Arsenal player ratings – Arsenal can consider themselves unlucky against Crystal Palace.
For the neutral the game this afternoon would no doubt have been thrilling but for an Arsenal fan, there is a feeling of injustice.
Dominant in the first half, massive deflected Palace goal, down to ten men, Pepe hits the post. Yup, getting a 1-1 draw does just not feel right.
Anyway, this article is about the player ratings and not what might have been.
Player Ratings
Leno – 6
Not to blame for the goal and had an ok game.
Kolasinac – 7
Did well overall, did just fine in defence for the most part and the same when he went forward
Sokratis – 7
Did well, becoming more assured in the middle of the defence and is a warrior
Luiz – 6
Not a bad game but he was making me nervous the more the game went on and what was that free-kick?
Maitland-Niles – 7
A lot more assured these days and did well against the Zaha threat
Torreira – 7
No coincidence that after he went off the game changed for Arsenal. He was huge in the first half before injury forced him off.
Xhaka – 6
Never thought he would be Arsenal captain again but that is the position he was in at the end. Ok game overall.
Ozil – 6
Worked hard but was lacking in creativity today apart from the goal.
Pepe – 6
Could have won the game later on, needs to work on his final touch and we have yet to see the best of him
Lacazette – 6
Not sure he is the best option, helped with the goal but does not offer enough.
Aubameyang – 5
Would have been man of the match but he nearly cost us in the end. It was a terrible tackle and it was a red.
Subs
Guendouzi – 6
His normal self, what else can I say? He is not a game-changer but neither did he make any errors.
Martinelli – 5
Average score a fair reflection
Nelson – 5
Not on long enough so gets the average mark
Manager
Arteta – 7
Did nothing wrong and the resilience he has instilled in the team worked today
they stop playing after the goal rather then killed the game off
No rating for Maitland-Niles? He is my MOTM, because he shut down all threats on the right side and he played as if he was our third midfielders in the game
My bad, ratings updated. thanks for letting me know
Agree with most of the ratings but i think pepe was a 5, xhaka was a 5 Ozil was a 4 and lacca was a 5. For me aubas tackle was not a bad tackle but an unfortunate tackle that looked bad. It was a genuine attempt for the ball and the follow through was unfortunate, red, im not sure but i can see why. Our overall performance was not great after 20 mins, we couldn’t get control of midfield, dropped off and our strikers/attackers couldn’t influence the game. Disappointing for me on the way we play.
Admin Martin, You wrongly describe a 5 as the average mark. The widely accepted mark for an average performance is, in fact, 6. A 5 IS BELOW AVERAGE AND 4 IS POOR. IT IS UNWISE TO AWARD MARKS AT ALL TO PLAYERS WHO HAVE NOT PLAYED AT LEAST HALF AN HOUR, BUT YOU DO! WHY? If you wish to persist in using different marks from the widely used and accepted norm, then you ought to descibe to us what each number means to you personally; ie 5 being average, even if only to you personally! At least that way we would all know how you actually judged each player performance.
He was endlessly average … lost ball on numerous occasions .incapable of replicating kolisinac on left .. other than that he was ok .., until we get rid of these championship level players we can kiss top 6 good but let alone beyond that
I agree with you absolutely.
I also thi k Socratis also did well expecially his goal line clearance.
Torreira would have e been my MOTM if not for his injury.
The tackle was not a red
Guendozi is not good enough to start and willock offers alot more
it was a blatant red. if someone did that to one of our players you’d want them sent off.
You obviously have not seen the replays. If Shawcross had made the tackle perhaps your comment would have been different. Auba was distraught and didn’t mean it, in my opinion, but it was an ankle breaker!
Wasn’t replying to you RSH
👍
What is it with people unnecessarily calling our young players! He came on and did well. Get off our young players case.
N we have seen what Wilock can do lol!. Guendozi is way better then him dude. Wilock can’t even keep the ball for 10 seconds n his passing don’t even go there.
Nice rating but it’s like working hard has a different meaning when it applies to Ozil
it’s sort of just a fact that he doesn’t bother with the defensive side of the game. It used to not matter much when pressing wasn’t as essential to the current game as it is now, and when he was in Spain, but you have players like Bernardo Silva, David Silva, even Eriksen, who will help out. No EPL team really plays with a midfielder whose sole job is offense.
Football generally has change. Teams now play with midfield trio instead of two midfielders and an AM in order to dominate the midfield while allowing fullbacks to overlap freely. So you can’t afford to have any idle midfielder. Arteta is aware that Ozil will never track back that is why he instructs AMN to go into midfield instead of overlapping. Our biggest problem is Guendozi is Ozil in disguise. So when there is no Torriera we only have Xhaka trying to close down three midfielders. We really need new midfielders
Arteta asked AMN to join the midfield cos Ozil will never track back. Seriously? Are you part of Arsenal’s backroom staff or Arteta himself told you that?
Ozil was poor today.
After the early goal, Arsenal should have rammed up the pressure to get another. We became a bit passive and palace came back into the game. Starting the second half, we should have played like who needs a victory, but palace started the second half more purposeful again.
Arteta still has a lot to do concerning mentality. We drew this game based on it.
I think we still struggle creating patterns of play that can get us up the pitch. A lot of this game was scrappy midfield play from both teams. Part of this I think is the lack of quality we have in midfield. Guendouzi at HT didn’t really help that.
Very true. Our transition play is so poor. If not for Luiz finding Ozil with that ball through the midfield then we would have created zero chance in the first half. Toreira and Xhaka ought to be forward thinking with the ball. They have 4 options. Pick one and do it quick. Pass to Ozil, Pepe, Kolasinac forward/Aubameyang if he is still in the wings, or direct to Lacazette. But most times they are looking for Niles, Sokratis,Luiz with the ball. Luiz was the only one exploring those options that our two holding Midfielders should be exploring.
