Arsenal player ratings for the season – two players on just 2, one on 9.5

Arsenal still have one game left this season, the Europa League final against Chelsea in ten days time, and so it can be argued that these ratings are one game too early to be released but for me, this is the perfect time because you can judge who deserves to be in the starting line up based on their performances this season.

That is if you agree with my ratings of course and I am sure that there will be a few that will disagree passionately.

Leno 7.5

It would have been an eight if not for a couple of howlers this season and I know that all keepers make howlers, Lloris, de Gea even Allison have made bad errors, but they are part and parcel of the game and you get judged on them as well as your great games.

Cech 7

Been the keeper throughout our Europa League campaign and we are now in the final, his mistakes have been minimal and the only reason I have him as a seven is because I could not put him on the same as Leno who I believe has been slightly better for us.

Bellerin 6.5

Got injured and so it is difficult to mark him accurately but I am going to based on the games he did play until he got injured, and while some will argue that he was having his best season for a long time I recall how frustrated I used to get at the number of times he kept losing the ball

Sokratis 7

One of our better defenders but I did find him ponderous on occasions and too often he would give free kicks away in dangerous positions because of his heavy tackling, no problem with that if you actually win the ball.

Koscielny 7.5

I know that a lot of you will criticise Koscienly for his lack of leadership and also showing his age but in quite a few games he stood tall when all around him were falling apart, and if I am giving Sokratis a 7 then I have to go slightly higher with Koscielny because I feel he was that little bit better overall. Put it this way, I had more trust in Koscielny than Sokratis.

Lichtsteiner 3

Sorry but I thought he had a poor season, he did start well but then went backwards very quickly, and it soon became very evident that he was not an Arsenal quality player and if I am being really honest, I think 3 is me being generous.

Holding 7.5

Just like Bellerin, he was long term injured but prior to that he was on fire and in fact, I am disappointed in myself for just rating him 7.5 because he deserves more, but that bloody injury means I cannot know if he would have continued being consistently one of our best defenders.

Monreal 4

Just too slow now and it has shown too often, I know he has been injured as well but even so, he has declined and has basically become a bit of a passenger. Put it this way, I no longer consider him an Arsenal quality player and his performances justify my opinion on that.

Mustafi 6

Now, this is controversial but what can I say, I like him. Some of you will no doubt mark him down as our worst defenders and yes he has made some horrendous mistakes but despite the immense amount of criticism he put his head down and got on with it. In the last four games I thought he was our best defender, that takes courage and shows great character and he will improve next season.

Jenkinson 2

In the few games he played for us he just was not good enough there is not much more I can say, I do not rate him and based on his performances for us I think even a 2 is being generous.

Mavropanos 3

The lad is still on a learning curve and his inexperience showed when we did play him, which was not too often. I have high hopes for him but based on what I saw this season I can only give him a 3.

Kolasinac 5

I fully expect that rating to upset some people but too often for me he had no end product when screaming down the wing, and his defensive qualities leave a lot to be desired. If he can get better with his passing and crossing then he could be a huge asset but on what he did this season I thought he was distinctly average.

Elneny 2

I thought he was useless, to be honest, he maybe had one or two games that were decent but overall utterly woeful.

Mkhitaryan 3

I don’t care what his reputation is or what he is capable of. All I can do is judge him on what he has done for us this season which is sweet FA, the most annoying thing is that he can be so much better because he has the talent, but where the hell was it because it was not on the field of play.

Ramsey 7.5

We missed him terribly when he got injured, yes he can be inconsistent but there is no way we would have collapsed the way we did in all those end of season games if he was playing, we certainly would have picked up enough points to finish top four and overall I thought he was one of our better players this season.

Ozil 4

He has had a poor season that cannot be denied and this has nothing to do with what he earns, but based on his talent and when you are as skilled as what he is you simply must be doing better. He has let us down this season big time and he does not deserve more than a four in my opinion

Torreira 7

Started great then went backwards but a lot of that is down to the English game and he will do better next season and overall I believe he did fairly well, he was certainly one of our better midfielders all things considered.

Maitland-Niles 6

Could have had a better season but too often he let himself and us down, he can be great going forward but is not the best crosser of the ball and he has the energy to go and defend, but lacks that killer instinct. He is still a work in progress.

Guendouzi 7

I thought he had a great season, all things considered, yes he ran around like a headless chicken but he really tried, he has adapted from Ligue 2 in France to the Premier League and he could be an awesome long term signing for us.

