Arsenal left it late to earn a 2-0 win against Leicester City this afternoon and close the gap to Liverpool to just four points. This is our players’ rating.
David Raya – 7.0
Had little to do but distributed the ball well when called upon.
Jurrien Timber – 7.0
Performed well at both ends of the pitch and made life difficult for Jordan Ayew.
William Saliba – 7.0
Won his battles with Jamie Vardy, rendering the Englishman ineffective.
Gabriel Magalhães – 7.0
Brilliant and combative once again, making it difficult for Leicester to create chances.
Myles Lewis-Skelly – 7.5
What a confident young player. His intelligent touch denied Leicester a certain goal.
Declan Rice – 7.5
Another solid display as the midfield engine for Arsenal.
Thomas Partey – 7.0
With performances like this, Arsenal may well offer him a new contract in the summer.
Martin Ødegaard – 7.0
Grew into the game in the second half, finding pockets of space to hurt Leicester.
Raheem Sterling – 4.0
A poor performance. Failed to beat his man or pick the right pass. Arsenal scored after he was substituted.
Leandro Trossard – 6,5
Ineffective at centre-forward but provided an assist when moved to his preferred left-wing role.
Ethan Nwaneri – 8.5
A superb display. Looked the most likely to score before Merino’s introduction. Hard to see him being dropped now.
Substitutes
Mikel Merino – 8.5
The definition of a super-sub, coming on to score twice.
Jorginho – 6.0
Helped Arsenal control possession after coming on.
Riccardo Calafiori – 6.0
Replaced Lewis-Skelly late on.
Kieran Tierney – N/A
Sterling 2 at best
One of the pre requisites of being a good finisher is composure, and Merino has this in abundance.He may not have the pace nor stamina to complete 90 mins as an out and out centre forward, but he is a far better option than Sterling who sadly is a shadow of the player he was.As for Nanweri, the calls for a back up for Saka are completely misguided as this young lad is the real deal and indeed Saka will have his work cut out to replace him.An alternative solution would be to use either on the left wing but that debate is at least 2 months away.Finally,the importance of keeping clean sheets was again in evidence today and let’s hope we can keep this going.
Tougher tests ahead for this patched up forward line, but what a great day for Nwaneri and Merino. Sterling was pitiful, it’s sad, and frustrating, to watch. If he was a Greyhound he would be up adoption.
Lets not get too carried away with Merino.. he came on against a tiring team but did excellently !
Lets see if Arteta starts with him there next week or gives Sterling another go against West Ham and then bring him on later . My inclination is get him starting as he is similar to Havertz and the team are used to playing that way
OT – Ramsdale having a blinder ! Do you think we should re-sign him when Southampton inevitably get relegated again? He might realise he wont get back in the England team again any time soon and I am sure Arteta would play him in the Cups… he is great in the changing room and on the bench and might think better to be No2 and wait for a chance at Arsenal than losing every week! I feel a lot of empathy for him as he made some amazing saves with us and last season was under huge pressure every time he played to try to prove he was a No 1
I think I’d have to agree with you on Ramsdale, that’s if he will be interested in being a number two. Will also depend on how the Garcia deal turns out.
I do believe that Raya earns less than Ramsdale’s £100kpw+package
Watch out Saka, Nwaneri is gunning for your position.
With this teenage sensation in the ranks, Arsenal have a capable deputy for Saka
@CM
Exactly. The kid is a natural…
Just reviewed the ratings again and they sure are just for the last 10 minutes of the game because for the first 80 minutes everyone (Nwaneri excepted) was a 5!
I saw plenty of endeavour but the number of first half offsides was unacceptable. They were adjusting imo to the new normal until Saka and Martinelli return. Havertz’s engine and stature was missing. He isn’t a striker but an important piece in the jigsaw all the same