Arsenal player ratings – Arsenal players have to take the responsibility for a dismal display.
Normally Arsenal player ratings are put up shortly after the actual game but because of the manner of the defeat last night and the way the players performed I felt it was best to wait until today and try and give a fair and balanced set of player ratings.
Arsenal player ratings
Leno – 5
Did make a couple of good saves but when it really mattered he was found wanting badly.
Saka – 6
Not a great game defensively but he was always a threat going forward but his efforts were wasted a lot of the time because of lack of movement upfront.
Luiz -3
Back to the same old Luiz, what the hell was that for Olympiacos winner? Was he scared of upsetting his hair?
Mustafi – 7
Best of the defenders easily and I suspect that he would have cleared the ball if he was still on the field instead of Luiz.
Bellerin – 4
Woeful, I am sorry to say but he has been poor since he came back from injury and I am worried this is as good as we are going to get from him.
Xhaka – 4
Not a good game at all and the sad thing is that it was always a matter of time before he reverted back to being just a bang average player
Ceballos – 4
I felt sorry for him to be honest, he did not have a great game either but that was because there was literally no movement from the players around him, he was provided with no outlet.
Ozil – 4
The Greeks decided to give him space and just took care of the channels so he had no outlet, they knew he was not going to go on any amazing runs.
Pepe – 5
He looks good when he is running with the ball but lacks an end product and just keeps the ball too long. When he does not have the ball there is almost no movement from him, another worry.
Lacazette – 3
Should have scored in first half, was very static, lacked movement and provided no outlet for the creative players.
Aubameyang – 5
Brilliant goal, horrendous miss. That summed his game up.
Subs
Torreira – 4
Replaced Ceballos but made zero difference to the game, what was the point of bringing him on.
Willock -4
Looked out of his depth, against Olympiacos. Think about that.
Sokratis -5
Did his job I suppose, but not much else.
Martinelli – 6
Brought energy, something that was lacking all game long, why did it take Mikel Arteta so long to bring him on I will never know.
Manager
Arteta – 3
Worst game for the manager so far, he simply could not change the game and he had at least three occasions to do so and his substitutions were just poor in terms of timing and the changes.
Ozil did something right for Auba goal, he deserves more, his runs were good. I know he has some awful passes but he was better than Pepe, Pepe was close to useless, he did not of note, his conners were bad, he made too many faulty passes and he and Ozil wasted to many passes, hopeless passes, too short to move Olympiacos’s defenders.
I’m sorry but Ozil’s fans are delusional. Arteta should have given Ceballos at least five matches to start as no 10 and compare the results
Arsenal will never win another major trophy as long as Ozil is still a regular starter
Why is it the words delusional and Got No Idea seem to be such a perfect match? So what’s the issue with Ozil this morning? Not inverted enough for you? Dribbling with the wrong leg?
There were far worst players out there last night than Ozil.But you are saying if Ozil left we would win trophies is that right? With Bellerin who should now be back up to AMN until Soures is fit. Luiz who reverted back to the disaster we all know him to be. Xhaka producing the type of performance he is widely known for-rubbish. Pepe who is looking like a disastrous signing.Lacazette who proved last night he can never be considered as a CF when we have Nketiha and Martinelli who ate both capable of scoring goals where he clearly cannot.
But it’s all down to Ozil again according to you who knows nothing about the game and nothing about what makes a team.
Can we please stop saying the phrase “but it’s all down to Ozil”. Nobody ever says this ever. This is just your go-to defense any time people point out Ozil was bad. Also, much of your post is reiterating stuff gotanidea already agrees with you on. You are jumping to conclusions as usual when somebody insults Ozil, that they only see Ozil as the bad performer. We all know the rest of the team was garbage too. You need to be able to handle the fact Ozil is consistently part of the underperformers and not deflect every time it’s pointed out.
So why is it Ozil is the first name mentioned when the whole team under performs? Not just from Got No Idea but nearly every other poster after a performance as last night. How bad was Lacazette? AGAIN. How totally ineffective was Xhaka in the transition? AGAIN. How poor was Pepe with his decision making? AGAIN. How many more times do we overlook Leno for his dithering with balls across our box? Luiz for standing like a statue instead of attacking the ball at a corner? Bellerin for looking as though he had never played in a game of football that requires him to look up and try to pass to someone wearing the same shirt as he is wearing?
