Arsenal picked up their 17th Community Shield courtesy of winning the penalty shoot-out against Manchester City this afternoon, and these are my personal player ratings:
Aaron Ramsdale – 6/10 – Is it just me, or is there now a new nervousness with Ramsdale? He always feels like there is a mistake waiting to happen, and some of his on-ball judgments were questionable.
Ben White – 7/10 – Thought he did quite well, made a significant tackle against Alvarez, and laid on Havertz who should have scored.
William Saliba – 7/10 – Pep Guardiola needs to ask him for Erling Haaland back; he has been in his pocket long enough.
Gabriel Magalhaes – 6/10 – Did okay in defence, but he is just too rash for my liking, and in this new era of Refs clamping down, he is a red card waiting to happen.
Jurrien Timber – 8/10 – Was my man of the match for Arsenal, thought he played brilliantly in defence, and it was no surprise City scored after he departed.
Declan Rice – 6/10 – Did okay, but we will need more from him as the season progresses, and I expect that will happen.
Thomas Partey – 6/10 – Would have got a higher rating, but let’s be honest, Foden did him up like a kipper, and that led to City’s goal.
Martin Odegaard – 6/10 – Did well in the first half, but thought he went quiet in the second half, and he cannot do that too often.
Bukayo Saka – 6/10 – Did well in spurts but was anonymous for large parts of the game; it happens, nothing to worry about.
Kai Havertz – 4/10 – His rating may be controversial, but you cannot miss the chances he missed at this level.
Gabriel Martinelli – 6/10 – Did well and matched Kyle Walker for the most part, but his crossing needs to be better.
Subs – Most subs came on late in the game, so not rating them, but will say none let the side down.
Be kind with your comments, ratings are always a personal opinion.
You got tired of writing the article or what ?
The goal scorer that took us to the penalties that made us win the shield will not be rated also ?
That was a ridiculously harsh rating for Havertz! One can tell that ever since signing, the knives are out, and this is obviously a bias rating.
The first chance, not easy on the spin, and the keeper made a great save. Second chance, yes I expected him to score, but another great save to be fair. Other than that, definitely offered us something different up top, and had a good first half.
He dropped off second half, but then, so did most of our attacking players.
Crazy how he gets a 4, whilst Martinelli gets a 6 as he was very poor.
Well said Jen.Martinelli was very ineffective today.
Agree 100%
Agreed! Kai Havertz didn’t exactly have one on one chances. The area was packed with blue. Very harsh.
I hope for your sake he improves drastically and the manager find a good position for him otherwise for how long are you going to defend him unnecessary? If he perform according to standard required do you think anyone will bother criticizing him?
You criticized someone once saying Havertz need time to settle even though he is EPL ready. Saw Timber today? A good player doesnt need time to settle anywhere he goes. Teenagers Rooney and Ronaldo did not need time to settle. They took the world by storm while crying for their mummies.
This is a fact for you, Trossard should have started but Havertz took his chance and did nothing for 90% of the game. Trossard came in and in those few minutes he won us the game.
People just want to see our players up to standard otherwise how are we going to win trophies? Have it crossed your mind we all just want him to contribute? If he takes a chance from Trossard who actually win us games isn’t that something to be concerned about? Or Arteta wrong decisions now take priority over the club success?
Your affiliation should be with the Arsenal not Arteta and his decisons. He will move on tomorrow or after 30 years but the you will remain.
The same people that cried foul over Edu and Arteta failing to secure Mudryk transfer and settling for Trossard are championing the latter over the same management signing Havertz… They’re human, at times they make mistakes like anyone else but they surely are not stupid… They saw something and see something in training we don’t see…
Will we ever be able to trust them? Even the star studded Brazil national team and top notch experienced coaches has been finding it difficult at the past couple of world cups
“how long are you going to defend him unnecessary?”. What on earth are you on about? It’s been one game! You seriously judge a player on one game?
He’s had a good pre season, and played well against City in a position we know isn’t his best.
I’m not saying he was fantastic, just pointing out he was decent, and Martinelli was worse.
agreed
I was honestly surprised at how well Havertz did up top for us yesterday given how woeful he was there for Chelsea. He definitely should’ve had a goal but u til that point, he’d been excellent; winning most of his aerial challenges against 2 of the best CBs in the league, dropping deep to lay off some good passes and generally getting involved in the game and looking neat in possession. This doesn’t have to be Havertz defenders Vs Havertz attackers. A 4 is just objectively far too low for what was actually a pretty good showing.
