deserves more than a 5 IMO.
    Other than that, I agree with everything

    1. I made it clear Eddie that if Arsenal did not win tonight then Arteta’s honeymoon period is over in my eyes, that is now six EPL games, 1 win. At what point is it acceptable to say, hang on, the manager has to shoulder the responsibility, 6 games? 10? 20? just curious. It is not just the Mustafi selection, there is Ozil and Lacazette, both rank poor this evening as they have been for most of the season. Yes, Holding had a single bad game against Leeds but every player has a bad game now and then and are you honestly going to suggest that Holding would have done worse than Mustafi tonight if he was selected. No doubt excuses will be found to let Arteta off the hook as they have been found for every game apart from the United one, seems to be a pattern developing here. Arteta got lucky, 2 shots 2 goals, a slip from Kante and a screamer from Bellerin helped, any other opponent would have floored us today but Chelsea were useless as well and got what they deserved. Finally, you say I will do anything to blame Arteta, that is unfair in my opinion, just as unfair if I said you will find anything to excuse Arteta. It works both ways.

      1. If Arteta’s honeymoon is over for you Admin Martin what do you want to do about it?! For some of us the honeymoon is just beginning so allow us enjoy it.. I will take the BBC rating over your one COYG!!!

        1. Admin, very harsh on Mikel Arteta, but then again that’s The Arsenal now; keep blaming the head coach rather than focussing on the real issues of owner, Board, scouting and recruitment.

          1. If I am harsh it is because I rated him on both halves, second half great, first half very low. Or is it that Arteta gets all the praise for the second half and none of the blame for the first half? Seems a little unbalanced that.

        2. That is fine, I am sure that you prefer a lot of stuff written elsewhere, it is all about opinions. As for what I want to do about Arteta, I want him to succeed but I will no longer make allowances for his inexperience or anything else and will judge him now solely on team performances. I have no idea what is wrong with that.

      2. Dear Admin Martin
        Arsenal beat ManU because ManU were useless (this is according to my husband and other football know alls)
        You say that Chelsea were useless too and deserved what they got. 10 men Arsenal showed resilience which has been sadly lacking, to ultimately draw having twice gone a goal down
        I must confess that I saw the outcome differently to you but that is what I’m told this site is about: the opportunity to discuss and share different opinions

        1. Your comments are appreciated. Yes, we see the outcome differently but I did acknowledge the spirited second half in my match review but I do honestly feel that we were helped out tonight by Chelseas incompetence. If you read my Man Utd review you will see how positive I was in that game about the performance. I try to write it how I see it and will always welcome non-abusive comments from those that disagree with me. At the end of the day, I am just a writer on a blog and not a professional manager or ever been a pro footballer so I am as flawed as any of us home pundits.

          1. Yes we are all amateurs!
            I just feel that Arsenal’s successes are treated as other teams shortcomings sometimes
            But I have enjoyed finding this site and it’s myriad of views

            1. That is a very good point and something I will ponder on overnight before I write articles tomorrow. I like that line very much “I just feel that Arsenal’s successes are treated as other teams shortcomings sometimes” Yup, a very valid point indeed.

      3. AdMart or maybe everyone else is just doing the right thing keeping quiet because we see what exactly Arteta is trying to do?
        OGS got the job, and started with an insane winning run but wtf is he doing today?
        For you, you don’t understand with this team it’s a slow building process, and a process that the fans clearly see and are backing.
        So really I don’t understand what you expected from Arteta this season.. I really don’t know what to tell you, but then everyone with their opinions

        1. Fair comment Eddie. I will say this though, I have simply said that his honeymoon period is over in my eyes, you will not find me saying he should be replaced or anything close to that. I said right at the start he was the wrong choice but I would back him, I stand by that and I do hope he succeeds. But I will criticise him when he gets it wrong now and praise him when he gets it right. I think that is fair.

      4. We have been unlucky with lot of things since MA took over. Deflected goals n silly red cards, not to mention the confidence of our players is at all time lowest at the moment. We are really struggling to put a team out there with the amount of injuries we have had but still we manage to get an away draw at Chelsea and a win at home against United. So given all the difficulties he has had I think he has done a brilliant job. Even best players in the world struggle when they are low on confidence so if he has got them fitting n performing to some extent in this short space of time then he should be given fair bit of credit. I am more then happy at the moment to see some good football again from this team. We need major overhaul in summer though.

        1. Mohsan, Arsenal were unlucky with a lot of things, prior to MA under Emery’s tenure.
          As Napoleon Bonaparte once quipped, he would take a lucky general over a good one any day; the same is true with football head coaches.
          Hopefully the harder Arsenal work, the luckier they will get!?