But no.Start with Ozil because …..
If you got through the comments last night Lacazette is probably mentioned more than Ozil.Go underneath these comments even and the rest of the underperformers are mentioned a bunch. You are just honing in on all the Ozil mentions. And harsh truth is that most of the time he is an underperformer so naturally he will be mentioned a lot when we do poorly.
Gotanidea watch your mouth, you don’t call me names! You hear me?????. I have a perfectly functioning mind so if you have something to say to me, say it without calling me name. Auba goal started from Ozil when he chose not to do the tiny passes with Pepe.
Gotanidea I think you are always too much in a hurry to write stuff on this website there by you sometimes just write without a good grounding, and your points are usually out of reasoning. Permit me to say, you speak before reasoning. If not you would have read my comments very well as it points to the ineffectiveness of both Pepe and Ozil. It wisdom to think before speaking!!!!!! Don’t allow your keypad have better control of your mind!!!!!
Now these were the correct player ratings for the Everton game.. instead you chose to blow smoke up our bums with those excessive 8s and 9s and now Olympiakos gave us a nice, cold reality check!
Nothing wrong with a bit of smoke up ones bum
Martin,This time the marks were far more realistic at least. A bit of disappointment does wonders for reality, I’d say. I thought our ONLY player who played well, as these marks correctly show, was Mustafi. Incredibly but true. Whatever next! CANT GO WITH -3 FOR ARTETA, THOUGH HE MUST TAKE A GOOD SHARE OF THE BLAME IMO. Not to hook Ozil and Laca, for Willock and Martinelli, a good hour earlier than he did was woeful, I thought. He will learn but it was a bad night and will set our club and team and fan morale back, BUT will increase our collective realism about where we truly are. Some of the over excitable predictions from certain fans, mostly from the same certain continent, too, are laughable.
On TALK SPORT today, Perry Groves said he thought about 9 players needed moving on and he named them. I AGREE WITH ALL. A fan who phoned in said it should be about 14 in all and I cannot much disagree. Depends on what future standards you seek or expect, I’d say!
Finally, if given proper time and funds I have liitle doubt that MA will achieve great things . BUT BOTH those things are vital. Otherwise, he has little or no chance. Excitable and naive comments and hyped, but plain silly over enthusiasm actually heaps more pressure on him which he does NOT need. This is why I always strive for truth as reality tells you EXACTLY were you are and where you might get to. Stupid, over enthusiatic fan predictions, (again many from a certain continent) harm truth and increase pressure. Just my opinion though!
Hey Jon, are the owner of whatacca? It’d be interesting to know!
MA has a lot to learn and given time I see him turning arsenal into the most feared team in Europe. All in good time, say in 3 seasons.
jon, as I have said for some time, changing the head coach is doomed to failure if the owner and Board do not support the incumbent in the transfer market. Emery was not given the players he wanted, the players he inherited failed to perform when the chips were down, he kept tinkering and lost his job. There are only so many ways any head coach, Arteta included, can “shuffle the deck” in selecting from this squad.
It is about time the players took responsibility for their substandard performances. As you and Perry Groves allude, this squad needs a major overhaul to bring the Arsenal back to where this great Club should be.
AdMartin- it’s difficult to argue with any of the marks and your individual assessments of the players.
If MA4 didn’t appreciate the size of the job ahead of him, he certainly does this morning. I believe he has overachieved in the short time he has been in charge bearing in mind the standard of the players at the Club, and from today forward he knows his job is to try to get EL qualification for next season at the very least. Without that, we have zero chance of getting the standard of players this club needs to begin challenging for trophies. And if Mari is fit, and does well at Portsmouth in the FA Cup on Monday, then he will take Luiz’s place from then until he is sold at the end of the season. Luiz was everything we expect him to be last night, and if he is still at Arsenal next season I will be amazed. Just admit the mistake, and get him out.
As for Aubamayang, he has single handily carried this team since he arrived in terms of goal scoring, so he has nothing to be ashamed of with that miss at the end. Without him, where would we be this season?