Knew straight away after we won the pundits would criticise the celebrations what the hell are you ment to do got 60,000 fans following you just walk off they make me sick yes it’s not a so called major trophy but its there to be won and should be celebrated!
Did you see Pep celebrate after City scored? He also celebrated like it mattered to him.
Martineli was good, Havertz wasn’t there to support Martineli, even with the crosses, Havertz never showed any motivation, Odegaard did more high than Havertz, don’t know why he wasn’t sharp but hopefully he’ll pickup.
Martinelli was not poor
He defends deep with his side back so not many attacking chances happen from that side
Not that he had a poor performance
If Grealish was good today our right side was there for the taking
And that’s cos we attack from that side so there are spaces to exploit on our right
Grealish was just absent today
But look at the left side: Martinelli, Timber & Rice sealed up that place
Do u know how many chances Ben White created
He could’ve even had an assist if Kai could score
Which scoring chance was created by Timber?
None
Does that mean he had a bad game?
No
The leftside concentrated on sealing us up defensively but support our attacks whenever they can, which will majorly be created via the rightside
While I agree by and large with your ratings, I do think ramsdale deserves more cos he just won a piece of silverware with his penalty save and the goals he denied both foden and rodri, I think he deserves an 8 alongside timber
The writer is just emotional, he must be high on emotion at the time of writing this article. U rate someone low bcos u ar nervous watching him play and then forget he had a good save that could hav made it 2 goals for city and then save penalty to win us the game
Ridiculously harsh on ramsdale and havertz. Nobody put in a bad performance today. Worked hard and battled away all over the pitch
Nice to see Fabio Vieira getting the winning penalty, that lad needs a bit of confidence boost.
The defence deserved the best scores ,all 4 did a great job ,Timber especially.
Havertz score was alittle harsh but these are the types of performances I’m afraid we will come to see IMO
.
I watched the match with at a bar with a couple of manu and Chelsea fans. You need to see how they cheered and screamed when city scored. It was like they were all closet city fans but then I Remembered we are the arsenal, a team everyone loves to hate, lols. 😂 😂
The satisfaction and joy I felt when I looked thier faces when Vieira scored the wining penalty.
Back to the ratings.
Everyone put in very good shifts and deserved better points, Rice deserved bonus points for his stealing the ball from Alvarez and keeping kovacic quiet. Saliba should get bonus points for making sure the best striker in the world at the moment look like an amateur. Trossard should get at least a 7 (why didn’t you rate him, he got us the goal).
City didn’t really dominate us as they did last season and we didn’t roll on the floor and let them have their way with us. The gap has closed significantly. 1 trophy down, 4 more to go. Coyg.
ManUre cheering Citeh !!!!
I didn’t think I’d see the day – how the mighty has fallen!!
All players did well and the lucky is on their side on sunday if look to the equalizing goal. Welldone gunner. Let it happen for the coming tittle race
Ramsdale 7 – made some crucial saves in the 2nd half to keep us in the game but I agree with the author he is lacking a bit of confidence atm and it is fustrating when he has a simple short pass on to a player but keeps kicking it long giving possession back to the opposition.
White 7 – was solid without being spectacular
Saliba 8 – rolls royce never looks flustered
Gabriel 8 – solid in defending. Still dilly dallys on the ball sometimes.
Timber 9(motm) – classy performance in every respect and didn’t get much help from Martinelli.
Partey 6 – up and down performance. When he is on it we look really good but can be sloppy on the ball sometimes.
Rice 6 – started to get on the ball more after the first 20 minutes but work hard defensively as always.
Odegaard 7 – nice bits of skill making Kovacic look silly in particular but still needs to have more influence on the game don’t see him play many through balls to our frontline as you would expect from our main playmaker.
Saka 6 – started brightly but became less influencial as the match went on.
Martinelli 5 – didn’t help Timber out much leaving him to defend two v one and his set piece deliverys were very poor.
Havertz 7 – good hold up/link play especially 1st half but missed both chances. Promising but needs to do better.
Still late substitutions despite having more options at his disposal but I guess it is just the mangers style.
