Arsenal player ratings v Liverpool, Ozil man of the match

Arsenal outcast Mesut Ozil shows his class in agonising penalty loss to Liverpool in Carabao Cup.

What a brilliant game of football that was, sure there are a ton of negatives for Arsenal, I mean, conceding five goals is never good. But there was also some positive and at least the players fought hard.

One of those positives was the return of Mesut Ozil to first-team football. It may not have been Liverpool’s best team but that is not Mesut’s fault. He played great, there is no denying that and he must be in with a shout for a Premier League start at the weekend.

Anyway, here are the player ratings from last nights game.

Martinez 5
OK, where to start? Martinez did not actually do much wrong and yet he conceded five goals. A weird one I must admit. He gets five purely because you cannot allow five goals in and expect a higher rating. Even if you are not really to blame, that is just how it is.

Bellerin 6
Actually had a decent game and was probably the best defender on the night for Arsenal. But he was a part of a defence that gave goals away for fun and that has affected his rating.

Holding 5
Poor game really, he was supposed to be one of our defensive saviours. Not on that performance sadly. Must improve if he wants to dislodge Luiz or Sokratis.

Mustafi 4
It is a shame that the German had a bad game as he was improving recently. I don’t really blame him for the own goal, that happens but he misplaced a few passes, was caught out of position and basically looked ragged all night long. This display will give his fierce critics a fresh load of ammunition to have digs at him.

Kolasinac 4
I thought he had a terrible game. Was found wanting so often and looked uncomfortable all evening. He is decent going forward but his defending is woeful.

Maitland-Niles 7
Much better game from Ainsely. This game will have given him a lot of confidence. Maybe he is better suited out wide. Let’s see if he can kick on from this.

Torreira 7
Scored a goal and was generally energetic but he did slow down dramatically as the game went on and his influence diminished.

Willock 8
A very good game for the young midfielder. He has bounced back from poor performances in his last two games and if it was not for Ozil and possibly Martinelli I would have made Willock man of the match for Arsenal. The young lad done very well.

Ozil man of the match

Ozil 9
A great return to action for the 31-year-old. He was given his chance and he took it with a vengeance. Right from the start, he was on it, full of creativity, sublime passes and little tricks. This was as good I have seen Ozil play in a very long time. He was the standout player on the night and deserves all the plaudits coming his way.

Saka 6
He started off the game brilliantly but soon faded. However, he continues to improve, his confidence is high and that showed against Liverpool.

Martinelli 8
Very close to getting a nine but I felt that Ozil was slightly better and that is why the Brazilian teenager has been rated one point below the German playmaker. He is a goalscoring machine, What is it now? Seven goals in four games? Something like that. Time is coming where he cannot be left out of the senior team for too much longer.

Subs

Ceballos 4
Had 23 minutes, including injury time, to impress and did not. Missed the crucial penalty kick and overall I was disappointed with his contribution. Not for the first time either.

Guendouzi 5
Was involved for over 30 minutes and the manner of the game changed slightly. It was more negative once he replaced Ozil, which was probably what Emery wanted but it did not work.

Tierney 5
Average rating as not on long enough really.