Xhaka 5

Just not good enough for me, yes he had the odd good game but how many mistakes can one player make and still keep his place in the team. I know that Xhaka is better than what he has shown this season, but until he shows it I will rate him accordingly.

Lacazette 9

Fantastic season, he did miss a few sitters but overall was clinical in front of the goal, held up play brilliantly when required and despite some early season wobbles ended up forming an awesome partnership with Aubameyang. Lacazette is the real deal.

Aubameyang 9.5

This was really hard who I made my player of the season and I know that many go for Lacazette, but Aubameyang won the Golden Boot and you just cannot underestimate that achievement. Yes, you can argue that Lacazette made a ton of goals for Auba but what can I say, I make Aubameyang the better player this season because he did his job almost to perfection and that was to score the goals and he did exactly that.

Iwobi 5

Just no end product, he runs around full of energy but when it came to doing the basic job he was found wanting. I am not a great fan of Iwobi and I hope he proves me wrong next season but I doubt it.

Conclusion

So, my player of the season was Aubameyang and my worst players were Elneny and Jenkinson.

No doubt my ratings will not be universally agreed with, and I am interested to know where you disagree and why.

41 Comments

  1. Leno and Auba for me
    Worst players Iwobi ,mustafi ,Xhaka
    Xhaka nearly won me over half way through the season ,but then we saw the real Xhaka ,slow ,about as much mobility as a tank ,nice side ways passing though .
    Mustafi ,awful awful defender ,fans were comparing his stats with VVD the other day saying they were better ,if that’s the case I will never use stats as an argument again .
    Iwobi ,again one of the worse players I’ve seen don an arsenal top ,can’t shoot can’t cross ,not sure why emery picks him TBH .
    Leno ,top notch keeper ,really got something about him ,yes makes mistakes but what keeper does not ,
    Auba ,again shows what happens when you spend money on quality ,proper poacher of goals ,again misses chances but when you win the golden boot ,that’s good enough for me .
    Now if we could replace the 3 mentioned with quality we might stand a chance next season but knowing this club Xhaka will be 1st choice next season ,and the other 2 squad players .

    1. I don’t know the measurements for this rating. In the whole of premier league we only have one player is top 5. And that is Aubameyang ( joint top scorer), the rest of the departments no player for Arsenal Football Club made a top 5. Chances created, tackles, tackles won, crosses, clean sheets, number of saves, etc. We are generally not a good team this season. And some will have a go at Ozil as if to say he is the only one in the team. Players generally performs better when team players performances are good.

      1. I think the problem with you the Ozil fans is that you have elevated ozil on this nearly Messiah kind of pedestal. You have made and keep making ridiculous claims season after season like how;
        “He is Our only World Class player, our Best player, too good for Arsenal, one of the best. Deserves better than Arsenal. Give him whatever wages he demands for blah blah”.

        With such massive claims and assertions you keep heaping on him no wonder in return some of us keep asking for evidence and performances to warrant all this over the top an deserved praise. You guys always do this “Big Ozil Talk” but then at the same time try to lower the bar for what we should expect from him. You can do the Big Ozil Talk but know that with that comes greater expectations from us. We expect “The Big Ozil Walk”.

        Can’t talk big but then expect to be judged by the Elneny, Xhaka, Welbeck etc Standards. Can’t have it both ways.

        That is all.

        1. “That is all”…well what else can I say ….
          Problem is I didn’t even mention ozil .where in any of my previous posts have proclaimed him to be world class ,a class player yes ..
          Who do you want to take his place in the starting 11?
          Miki,iwobi ?bloody hell some fans standards these day ,some of you won’t be happy until we are fighting mid division

          1. This is ridiculous. Iwobi after the season he had deserves nothing short of a 7 in any ratings. ??

          2. I was replying to “Pat”.
            And to address your childish Red herring (pivoting) / deflection / shock value tactics.
            I have noticed this juvenile tactic from you the Ozil fans. Whenever Ozil is criticised you guys then for some reason revert to these juvenile Shock Value Tactic.
            For example;

            Ozil Critic say; “Ozil needs to do more or he should be benched or gotten rid of”

            Ozil Fan replies; “So you want Charlie Adam, Ryan Showcross, Iwobi, Elneny, Xhaka etc. So you definitely love Stoke City, Tony Pulis, Big Sam kind of players and style of football”.

            You lot seem to have weirdly convinced yourselves that Ozil is the “Be and End All” for Arsenal football club. No one seems to be allowed to criticise. The moment you do then you are labelled as lacking knowledge in football, Hater of beautiful football, hater of skillful and technically talented players etc.