      5. he’s made zero purchases and has no other options outside of Clown 1 and Clown 2. Obviously Holding wasn’t fit since he didnt get subbed on until the end of the match. You can say youth academy, but when is the last time Arsenal produced any CB that wasnt a disaster? Have to go back over a decade. You need to accept that the team is a mess and Arteta can only do so much. Guardiola would have made Mustafi a better player? Dont think so. He’s a poor player and Arteta is aware of it, but there was no other option.

      6. But Admin am beginning to love Arteta.
        I am seeing what you are not seeing. Especially in that match. Dejection, capitulation and resigning to fate was not there. When we were 1-2 down at that late time what did you think knowing our Arsenal well?

      1. Sue, I wanted to make use of Kante eating grass while Martinelli zoom off into the sunset😊😊 but it failed to upload

        1. Oh oh Eddie. You are a happy fan. Borrow me that pic. When I saw those two lad in that posture my blood completely flowed Arsenal. Kudos to who ever brought that Brazilian here. My bright spot. God bless Martinelli.

    1. Am still waiting for the Ngolo Kante memes to start churning out courtesy of Martinelli!

      I have to wonder how this game would have gone if not for the joint stupidity of Luiz and Mustafi. Maybe I could forgive Mustafi because he was under pressure and may not have had enough time to think and calculate the distance to Leno, but Luiz simply had all the time in the world to assess the situation and chose the most idiotic option possible! Penalty AND red card. He would have been better of if he just stood where he was!

      1. 🤣 it won’t be long!! Loved it on Arsenal’s Twitter “Goodnight 👋” with Kante down and Martinelli racing past!!! Brilliant!!!

        So, Luiz is out for 3 now… I just hope Sokratis has recovered… otherwise…. 😬
        I don’t think he could have won either way as he’s being slated now yes, but if he’d just stood there and let Abraham score… the words major howler will be sticking with me for a while 😂

  7. I wouldn’t blame Luiz for his red card. In a situation like that, he didn’t have a lot of options. Was it a penalty? Yes Red card? Debatable. He wasn’t the last man and he basically pulls Tammy down. He doesn’t really trip him.
    As for Ozil, the less said the better. I think Pepe did fine in a game where he was too closely monitored and had no support apart from Ozil in positions that wouldn’t attract the game. I don’t know Arteta’s assistant but I’d rate him 10/10 for stopping arteta from removing martinelli in the first half

    1. Joe, law states if you deny a player goal scoring opportunity deliberately then it’s a straight red so ref took the right decision. Last man scenario does not apply here when you are inside the box.

  8. Martinelli moves a lot as he can play wide and in middle, combining gives more opportunities than Ozil and Laca in center. Easier to find him wide than in middle, more space. His work rate and overall talent produced his goal, chasing ball from our third all the way theirs and scores. That’s top class indeed!

    Now, once again, formation is wrong from start and result is same, a draw or lost in majority. I agree with article on that, but not possible to rate forwards when there’s no transition feom middle, o balls and team plays backwards!

    We scored from a counter attack, then from defender, not a real attack, sort to say. Because there no transition from middle with both Torreira & Xhaka defending; all game becomes defending. Luiz coming out had xhake slide at CB, one defensive players less made us more balanced, attacking and dangerous!

    If Arteta keeps doing same mistakes for same results, we in big trouble. Luiz out next game obliged him to not put him on sheet as first name in defense as he does with Sokratis.

    Hopefully Holding can grab his chance and keep him on bench, just as Mustafi should be and Mav on pitch.

    Xaka showed that he can be a good option in front of CBs, no need Torreira then but a B2B, more forward midfield to make transition.p and combined with 4 upfront!

    Pepe is not coming to Bellerin, it clearly showed today, it felt as if he was RB and Winger Pepe supposed to be. He doesn’t know our football style, Nelson or znikeswoukd have done better combining with Bellerin for that!

    Clearly Arteta got spirit back but wrg formation, makes it irrelevant and bad results affects spirit after a while. Let’s hope he gets that 4-1 formation.

    It should be Mav – Holdng as CB as much Luiz, Sokratis and Mustafi been mediocre! Unreal to keep them on!

  9. This lineup is the best MA can come with the formation 4231.Mustafi had a decent game apart from that stupid mistake.David luiz should have settled for the goal,i think that was a poor decision on his behalf to challenge tammy.

    We were getting comfortable at the time of the red card.And people bashing ozil here,i think he did alright.He controlled the game with torreira and xhaka to see the first half out after the red card.That is why he was kept playing on.Ozil was substituted to bring more defensive side to the game because MA know Lampard would change the tactics at halftime.No matter how hard ozil worked he is not a defensive player and his skillset is suited for the offensive game so that was not a surprising decision.

