Arsenal player ratings from Leicester win – Lacazette MOTM

I was close to giving the Man of the Match award from this amazing Premier League opener between Arsenal and Leicester City to Olivier Giroud, after the Frenchman scored a fantastic headed winner off the underside of the bar despite the attentions of both of the Foxes big centre backs, but he was only a sub and for all round performance, especially on his EPL debut I have gone for Alexandre Lacazette.

Cech 6 – Uncharacteristically nervy display but also some good saves.

Holding 5 – An awful night showed the youngster needs an experienced hand to guide him.

Monreal 5 – Must never play that central role in a three again.

Kolasinac 7 – Also sloppy at times but much better than the others in defence and a real threat the other way.

Chamberlain 7 – Tried to do too much at times but an impressive and dynamic game in general. Created first goal.

Xhaka 6 – Redeemed himself with exquisite assist for Ramsey but some awful passing nearly killed us.

Elneny 6 – Great cross for opener and mostly good but also gave the ball away cheaply and regularly.

Bellerin 7 – One or two sloppy passes but a decent game overall without hitting top form.

Ozil 6 – Flashes of brilliance and the hub of creativity but not enough overall from him.

Welbeck 7.5 – Put in a real shift and took the crucial and timely second goal very well.

Lacazette 8.5 – Sniper’s instincts, movement, sharp, technical and showed grit to track back and get stuck in.

subs:
Ramsey 8 – That is what you want from a player off the bench. Desire and impact.

Giroud 8 – As above and what a touch to set up Lacazette before he scored the winner.

Bob.

53 Comments

  1. Giroud can be man of the match for getting the late winner but I see what you did there. Lacazette had a good debut. I was delighted He got his first goal. A fast one at that (sixth joint fastest goal in the history of the league). A debutant scoring the first goal on the new season. I also love his celebration when he scored. Reminds me of Henry that time with his celebration.

    I love tiki taka but we all saw the benefits we got from crosses yesterday. In all, a good win. Let’s improve where we need to improve as a team.. Mix things up and take one game at a time.

    1. In my opinion
      Elneny-4(very bad player,needs to go)
      Bellerin-5(out of position)
      Welbeck-5(not a smart player)
      Cech-5 or 4
      Wenger-5(players out of position,need to think more abut the skill every player has)
      Chamberlain-Mom for me
      Arsenal for ever

      1. Someone is delusional hahhaha. Welbeck did just fine. Your right not the smartest of players but he put in a decent shift. As did elnany although yes correct also we could upgrade on him. Just because we don’t like players or think they should play elsewhere let’s not make up false ratings.

        1. Cech-2
          he made one save on a ball that might have gone over and one timely run out that could have been disastrous but thankfully he got all ball…otherwise he was a bag of toys out there…like I said before, he’s no longer a post-to-post goalkeeper so he needs to be fundamentally or he’s a liability out there, much like yesterday

          Holding-3
          not the end of the world but he played his worst game for Arsenal yesterday…made poor decisions on the ball and off…gave the ball away cheaply and wasn’t on the same page with Monreal and Xhaka when it came to addressing the gap space between Vardy up high and Ozaka in the hole behind…needs to be coached up a bit more when Kos or Mustafi aren’t on the pitch

          Monreal-4
          always energetic and well-meaning but he shouldn’t be playing CB in a 3-back alignment…he gives up both sides when he’s playing LB and has the end-line to help so putting him anywhere centrally with only 3 backs isn’t wise…let’s be thankful that Leicester are a counterattacking team that had relatively few players joining the attack or Monreal would have been exposed

          Sead-6
          did just enough with his high tempo play and positive runs to offset several missteps in the defensive end…fact remains that he should be playing the right wing-back role if it weren’t for Wenger’s continued placating of Bellerin’s ego following their refusal to sell him to Barca, which meant the OX was playing in a position that makes no logical sense