            It’s eaither You must love Ozil or otherwise You love Stoke City kind of players or Elneny, Iwobi etc. There seems to be no other option in between. It’s either Ozil or Elney.

            Like we used to hate technical players like Bergkamp, Henry, Pires, RVP, Cesc, Rosicky, Santi, Sanchez, Nasri etc before Ozil showed up at Arsenal and enlightened us, showed us the light. Right?

            Shocker. Isn’t it?

            Smh ?‍♂️

            1. That is enough of the “Ozil fans” crap. Be careful or you will be banned like Iffybright

              1. admin. i am sorry but i feel you are being unfair. why ban people who say “ozil fans” but not those who say “ozil haters”. hmm

                1. The ONLY person I banned called other readers “OZIL DOGS”, so shut the f**k up. I’ve had enough of anyone who abuses other Arsenal fans okay?
                  Is that unfair?

                  1. hmm. admin. this is such a shame. u use the f word on me and claim u have had enough of arsenal fans who abuse other fans. double standards.

              2. So admin may have an opinion but Goonster may not? This should be a free speech forum, not a dictatorship where you can you threaten to ban someone for Voicing their opinion.

                What options would us readers have to use the same tactic, boycott the page?

                Well you wouldn’t exsist without us,so I hope never to read a comment from any admin again, threatening to ban somone for Voicing their opionion.

                1. You know what? You are talking bollox! Not one bit of this website would exist without ME.
                  I am extremely tolerant of everyone having their own opinion, but if any one gives another Arsenal fan personal abuse then i will act.
                  I am happy with free speech but abuse I will not tolerate….
                  If YOU don’t like my website then YOU can bugger off as well.
                  It may surprise you to know that after ten years I think I know how to run my Own website on my own….

                  1. So GoonerP is Admin. Another Ozil fanboy pretending to run an objective website.. Keep it up..Naive imbecile..

                    1. Naive? Very interesting!
                      Anyone who is actually a regular on this site knows i don’t rate Ozil very much at all, but that doesn’t mean that other readers can’t have their own opinion. You on the other hand are an idiot.
                      Bye…

  2. Aubameyang not more than 8, criminal misses against Chelsea away and Tottenham away, he’ll get 9.5 only if he finishes as Europa league top scorer
    Ozil should not get more than mkhitaryan who at least tries to make things happen and has been decent big away games (brace v Southampton, goal and assist against chelsea)

  3. The only thing we don’t agree on admin is mustafi, he does some good work at times but tends to be too rash in challenges

    1. Auba has played out of position for majority of the season and still won the golden boot. He has 33 goals and counting in all competitions definitely deserves his rating he’s not salah or mane to take on multiple players but give him the right service, let him play his position and this boy will get us 30+ next season

  4. Sell Mustafi, Jenkinson, Elneny, Lichtsteiner as fast as you can. Sell Özil and even Xhaka. Buy top class CD, a controlling DM and OM with ability to set up chances for our forwards. Keep on developing our young players coming through. Give Martines a chance to shine and be our number two goalkeeper.

  5. Your rating for Auba is over the top as he has only come good recently in terms of his all round play. Lacazette was our best player and Lichsteiner our worst.I am pleased to see you recognise the glaring weaknesses of Monreal,Xhaka and Kolasinac and I have to say I find Socratis is no better than Mustafi.Finally you have been extremely harsh on Elneny and Iwobi.They may be lacking in terms of real quality, but they are in no way responsible for our appalling defensive performances this season and despite their limitations they are rarely injured and give their all whenever they pull on the red shirt.

  6. My favourite players of the season were
    1. Aubameyang
    2. Lacazette
    3. Koscielny
    4. Torreira
    5. Guendouzi

    Koscielny is still playing well after all these years.
    Aubameyang and Lacazette scored 50 goals in total!
    Torreira and Guendouzi were the DM we’ve needed for a long time

    Ozil and Lichtsteiner were too high
    They should have got 2 like Eleny and Jenkinson

    Too many players below 5
    We need to get rid of most of them including Ozil, Mkhitaryan, Xhaka, Jenkinson, Mustafi, Elneny, Lichtsteiner

  7. We just need a nearly complete clearout.
    Keep the New signings that have been here for 2-3 seasons. The rest old deadwood can go.

    Thank you.

  8. And we as fans seem to have a short memory span. Auba has frustrated the hell out of us all season but what a game or 2 can do. We seem to have forgotten the many times he has misfired in crucial games.