    And comparing this draw to emery’s win over aston villa(i am not saying that its not great but),i dont know what to say….

    So many individual errors costing us games,if not for that error by mustafi we could have won.(He assisted for the 1st goal though).And i think we switched off for the 2nd goal specially laca and xhaka.

    And big ratings should go onto bellerin,xhaka and martinelli.Everyone of them was superb yesterday after the red card.

    And this result i think will be a turning point in this season,a huge result with 10 men.

    And if you dont like MA you wont see what he is trying and how hes trying to achieve it.Same goes to ozil and many other scapegoats made over the years.Perspective is important,dont look through a coloured glass.

    1. Ozil was totally invisible and inept. We looked far more robust and industrious when he departed. The guy brings zilch to this team, one assist and zero goals in 14 games, says it all, a waste of a space in the team.

    2. Good post shame most of our idiotic fans on here will still scapegoat Ozil. I was at the game last night and he was kept on for longer than usual to help us control the game and see it out in the first half. Obviously the change was always going to happen as we were down to 10men and as good as Ozil link up play etc. He defensively isn’t great. So right change with guendozi. We allowed us to keep the 3 uptop more and play on the counter. Shout out to martinelli kids going to be a star!!

  10. Pepe gets the ball in situations where it’s literally 1 v 3 like 75% of the time. When he is 1v1 he is deadly. Until we play to his strengths it’s silly to continue to criticize him. As someone who has coached the game for several years, it’s always made more sense to adjust to the style of my players, not force them into tactics that don’t fit them. Arteta seems to get that, emery did not. Pepe will be fine.

    1. Good observation on Pepe, however he does not help himself. He would have seen more of the bench if we had any better players. He always chooses to dribble when a simple pass could have been made. After losing the ball, he then decides to stroll back despite the fact he left us vulnerable to a counter attack as our other attackers had all gone forward waiting for a link-up pass from him.

      Before the red card,there was a counter in which all he had to do was to pass the ball sideways to Ozil and spin away from his marker to receive the return pass but he chose to try to dribble his way out and lost the ball and the chance was gone.
      He is still not a team player. Watch Salah and Mane and see how much they help out the rest of the team.
      He has loads of potential but he has to sit up and improve his game if he wants to become a better and more productive player.
      Adama Traore of Wolves was exactly like Pepe a few years back while he was playing with Middlesbrough and even at Barcelona. He had the pace and the dribbling skills but always dribbled too much. He wasn’t productive to his team. But having languished in the championship and worked with Portugese players and manager, he became a better decision maker and consequently a more productive player.
      Pepe should borrow a leaf from his country man, Zaha who always makes a bee-line for the penalty box knowing that with his dribbling ability, he would likely earn a penalty for his team or be allowed a shot on goal.
      Arteta should help him play to his strengths by giving him instruction to push the ball and use his considerable pace until he gets around the box where he would slow down and try his tricks not waste them on the wing or at the centre circle where he seems to win most of his free kicks.

      1. Exactly right. Been saying even when after his first few matches that he just needs to run instead of trying to dribble all time. It stops so many potential attacks. He did have some good moments tho. If lacazette stayed onside Pepe couldve grabbed that assist. Somebody needs to teach how to make better decisions because he has the talent but not the decision making. Still not as bad as Gervinho’s thank goodness.

      2. Exactly that. Pepe slows down a lot of our counters as he stops turns and then dribbles again. Rather then releasing the ball quicker i.e. your example there with Ozil the quick one twos. Something Sanchez was so good at. He’ll learn though. His ability to go past people with ease is something to behold. We have a player there. Just needs time and coaching

      3. Oh I agree he still needs work and needs fine tuned. I’m just not under the impression that we give up on him yet. I’m sure he’s grown up in systems where he was asked to hold the ball and be the one to beat the opposition, many times on his own. Salah and Mane didn’t just happen over night and there are still several instances a game where they get selfish on the ball when an easy pass would have netted another goal. The way I see Pepe is that he wants to be great and I believe Arteta can bring that out of him.

  11. HOLDING was the player who switched off and allowed Azpilicueta to score the 2nd Chelsea goal. He was right in front of the Chelsea RB and failed to stick out a leg to block the ball from reaching the opponent.
    Holding lacks concentration at vital moments but is much more calmer and less prone to individual mistakes than Mustafi.