          Ox-5
          horrible on the left, took too many shots from outside his range(I so wish we had a couple attacking midfielders that could shoot from outside the box with any consistency)…showed some composure when he moved back to the right side, especially when he took on the RB role once Giroud came in for Holding…his versatility is great but only if Wenger uses him on the right side

          Xhaka-3
          one competent pass doesn’t make up for a rather careless performance…a handful of times he telegraphed passes in the worst part of the field when playing a counterattacking team and this needs to stop if he has any chance of maintaining that role…reminds me of a taller Arteta at Arsenal, which isn’t a good memory

          Elneny-5
          did just as much bad as good…great energy but too much headless chicken activity on the pitch…good teams will expose his weaknesses

          Bellerin-4
          largely unproductive on the right, both offensively and defensively…what happened to the Bellerin who knew how to take on wide-side players then break inside or out…surprisingly, he made much more of an impact from the left side late in the game

          Ozil-4
          a couple decent plays but below average performance, thus the 4 rating…he needs to be played more centrally and needs multiple players making intelligent runs, which is difficult with Welbeck out there

          Welbeck-3
          hardly any impact until the goal he almost butchered again…first touch lacking, no intelligent runs inside the box and doesn’t take pressure away from the striker because every defender knows his first touches suck…obviously great energy but largely wasted energy

          Lacazette-7
          good first game, great early goal and showed good energy for the full 90…a little too weak when his back is to goal and goes to ground a little too easily in the EPL but he’ll figure it out quite quickly

          Giroud & Ramsey-9
          didn’t play long and I would be happy if they were both sold, unless they were willing to primarily play off the bench, but they played really well from the time they stepped on the pitch and provided what was necessary to get the 3 points

          let’s face it when you have 70% possession and 27 shots but only 10 on goal, while the other team had only 4 shots on target, you shouldn’t be winning 4-3…no one deserves high praise or high ratings for a game like that or it totally devalues your rating system…once again, loved getting the 3 points but we need to be more honest when analyzing said performance

      2. @Tom
        I can’t blame you for having opinion. Arsene Wenger, perhaps your sworn enemy, once said: “the cheapest and easiest thing to have in this world is opinion”

    2. I think until transfer window is closed Bellerin and Ox will both play to keep them sweet..

      after that Ox has to go to right wing back and Kolasinac to left wing back with Monreal at left back.. Bellerin is quality but needs to step up so time as a sub should get him focussed and compete with Ox for RWB or Mustafi for RB.

  2. Agree with most of that, Though Monreal 6 Elneny 5 apart from the cross for first goal thought he was poor and sluggish, Its for real now not another friendly, He is not good enough.

  3. Hands down Kolasinac was my MOTM dude was excellent! He did everything. Monreal Mr. Reliable as usual just so solid. And the Ox what a fantastic game by the Ox he needs to be moved to RWB when Kosc and Mustafi return.

  4. What a debut from laca
    Sead made some errors but his power and thrust and hunger really pushes the team . Well done wenger an arsenal getting him on a free.
    Rob had poor game but he just needs kos to guide him
    Again a horror show for ozil.

    Wenger made some errors with team selection but fairplay his subs and formation change turned it round against a hard working Leicester
    Props to him …wenger changing ?

    1. please highlight what you think the errors were in selection.. its far too easy for people to simply criticise!
      Who from the bench would you have started?
      There were no other defensive options..
      In midfield maybe Coquelin for Elneny but its the first game of a new season and at home so surely we should be set up to be attacking
      Attacking options .. perhaps Iwobi for Welbeck but Welbz scored
      So the team who played was probably correct and the subs perfect …
      3 or 4 first team players should be available next game or two so team will change according to availability and who we are playing

      1. Hard to admit but Ozil is becoming a liability to the team. No assists, no goals and no defensive work. Sell him for Mahrez abeg

      2. All top 4 center defenders were not available for the game. Wenger has to use a make shift defense. Some here are blaming him for wrong team selection. It is a pity. For me, those 3 precious points have made my week.