What are you saying now
Maybe u made your conclusion from one situation
Timber and Martinelli marking was so perfect today
I kept telling my mates about it while watching the match
There was always plenty spaces to exploit on the right but Grealish was not up for it
And Grealish was always free in an open space
Silva was never free (per se)
He will be met by Martinelli before he can even get to Timber
And the same goes if it were Walker attacking that side
Man City’s right side was not really producing anything
Their leftside seemed to be their better side but Martinelli & Timber were up for it
That’s why it looked like we nullified them – they really couldn’t find joy
U think any defender is so good if left on his own against Man City (against Silva & Walker and how Man City bombard opponents)
If there’s a way to rewatch the game
Martinelli helping the defense is a major contribution to Timber’s shining
& also the reason that side was not able to create much threat upwards attacking-wise
Maybe helping the defender to u means standing side-by-side with him
But on our left
Martinelli almost looked like the LB whenever Man City were attacking
So maybe that’s why u think he didn’t help Timber
He wasn’t beside Timber
But he was always the first Man for Silva/Walker to beat before they could even see Timber
So that made it easier for Timber to handle every other defending pieces wherever
We beat the so called best team in the world convincingly how can you have a 6 galore? We are the king now. All players and their manager get a 10 except Havertz gets a 9.
I actually though we were fabulous as a defensive unit with Timber (MOTM) standing out. Let’s not forget, this was Man City. It’s never easy to shine against them so I would have to simply congratulate all them on a difficult yet successful afternoon! Rice looks like he’s settling in and I though 6 was too low for him too. At least 7 imo. Partey would have to be a 5 for me. Hi got turned too easy leading to the City goal. Saliba showed his authority again by controlling Harrland. A good old 8 for me. Trossard should start every game. An instant 8 for him! Everyone else was at least a 6.
Yes!! Timber must get a spot in our back 4 – preferably left back – With Partey and Rice in front. Zinchenko can’t defend and has already admitted Timber is a better player. I think it will be hard for teams to score against us. We just need Ramsdale to stop dithering on the ball, or could Rayas prove better.
If we can get a goal scoring striker, then that’s it. We’re ready for Citeh!
Yes, our main problem is having a lethal striker who can strike fear in opposition half. We need Victor Osimeh.
6/10 for Ramsdale followed by the personal bit just makes it sound like whoe ever wrote this is predisposed to rate him harshly. Guy made big saves during play and in the pks. Wack rating
lol, he even urged us to be kind in the commens.
Comments* rather.
Havertz will become an Albatross this season.
How can a 65million pound Player struggle to show himself in a match?
And he is an Old time EPL player for that matter.🙁
Also, Declan Rice didn’t do Good today. Made Partey struggle alot.😕
Martinelli was TERRIBLE. That Boy hasn’t grown as a Player in the last 2,3 years! 😒
Lol
What game are you commenting on please?
You need to take a reality check, Martinelli how many PL goals did he score last season, Klopp praising him, Rice was great, but still not match fit. Party did not struggle a lot, got caught napping for the City goal, and apart from that had a good game. You must be on a wind-up, if not you need to take a step back and maybe follow something else…maybe netball
There’s something that annoys about Arsenal. Most times the players are often slow with their passes; they allow their opponents to consolidate before making a pass, and most often to the keeper. This act kills their urgency and thirst for goal. Secondly, the team needs to develop a new strategy because you often find two defenders (opponents) closing up Saka, and he (Saka) gets lost in most part of the game.
Once these lapses are dealt with, Arsenal can become indomitable.
Who wrote this article, Gary Neville?
We just beat city and you’re giving players low ratings, take the opponent into account against another team these would have been totally different ratings. The boys had city in their pocket for 80% of the game. Timber I agree motm, solid performance, we’ve basically got four centre backs playing and it’s incredibly strong. Perhaps gone are the days of the light weight wing back.
Kudos to the lads I thought they all played brilliant. Havertz actually played pretty decent in the first half, yes didn’t score two chances but I wouldn’t say they were tap ins either!
You should not be rating players if you are giving Havertz 4. Opinion is one thing, stupidity is another. Why do people need to be controversial to get attention? It’s not like he missed an empty net, or that he even wants to be playing number 9 in the first place. Get behind the player and give him a fair chance. Player ratings should not be based on your opinion as a whole, but how they performed on the day, so I don’t agree with your comments about Ramsdale and Gabriel. My player of the match was Timber, wow what a player.