  12. We will all get a chance to watch Holding against Bournemouth in our next match. His deficiencies would likely be exposed as he is even slower than Mustafi. But I bet at the end game, folks would blame his errors on being paired with Mustafi. I shudder to think about that match.
    I do believe Mustafi could be a great defender if only he didn’t lack self belief when isolated.
    He does very well as part of a defence, intercepting, making blocks and putting his body on the line. His major weakness is usually manifested when he is on a one on one with the defender, he seems to have a brain freeze and overthinks very simple tasks thereby almost always making the wrong decision.
    Maybe as a teenager, his coach should have done more to instill self confidence into him. Or we could offer him cognitive behavioral therapy where he would be constantly told to recite the mantra “I am the best defender in the world”, “I will remain calm when under pressure”

    1. Mustafi has had many chances and it is difficult to see him becoming a great defender. He may indeed benefit from a psychologist but I feel that there are technical deficiencies in his game which mean that even if he cuts out the mistakes he is not going to be good enough for a top team.
      I am also not convinced about Holding. Arteta has his work cut out!

  13. So which game were you watching admin? Xhaka was the best player by miles. Never put a foot wrong the whole night. An absolute colossus at the back. 9.5 out of 10 is more like it.

  14. Who ever wrote this post is blind pepe a 4 that’s criminal he played extremely well the way he just get the beating of his player and allow us to breath at times if you couldn’t see like with laca teams tend to double and at times triple up on them giving the rest of the team space, so if it’s made that bit more difficult for them it’s made much easier for the rest of the team if you don’t understand this then don’t rate the players. Not to be rude but I’m tired of everyone slamming the team when we clearly much better under arteta get behind the team. Zhaka what a game to think lots of people said and still say how slow he is and get beaten to easy if last night display didn’t tell you about our players mentality and strength nothing will going forward. Yes we do need some new players but improvement is on display. The commentators didn’t even give us the due we deserve they said all about how we deserved something out of the game the way we played but put it down to how bad Chelsea was that in it self shows what they think of us and then to come read on the website that suppose to be for us as die heart gunners to come and read such things is really disappointing I say it again get behind the team

  15. Don’t see how Arteta can be blamed for his team selection. Holding isn’t fully fit, and there no other CB’s available, so what can Arteta do?
    But I do think, Chelsea had the best gamaplan to begin with. They were outnumbering us on the flanks, and we were under pressure, even before the red card.
    Luiz can’t be blamed for Mustafi’s horror mistake.
    Saka, Martinelli and Xhaka were the best +layers for me, and I would pick Xhaka as MOM (Yes, I am sorry :))
    But credit to all for the fight back.

    1. He could have played Ozil as CB? These player ratings are an emotional and not a rational exercise for the one who rated them.

      The manager must have gotten something right to get a draw whilst playing most of the match
      with 10 men yet he gets a failing 5.

      No credit to Arteta for not subbing Martinelli, for having his players fight to the end and motivating them at half time. Nah, a 5 for Arteta.

      A reasonable person would give Arteta at least a 7 given the result he oversaw.

  16. Thanks admin noted. Ozil needs to be replaced by Dani for a few games to see how the teams performants improve cause I see with teams playing a deep laying playmaker we need someone to be on him consistently and we’ll get that from Dani most definitely.

  17. Luiz should have got a zero. Yet again an idiot on the team gets a red card and throws away the match. If it’s not AMN it’s Luiz or Aubameyang. If it’s not the red cards it’s the penlaties! Why can’t we just cut out these silly mistakes and play like a proper team serious about the champions league?

  18. Perhaps Xhaka has a future at Arsenal after all as a left sided CB.He did really well second half and I hope he is paired with Holding against Bournemouth.The divergence of fans comments on ratings always makes me chuckle and I sometimes wonder if I was watching the same game.At the end of the day Arteta will have learned more about the players he inherited and being an intelligent man I am quite sure the first thing he will do at the next training session is to stress the need to keep eleven players on the park.A draw at Chelsea with the men for most of the game is a very good result regardless of individual ratings.

  19. How great are Arsenal?? We beat Chelsea, a 4th place team, with essentially 6 players. Given that 3 players got a 2 and one a 4, we really played with 5 players on the pitch and one in goal and a manager who got a failing grade at 5.

    Luck is shining on us again.

  20. Agree with a few on here saying that xakha should stay at cb, he reminds me of vermanlan great left foot and good passer, I know I have always said he should be nowhere near 1st team, but that man does have passion.

  21. Anybody else thinks Ramsey would have been immense in this Arteta side? Just the sort of player we need right now. Not giving him a new deal was CRIMINAL!

  22. Now i believe UE wasn’t that bad, he just didn’t have the right players to implement what he wanted…when u look at the results and performances after UE era, nothing has changed..some defensive errors, low creativity upfront , injuries, underperforming fowards, a weak midfield which offers nothing going forward, wrong VAR calls and one good performance in 4 games…the player recruitment system has to change and some players need to be replaced…

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