    I am still not convinced until his consistency / performances get better next season. Can’t be doing us like that. I will not let a good game here and there cloud the high expectations I expect from our big names like Auba.

    He has done okay to me. I give him about 7.9 / 10. He can do much better than this.

  9. What the heck was that? how can you rate Mustafi higher than Monreal, the latter has performed better this season even as a makeshift, it’s just criminal to give Mustafi 6 and I don’t agree with Mkhi’s rating he has contributed more to the team than Ozil(even though I’m an Ozil fan)this season, I think Mkhi deserve a 5, I will probably rate Auba same as Laca, cos without Laca I doubt Auba will be as successful as he is with this team that lacks creativity, I think Elneny was underrated too maybe a 4 will do, apart from that I think others are spot on for me.

  10. You guys, I think Xhaka is one of the few people who played a great leadership role for this team tissue season and than he is the Gilberto type of player never seen when he is on the field but his absence is felt hugely when he is not playing my player of the season is LACAZETTE, LENO AND GUENDOUZI did well for new comers in the leaque as for Torreira Emery’s fault for not letting him play enough when he had momentum and that’s the same with Ozil too much ditrust from the fans and coach never really given the time to pick his game..

    1. Truth be told you will never know Xhaka usefulness until when he is not on the field. If only he can avoid costly mistakes

      1. Xhaka has done a lot for this team this season I remember in our winning streak he played three different positions in a game for three different games. Boy is just loaded with defending and than being asked to dictate the tempo of the game Emery must set his duties straight, he is the Pillow type of player and Pillow was never ask to get back and do some tackling ball winner wins the ball and than his games in to make passes and control the direction of play and get shots on target even for his country his duties are that easy..

  11. For me Ozil was our worst player and Lichtsteiner. Ozil lacks hunger, it seems to me like he does not want to play football again. Mkhitaryan and Iwobi were poor but showed some hunger to do well. Elneny and Jenkinson rarely played this season so they had no impact on our season therefore can’t be our worst players. With all due respect to Aubameyang he did well, but I don’t think he deserves to be rated above Laca. Laca won us more points while Abumeyang gave us more goals. I will prefer the former. I was once a strong fan of Ozil but I have to accept the truth, he is now boring to watch. I will prefer Iwobi’s performance (poor) this season over that of Ozil. I’m not rating Iwobi above Ozil, he may never get to the level Ozil was. But the truth must be told, while we were clamouring for Iwobi to be drop, we were winning games with him even when we were not playing well. Towards the end of the season Ozil started more games while Iwobi was relegated to the bench, we all know how it turned out. Why am I saying this? Most of us act as if we are more of Ozil fans than Arsenal fans. Ronaldinho was far better than Ozil, but when he started playing I don’t care football, he was frozen out and sold by Barcelona. Ozil has done well for us but we need to move on as a club.

    1. Players like Ozil feed on support but my problem is us Arsenal false aren’t satisfied with the whole team didn’t perform that’s why we lost but we rather have that one player who doesn’t defend who doesn’t force thing but guys we bought Ozil for certain qualities and we bought him at his peak instead of trying so hard to change him couldn’t we use him for his best attributes rather than making him a scapegoat for poor ball winners coz Arsenal problem is never in attack but ball retention and defending and if Ozil is a part of those than we misusing him..

      1. i assume Ozil was purchased for goals and assists . please how many has he delivered recently

      2. Ozil’s lack of tracking isn’t even my issue with him. Just doesn’t produce enough offensively anymore either. His ball retention is really the only positive trait he still has. And even some games he will be poor at that. Don’t see how some can be satisfied with his season. And he had solid game time in the beginning and end of it and didn’t do much for either of those periods. Agree with Martin. With Iwobi, he was frustrating, but at least we were winning. And you can’t accuse him of hiding.

  12. So going by your ratings/marks and players who are available your team against Chavs should be………….
    Leno
    AMN, Mustafi, Sok, Koz, Kolasinac
    Guendouzi, Xhaka or Iwobi
    Torreira
    Auba , Laca

  13. Yeah these are both fair and we’ll justified. Agreed almost entirely. Auba I’m not sure deserves quite so high. Great end but missed a silly amouny of great opportunities throughout the season. Hard to say though given general lack of service. Iwobi seems like he should be better but yeah, mostly pants.