And Pepe tumbling on the ball is what am finding hard to get a grip on. He plays as if he wants to tumble always. Why? He had a chance in the first half to put it on a plate for Lacazette but he chose to dribble wide and trips the ball over the line. He needs to get a grip of himself and make better decisions, not tumbling trying to dribble always.
Ozil-5?Maybe a 3,if not less…simple a passenger on the team,helping with nothing,ealking on the pitch.”The invisible man”-a fraud propped by worshipers living in 2010-2014.Get rid of this lazy,uninvolved player,terminate his contract,he’s taking the spot for a dedicated player who can help the team.Too many admirers him?No problem,follow him to Istanbul and cry in front of his door.He must go,he’s toxic for the team and the idea of teamwork.Any good thing has an end,Ozil’s time is up(it was up almost 3 years ago,).Enough is enough.
Agree, Ozil is an overhayped player
This guy has had 4 good games and a bad game since a new coach came on, it’s not as if you praised him after those games, why criticise him so badly after that one game.
Lacazette pick up his fifth yellow card his out for sheffield united game
I thought it was reset on Dec 31st? So if booked for 5th time after Jan 1st, you wouldn’t face a suspension…..?
Our transition play is so poor. If not for Luiz finding Ozil with that ball through the midfield then we would have created zero chance in the first half. Toreira and Xhaka ought to be forward thinking with the ball. They have 4 options. Pick one and do it quick. Pass to Ozil, Pepe, Kolasinac forward/Aubameyang if he is still in the wings, or direct to Lacazette. But most times they are looking for Niles, Sokratis,Luiz with the ball. Luiz was the only one exploring those options that our two holding Midfielders should be exploring.
And Pepe tumbling on the ball is what am finding hard to get a grip on. He plays as if he wants to tumble always. Why? He had a chance in the first half to put it on a plate for Lacazette but he chose to dribble wide and trips the ball over the line. He needs to get a grip of himself and make better decisions, not tumbling trying to dribble always.
The only world class player we have(in the making) is Martinelli.He is almost a copy of the (young by then)Ronaldo(the Brazilian).Light speed,amazing technique combined with speed,fast thinking and judgement of the game,phisical power for a teenager,excellent shooting with both feet,aerial treat,not being affraid to take on multiple players,one by one-this is a gem,able to decide a game on his own.Let him do it,don’t cut his chances playing frauds like Ozil instead…
I am beginning to have real doubts as to the wisdom of spending 72m on Pepe who should be deployed on the left side of the pitch, if at all.Too flashy and ineffective for me and needs to work harder off the ball.Martinelli to me would be a better bet on the right wing.
Totally agree with the above comments about Ozil he did nothing today or against Leeds.You are carrying two passengers in the team if you have Pepe as well.He has yet to prove he is worth 72 million more like 5.
Maitland Niles was our best defender,Luis is a liability.Don’t see what Arfeta sees in either him or Xhaka.
We need a centre back,left back,creative midfield and holding midfield player,but as usual we have no money.
Hi Nick
The impression I get is that Arteta has no chance of signing anyone significant now so he more or less has no choice but to play them and balance games which include the FA Cup as well as the EL There is still a long way to go and with a fair wind he may get more consistency from everyone. Come summer, as long as the board back him, Mikel will be able to begin to bring in players who he feels can rise to the challenge. I’m doing my glass half full approach
The idiotic comparison between the utterly average naitland miles who will be playing his trade in the lower echelons of championship (at best) in two seasons time and the endlessly erratic ozil is so stupid … we need a quality midfield to support ozil giving him freedom to roam behind attack to get best out of him … xhaka guendhuzi combo isn’t it and will pull us further down … The longer we have a defense made up of the amn sokratis Luiz and kolasinac the longer we can kiss progress good bye
So Laca is the new Scape goat for fans now …hahaha. The guy just missed one chance, created a goal so earned us a draw. His hold up play and linkup play for exceptional. He took the pressure off from the team when we were down to 10…running n chasing lost causes. When he had the ball he utilised it as well. I have seen ppl here complaining about auba in past having zero to nill hold up play n providing no way out for team when we need it, his link up play is non existence…so I guess you guys want a player who has quality of both Laca n auba combined. Well good luck with that n please name one.
Rkw, your comments concerning AMN are absolute nonsense.Since the arrival of Arteta,AMN has done very well as he proved yesterday by keeping the dangerous Saha quiet.
We are not Messi, inesta n Xavi Barcelona. We have a crap academy who has produced nothing n our spending budget is no match for all the top teams. There is an old saying you want to make your tea taste sweat you need to put more sugar in it….
The midfield of Guendouzi and Xhaka will not get this team anywhere. As far as Luiz is concerned, despite his defensive frailties, he is the only one in the team that can see the 40-50 yd defence splitting pass from the back and do it accurately most of the time. All other players want to run with the ball and then it gets taken from them. How many times did we see that today – players trying to drbble past 2 or 3 opponents? If there are 3 opponents on one of our players, there MUST be 2 of our players free, RIGHT?
Team against Sheffield United..
Leno
Amn. Sok. Luiz koalas
Gundenz. Xakai
Cabbello
Martinelle. Lacca. Saka
Thank God you are not Arteta
So who would you change from that team.. Goal keeper is the same as yesterday..
Back 4 the same…
Xakai.. Gundenz has to play cause torrer is injured..
I’d put cabbello instead of ozil cause I’m sick of ozil..
Martinelle instead of Pepe cause he trys harder and more of a goal threat…
Saka instead of auba cause he’s suspended..
You stupid S.O.B.
I hope we are not in another troubled period, missing auba wen Lacca can’t score, missing Torriera when Guandozi move up and down leaving his job undone.