  5. Agreed apart from Belerin should be 6 maximum
    And ozil flashes of brilliance?
    He was at fault for one of the goals and shouldn’t start games, at the moment I would start iwobi in that role

      1. Bellerin nowhere near a six, about a three or four at most. Some say Kolasinac for man of match, what the heck do people be watching. Our defence was a comedy of errors last night. I think it was understandable, but doesn’t mean they get slack for it. Admin, you wear blinkers when it comes to Bellerin.

        1. @ break on through

          I am begging you to tell me what kolasinac did wrong or where he was at fault for ANY of the goals. PLEASE

          1. Not sure if you even watched the match. He was supposed to be marking the far post for the first goal. Everyone saw it..its on each pma on most of the tv channels i saw. That aside he was excellent going forward. Cant blame him as hes new and part of a makeshift defence.

            1. Ya I watched the match twice. If he was supposedly marking the back post shouldn’t he have been marking macguire?

      2. Let’s look at the evidence
        Ability Ozil 10 iwobi 8
        Workrate Ozil 5 iwobi 8
        Defending Ozil 5 iwobi 7
        Heart Ozil 3 iwobi 8
        Potential ozil 6 iwobi 8

        Just because ozil cost a lot and can be amazing doesn’t mean he gets a free ride, personally I would let him go. He only turns up if we as a team are excellent there are a number of players who can play that role with a better team ethic
        Why has no club come in for him ? Not big clubs ANY club ?

        1. Agree with most of your ratings, except the ability. Iwobi has better skills in possessing the ball, dribbling and passing. He does it more consistently.

          Iwobi’s close control is amazing. Ozil can show a great dribbling, like the Ludogoretz match, but it is very rarely.

          Ozil is a very unselfish player and has great vision to see good chances. He is useful in certain scenarios, but Arsenal needs more than that.

          1. there really no comparison btwn ozil and iwobi. one is accomplished in world football the other is work in progress aspiring to make a premier league impact.

  6. Good saves? Come on, Leicester got 3 shots on target according to stats. The only save he got was destined to go over. Bellerin was again crap, i cannot remember now when was the last time he played well. I relly loved to see yesterday the Ox, Welbs, Lacazette and Xhaka. Our defence must be fixed very soon, and I think for that we have two weeks to buy another keeper, like Schmeichel

  7. I didn’t see any flashes of brilliance, only a deliberate handball and lack of skills when possessing the ball, which led to getting robbed most of the times.

    1. Ozil haters always see the worst in him. He worked very hard and yes there were flashes of brilliance. The ball hit his arm and it was never deliberate. Not his best game but he certainly played his part

  8. ox and sead was miles ahead of everyone….they put in a shift today. this is the year of the ox. Mark my words

  9. Wenger has to give a serious attention on the training for the players to have a precise pass ,killer and on target shoot on the goal .As we have seen on the game with lesister a lot of balls not precise and being given away cheaply ,we created a lot of chances on the goal and most of them being missed because they were not a killer and on target ,but the opponents team gets few chances and converted to goal most of them .

  10. Bellerin 4. He is really regressing.
    Ozil showed “Flashes of brilliance!”??
    I think you guys are showing “Flashes of delusion! ” Lol

  11. Well, I think the Ox is my Man of match. Dude gave us so much drive and force with mad runs and pace.
    Had some decent crosses into the box too. Most of which where begging for conversion.
    Lacazette also had a superb game overall. His movement, Acceleration and off the ball runs was top notch.
    And he’s versatile too. We saw his play when he was switch to the wing. Put in some decent crosses too. And I love his goal celebration.

  12. cech 6
    bellren 6
    holding 5
    nacho 7
    sead 7
    chambrlain 8
    elneny 5.5
    xhaka 7
    ozil 6
    welbek 6.5
    lecazette 7.5
    ramsey 7
    giroud 7.5
    walcot 5.5

  13. Pls am I the only one noticing that cech is a flop?
    Elneny out ..welbeck come from d bench .iwobi start..chambalain play from 7..belerin should be drop a lil. Then Wenger pls sign players .we might not be lucky next tym. .moreal cant play central..nice one giroud nd lacalaca..y was elneny playing over ramsey

  14. For me Giroud was MOM. Everyone here knows I don’t rate him as a starting striker. In fact only a few days ago I described him as average on account of his lack of speed, ability to take on defenders one-on-one and his slow trigger.