I agree with all you wrote
Exactly, Phil…. we’d be in a relegation fight without him! 👍
PHIL, Sound comments. The Ozil question apart, I find I generally agree with you. Shame we are so at odds over him. I accept he will force his stay til summer 2021 and expect no different now. IT IS PLAIN TO ME THAT HE IS A MERCENARY BUT I WILL LEAVE THAT OVER EXPOSED SUBJECT THERE AND MOVE ON.
I just think it mostly depends on how quickly we can move on our forest of deadwood players , most of them in so called “defence”! It is becoming a distant memory since we had a real top class CB, better than Kos at his best, who was decent , even at times good but not more than merely that. Nothing remotely approaching Adams, Bould, Campbell standards. You need to be a student of Arsenal ancient history to remember when we last had a reputation for sound defence. Wenger never actually paid money for a real top class CB in 22 years , WHICH SAYS IT ALL!
Absolutely right with Arteta as it wasn’t a great night for him. I thought he was let down but didn’t change the situation soon enough. Maybe a 4. I personally didn’t rate Pepe more than a 4 and in every other respect I think your ratings are fair – Luiz was hopeless for the first goal in particular. Shame for Auba to get 5 – if he had managed to be our saviour last night I am sure you would have marked him higher.
I don’t think that I can even give Pepe a four. My son and I were watching trying to decide if a switch should have been made with him or Lacazette first.
Not saying he is the cause of this, there were lots of low scores to go around. Bellerin was awful and Niles needs to play again.
Very disappointing, what a game to lay an egg.
Arteta shouldn’t have the lowest score on the board but it also shouldn’t have been high – for me the biggest fault wasn’t moving Auba inside to start the second half.
3 or less – Pepe, Bellerin, Ozil, Lacazette, Luiz. Willock
4 – Ceballos, Granit – Arteta would fit here
over 5 – Saka
over 6 – Mustafi and Auba
forgot Leno, 5 for him too…
Blimey Jon-both you and AdMartin agreeing with me ( well nearly ). I must be on the wrong site
I think the main or major mistake is in the formation followed by players selections.
Laca should not be started, Martinelli and Auba infront with Ozil and Pepe behind.
4-4-2 sounds better than leaving Laca in the box alone and we all know he is not as creative as Auba and Martinelli.
Unfortunately, Xhaka and Luiz were not ready for this game, but who knows!
I do think Arteta’s formation was not good and to some extent the players did not play for winning and they let him down before his formation.
Guys, UL is not ours! let’s focus on something else, let’s build a team and fight for a cup and position in the CL please!
Since Arteta insists on using 4-2-3-1 formation, I’d like to see this line-up at the next game:
……………………….. Leno
Niles . Mustafi . Mari . Saka
…………… Torreira ….. Xhaka
Nelson …… Ceballos …… Martinelli
……………… Aubameyang
@gotanidea
I won’t mind this selection too. Most of the young players will be fresh and also want to prove their mettle and eagerness to win the game. But if there is a way B.Saka can be rested to avoid physical and mental exertion.
I think Arteta will want to use some senior players in Pouthmout game to avoid loss of confidence after Europa exit. The team is in the last lap of premier league games and this games won’t come easy. But Arteta should be bold in his selection.