Ramsdale – 7
White – 7
Saliba – 8
Gabriel – 7
Timber – 8.5
Partey – 6.5
Rice – 6
Odegard – 6
Saka – 6.5
Havertz – 5.5
Martinelli – 6
The highlight today was our superb defence – in particular Saliba and Timber. I actually think that Havetz was better today than both Martinelli and Saka, both below par. Those writing that Havertz should be settling better because he, unlike Timber, is an EPL player should remember that whereas Timber played a similar role at Ajax, who themselves play in a like style to Arsenal, whereas both Havertz and Rice (who is also struggling) are learning to play in a very different style and regime. And to criticise Havertz just because you prefer Trossard although they are very different players is not the way to support our team. Give the new players some time to learn the system…
You missed the point completely. Someone said it better that he should be eased in in the starting 11 and earn it like everyone else. I don’t prefer Trossard he is simply better now than Havertz. That is a fact not an opinion. Trossard has earned it Havertz hasn’t yet.
I don’t have any preference over any player. But I wonder if those who give excuses to underperformers are the ones with preferences?
Lol HH – although I personally agree with you that Trossard is performing better than Havertz, this is an OPINION because it is a subjective view that cannot be uniquivocally proven. A FACT CAN be proven and is ultimately not disputable. “he has scored more goals” is a fact. “(I think) Trossard is a better player” is an opinion because I can respond that “(I think) Havertz is better” and I cannot be proven wrong.
Havartz and Rice:The only rate they deserve is to go back to their previous clubs.170M and there’s no a goal or assist. very disappointing. This is a scam to us
Lineup for first game of season
Ramsdale
White Saliba Gabriel Timber
Odegaard Partey Rice
Saka Trossard Martinelli
I agree 100%
Trust Arteta. You may not get that line up. Weaker players like Zinchenko and Harvetz could start.
Cool
Looks like Arteta has set up a pattern for playing against teams like City and their ilk that we will likely meet in the CL
Looks like he won’t be going open in those games but will adopt a rather cautious defensive approach that would thrive more on counters. I first noticed this in the game against Barcelona.
It worked today against City as it worked against Barca in preseason. So, maybe, our man is learning fast.
I can see all our penalties are top notch. 💯. Glad to see the boys play again. Can’t wait for next week. Rice works hard today and I don’t see any reason for rating him 6. he should be rated at least 7. And hope he continues to improve as the season goes on. (for me, no panic on this one.)Trossard should start next match in absence of martinelli or havertz. The guy is great going forward also fun to watch. Whenever he plays, he is unpredictable and he contributes. Timber ?… he is the bargain buy of our transfer business this summer. Watch out for ARSENAL this season👀
William Saliba, Timber and Trossard were all excellent. Kai Havertz had a good game, I don’t understand the negativity towards him. Martinelli looks like he is lacking fitness and didn’t really take on the full backs, but he will get fitness. Rice is getting there. We do need a striker/forward to add a little extra when Bukayo Saka is rested. What a great signing Leo Trossard has been.
Its the first in many moons am able to watch us playing the Citizens from not behind a big chair, though I have no stomach to watch penalty shoot out.
Here are my ratings and think am a little more generous than the writer.
Ramsdale – 7 The pending arrival of Raya maybe keeping honest.
White – 7 Worked well with Saliba to put Haaland in their back pocket.
Saliba- 7 Mr Consistent
Magalhaes – 7 look more secure with Timber to his left
Timber – 9 Plays like he’s coming from a bigger club, it’s like he has step down a notch to compete here.
Rice – 7 Quietly coming in to his home, early indication he’s going to be massive for Arsenal, his timing is the best have seen in the league.
Partey – 7 Felt like he was competing with Rice, tried one of Rice steal and got spun, but always wants the ball, showed no respect for the quality opposition.
Odegaard- 7 Excellent, speeds up the game but others weren’t on the same wave length with his pressing, seems to enjoy the quality addition to the team than most.
Saka – 7 Was paid a lot of attention than any other player by the Citizens.
Havertz- 7 Played a lot better than his counter part Haaland, use his aerial prowess and hold up play is excellent, works hard for the team.
Martinelli – 7 Holds on to the ball too long at times, he needs to observe Tossard.
Nice to see the gaffer get back to basics.