    But I have said many times that I think he could be one of the best “super-subs” in the PL. He has this rare ability not to need to be in the flow of the game to be able to score. For a sub that is crucial. Most strikers need regular game time to excel. His strengths also play well into being a sub. He is great in the air and a handful for defenders. So when trailing and playing a plan B where we go all out to chase the game and bombard the box Giroud is second to none IMO.

    If he can embrace the role of the super sub without starting to sulk about being behind Laca and Sanchez in the pecking order he can be a massive asset.

    Well done Giroud and thank you!!!

  15. I think I’m the only one seeing the problem here……. Is Enelny a DMF? or Xhaka? We dont need Lemar or any attacking player, all we need is a destroyer, someone that can break attack. Someone that can stop play and pass for attack. Our back 3 or 4 and the keeper will continue to suffer unless a DMF who is discipline and knows his duty is signed. I don’t know many….. but the board should work on this. Matuidi…. how much will he cost and you have a balanced team.

  16. Win 4-3 and fans are complaining defensive weakness

    Win 1 nil and fans will be ranting lack of firepower

    unless we have a 33 mans squad with 3 world class players in every position

    Or Fans will not be happy

    1. Sounds like you are suffering my friend. Don’t worry too much about what fans want, as a group, we are divided in opinion but we are united in our love for the club.

  17. Cech 4
    Holding 3
    Monreal 6
    Kolasinac 7
    Ox 9
    Bellerin 6
    Xhaka 6
    Elneny 6
    Ozil 6
    Welbeck 7
    Lacazette 8

    Ramsey 8
    Giroud 8

    We badly need more cover in central midfield. So short of quality and quantity.

  18. glad fans appreciate OG – nice to see his name sang at emirates given he has worked ever so hard to win over the hard to please arsenal faithful.

    though he’s managed to endear himself to a section of the arsenal fans the reality is he remains behind the calibre of what we come to expect and by that i meant – wright, anelka, henry, rvp, sanchez.

    *his is a career is shaping up well in terms of being a super-sub which is something to be applauded.

  19. I feel slightly bad for Holding, he was good OFF the back in positioning ect, but on the ball shocking, he didn’t get much help from Ozil and Bellerin who were both absent infront of him when he lost the ball because he had no one to pass to, I guess it’s his fault overall though, if you’re in that situation and can’t find anyone just hoof it away don’t lose it and give them a chance on goal. Disagree on Ozil rating also, he redeemed himself in the 2nd half, was everywhere.

  20. Iwobi is not a winger. Am happy with wengers team selection yestrday coz so many players were out. My problem is ozil and bellerin so poor i think we need to drop the two. Ozil needs to pick up form its been long since hve seen his defence splitting pass. And laca man am happy we hve a striker who tried to create chances in tight spots so good to watch.

  21. I’m happy some of you guys only get to manage with your mouth…the game got a huge turn around when Ox switched position…Holding got no help from Bellerin…and Elneny hardly got dribbled…Xhaka was poor…remove him from the midfield and you ll know what poor means…Dude had 100% pass rate vs Chelsea!
    And Ozil was half fit and even fans of other fans wondered how he was able to still able to dictate d tempo.He doesn’t fit his hyped role too well but then we should be objective
    And Alexis should just make up his mind on time…it’s boring now
    We still need a Matic kind in the midfield tho or alternately a VVD kinda defender(may not happen though)
    COYG

  22. Did nobody say nothing about Cech bad performance? he is been bad and fans do not remember that Arsenal bought him from the Chelsea bench now the people said is a defense fault, but when Ospina plays and this situation happens is Ospina fault. Open the eyes Cech is done.

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