– Leno: If Martinez is fit, Martinez should have played in cup competitions instead of him. Overconfidence killed Szczesny’s career at Arsenal, so Leno has to be back to earth
– Saka: Didn’t have the guts to race with Olympiakos’ RB. I think his heart is not in LB role and we need a more courageous attacking LB like Tierney who doesn’t hesitate to outpace his marker
– Luiz: It’s time to try someone else, since he is so erratic. We already have too many CBs for the remaining two competitions
– Mustafi: Excellent performance again, thanks to the protection from the midfielders in Arteta’s system. Now he doesn’t need to defend alone, because some midfielders are more committed to protect the defense than before
– Bellerin: Doesn’t deserve to replace the in-form Maitland-Niles. Losing his pace due to injuries and the comfort zone at Arsenal is already bad, let alone losing his courage to challenge the opponents
– Xhaka: Not a creative playmaker nor he is a good defensive midfielder, but his ability to play in several defensive positions on the left side is highly required to cover our attacking LB. We have to stick with this average midfielder, until we find a better left-footed DM
– Ceballos: Obviously needs more time to adapt in the deep-lying playmaker position, as what Cazorla did when he was reassigned there to accommodate Ozil. Since Arteta insists on using 4-2-3-1 formation, I’d prefer him to replace Ozil with Ceballos
– Ozil: Unlike at the Everton match, he just made himself available as a simple connector in a few areas only. Never wanted to get past any opponent and chose to do a lot of backpasses instead
– Pepe: Since he is highly ineffective on the right side, might as well try him on the left wing. If he still shows the lack of football brain at the end of this season, Arsenal should slap a discounted price tag on him to do damage control
– Lacazette: Read an article on this site about his playmaking and dribbling abilities, before Arsenal purchased him. His real quality is far lower than what shows on his YouTube highlights and he must be sold because he is very inconsistent
– Aubameyang: Disappeared before scoring a nice goal. I don’t think he has enough motivation to bring Arsenal to the next level, so he can go if he wants
@Gotanidea
Analysis on point again. It is obvious Arteta is still learning on the job. He should know how to stiffen his defence when a game is 5 minutes to finish. His players should learn the act of seeing out games. I also hope Arteta sentiment for sticking with some players won’t be his undoing at Arsenal. I can’t understand why he kept Matinelli for too long on the bench when it was obvious Lacazette is not efficient upfront and Bellerin lack positional awareness.
M. Niles could have been brought in he his much better as inverted midfielder than Bellerin..
I want to see the changes he will make against Pouthmout because some players are getting tired having played too many matches.
Totally agree with your realistic ratings AdMart 👍.
As gotanidea says, Pepe needs to play on the left, he’s totally wasted on the right. Let’s hope Mari plays alongside Mustafi against Portsmouth and gives us some hope for the season.
Arteta was tactically outfoxed by a more mature footballing mind. That guy watched our game against Everton and came up with a fantastic antidote !
Pepe is a waste of money. Can’t see him ever paying back the huge investment on him. He is justifying my initial fear that his acquisition was more a game of playing to the gallery than reality
We can all moan about all the players if we want for different reasons but the truth is Ozil, Xhaka, Bellerin, Lacca and Luiz are Artetas go too players, especially the first two and they are letting this team down game after game. Ozil, Xhaka and Bellerin are just producing dross and are taking away more than they are bringing. If Arteta persists with his favourites, we will win absolutely nothing and he will lose my respect. I believe he has something but if he doesn’t take out the players that are not performing, he and he alone has to take the blame.
Plus, i dont get this rubbish about picking the team on training performance. The team should be picked on balance and on performances in real matches not non competitive training. Attitudes on the pitch and performances in games are what should decide. I still dont get and will never accept that Ozil can play as much as he does and actually game after game produces absolutely nothing for this team. People wrongly have slagged off Pepe but for all his faults and he has some, most can be ironed out, he is producing. He is scoring and he is creating, he is taking players on and he is trying, that can all be worked with and be seen but Ozil is a passive quiet non producing luxury we can not afford, in more ways than one.
Last week I highlighted the fact that we are vulnerable at set pieces .Last night was further evidence to that effect and means we have conceded 4 goals from corners of free kicks in two matches.Basically we lack defenders and midfielders who are capable of attacking the ball and who have the awareness to compete for the second ball.With a view to sorting out this problem I sincerely hope Holding and Mari will be paired against Portsmouth who are likely to hit us with high balls whenever possible.The loss last night did not surprise me and merely confirmed the fact that we are a bang average middle of the league side.MA has a huge challenge ahead of him unless he can somehow replace the numerous players who are sub standard.I wish him well in his task.
Our team was strong, we expected more. MA expected more from them, as he rightly said, the game should have been put to bed within 90 minutes.
Auba was great, considering no chances were being created.
Ozil needs to do more with the ball, you find him strolling at the 18 next to Laca waiting for midfielders to bring the ball to him, forgetting that it’s his job to bring the ball to the forwards.
One thing arteta needs to learn still is making his substitutions earlier in games something good couches do when they see no quality