This is a nice confidence boost to go on a nice six match win.
Want to personally thank the FA for tackling the time wasting monster.
Yes, based on the authors ratings you would think we had been schooled by City. I think we were well worth the draw in normal time and we never looked overwhelmed. I like your ratings and your comments, and you are right about Timber, he looks the real deal.
👍
Same here. First match l have watched against the citizens and not changed the channel.
Hoping for the same as the season gets underway. Pep already moaning about the time added on, l for one have been loving it during the FIFA WWC and will continue doing so.
Not bad.
Seeing the ratings it looks like we have just beaten the best team in Europe with our players performing just above average.
The future must be very bright 😉
On a more serious note, I think Havertz did better than described. He was doing good work defensively, and while he should have scores on the second of his chances, he did very well to nearly score on his first chance, where the pass was behind him.
Maybe Trossard is a better goalscorer, but I can see the idea of Havertz instead, when we play teams like City.
Havertz made a big tackle in the first half that I thought woke us up. We seemed happy to let them pass around before that, and there was a danger they would eventually catch us out, but after that tackle we gained a better degree of control, and made a couple of chances.
I thought we matched them, they showed you can’t make any mistakes against them with their goal, but we showed we still have great spirit by getting the equaliser. It’s nice to win a shootout, but i don’t think it proves anything significant.
I was impressed by how we defended – fantastic concentration and we looked confident doing it. City looked really sharp in the buildup, but really struggled to make any chances, whereas we were able to hurt them at times.
Partey still doesn’t look back to his old self – I wonder if rice joining has affected him mentally, and/or if it changes his role in the team slightly (looked like a double pivot at times), which caused him to struggle with his positioning at times
Great and important win, but City didn’t look like they were in gear. We were disciplined in defense and kept our shape well for most of the game. I thought we lacked a little going forward, but with two defensive minded midfield players in Partey and Rice that was to be expected.
I didn’t like the subs and the timing of the subs. Furthermore, I thought Trossard should have come on after 60 minutes and I would have like to see ESR come on earlier as well. Nothing against Thierny, but this didn’t feel like a game you want to bring him in on the 76th minute.
I wonder how we will look going forward if and when we rest Odegaard and Saka. Has to happen at some point.
Wow!! 4 for Havertz!! On the day he was better than Matinelli and saka. The wingers offered us next to nothing on their own. Havertz bought both of them in the play multiple times.
He failed to score from the two chances he got. But, Jesus also misses a lot of chances.
We are finally in a good place. Please stop having these prejudiced observation to create controversy and divide the fanbase. Get behind your team! COYG!!!
It’s beginning to look like Havertz does not belong with this Arsenal team. I don’t care that Arteta is trying to be civil with him, he’s turning out to be a “money-waste basket”. Whoever called for him to be signed must be very worried. He did nothing that convincingly gives him a spot in the current team. Another Pepe situation, even before we get rid of Pepe.
Ramsdale is a cocky, not very intelligent, just above average GK. He loves attention and attracts it by taking risks that are completely unnecessary.. In his mind gambling is synonymous with talent. The sooner Raya comes, the better.
Aaron Ramsdale a 6.. What match did you watch WTF
A think timber deserves a 9 he really impressed, but not only timber but also the other players really made it
I think you are grossly unfair to Havertz. For me, one of the standouts of the match. He made it difficult for the City defenders and his execution was good. Due to the luck of the goalkeeper and City defenders, he did not score. A better version of Miller.
Ramsdale is not good with the ball at his feet. And this is not corrected, so he will lose his place to Raya.
Rice was who we expect him to be. He is not a fancy player but a must in every team. I wouldn’t be surprised if he manages to correct Partey’s few mistakes as well.
A good job has been done by everyone. Now we look City in the eye and we can beat them and not steal a game with them.
Ramsdale saved the team, he deserves at least 7 or 8; Timber was also my Man of the Match, I rate him at 9, played his heart out with one boot off, heehee; Trossard made me scream with relief, I’d give him 8 even for the few minutes he featured. Waiting for the day Havertz will silence all his critics with calm finishes like the ones he did in pre-season, at least give him credit for pressing well upfront in the 1st Half alongside Odegaard and Rice (Man City suffocated a bit); Saliba held his ground against Haaland like a 10 feet giant; I wonder what the Ref told Fabio Vieira before he scored the winner…