  14. Admin is entitled to his opinion… So am i

    It just crazy giving bellerin and holding that rating more than Monreal, Kola, Niles, these guys play almost all of the games… Yet the injured player get a better rating it funny… We don’t buy or pay their wages to be in the treatment room and get a good rating… They should prove their fitness level first and get a run of games close to 20matches…Both players were not even upto 7rating during Wenger Era… Truth be told they were improving when they weren’t injured… But just as Xhaka, Iwobi, Guendouzi, Ozil, Kola, Mustaphi who get slated during the season were actually better when the season started… So to think these guys I.e Holding and Co wouldn’t have had same issues with the above listed names and still get that rating is something else

    1. This makes no sense.

      Injuries are rarely about fitness levels but about irreversible biological fragility or just bad luck. The ratings are based on performance, not minutes. If a player plays enough minutes to justify a rating (as is the case), they are entitled to a rating alongside a caveat (which was provided). On that basis, ratings are fair.

  15. And Leno Deserve more than 7.5…i see no mistake he made or Howler you claim… 1st season and he is outstanding…

  16. Generally- feel similarly with a few differences. I’d go:
    Leno 6.5 made five mistakes that directly cost us a goal, a league joint high- but improved as time went on in his debut season & had a few awesome performances
    Cech 6.5- did nothing wrong but clearly far off his peak
    Bellerin 6- I think we missed him badly honestly-after his injury, he’s quality & still 24 & will continue to improve defensively(as a converted winger) but also needs to really work on his crossing, still got 5 league assists- missing exactly half a season
    Jenkinson 3.5- played 3 games, not very well- but we expected this already
    Lichensteiner 3- so disappointing, was excited about him coming in from that airtight Juve defence but his legs are completely gone
    Maitland-Niles 6.5- playing way out of position & far more than he would have expected, he was only shown up a few times & did admirably- and will have added strings to his bow from the experience. Clearly his future is not at RB.
    Monreal 5- I think it’s time to leave, with no hard feelings as he’s always done his best. Legs are failing him. We need fresh blood at LB. Pretty much- what you said.
    Kolasinac 5.5- Love him going forward, love his attitude, shame he has so much room for improvement defensively. Frequently exploited on the counter attack.
    Sokaritis 6- possibly just about the best of a bad bunch amongst our CBs, not wholly convinced
    Koscielny 6- soft spot for him, but even with all his experience now- he’s prone to a mistake & struggles against the elite, definitely not a natural leader
    Mustafi 3- really not a fan, just so many mistakes in him, awful season.
    Holding 6- showed some potential before injury cruelly cut short his season. I’d like to loan him next year, we can’t be relying on a 23 year old at CB.
    Mavropanos 5- got more game time than he should be getting at a top 6 club. Needs to develop & a loan would be great. Seems to have all the attributes. Still 21 so can’t be too harsh.
    Mkhytarian 4.5- undoubted quality, only ever shown in glimpses so far
    Ozil 2.5- he’s one of the best passers of a ball the Premier League has ever seen and most talented players we’ve ever had. He got 2 league assists all season. Who will take him on these wages?
    Guendouzi 7- breath of fresh air. Heaps of potential. Worked his socks off. Made the jump from Ligue 2 to Arsenal look effortless, as a 20 yr old. I expect big things.
    Xhaka 4- just not what we need. So many lapses leading to goals at the wrong end. Doesn’t do enough in general.
    Torreira 6- a bit patchy debut season. Proved a useful member of the squad & i expect plenty more to come. Big step up from what we had in this area, needs genuine competition- iron sharpens iron right?
    Iwobi 6- unlike some, you can’t fault his workrate, needs to add the end product still- but he’s 23 so there’s time I suppose- crunch season is coming I feel; we need to see more next season if to retain.
    Elneny 4- too often anonymous on the pitch.
    Ramsey 6.5- great focus considering his future lies elsewhere. will be sorely missed.
    Lacazette 7.5- great partnership with Auba. would like a few more goals.
    Aubameyang 7.5- slightly patchy form but immense at best.

  17. Elneny seems like an unpopular figure here, but considering how little playing time he has got this season, I think 2 is not fair and too harsh.

    He was heavily criticised when he made a rare start against Palace and lost 2-3, but we lost against Wolves and Leicester with no worse performance, which he didn’t play any part.

    I agree our midfield players are not really at the level we want them to be, but, I personally think Elneny has a lot more to offer for the team when he gets to play more.

    On the contrary, Xhaka has played more than enough to prove himself. And from what I have seen, he is not suitable as DM. Yes, he occasionally scores some great goals, but his poor defensive skills have cost us a lot more.

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