Arsenal vs Porto Player Ratings: Raya-our hero, skipper Ødegaard our leader by AA
Breathe!!! What a sigh of relief! Who would have thought that we would need the lottery of penalty to get past Porto, considering our brilliant form?
Once Trossard scored, one expected Arsenal to take control of the game and finish the Portuguese off but they couldn’t do so and looked like the second-best team in the game at some point.
Well, the end justifies the means and the Gunners would now play in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 19 solid years!
Below is my player ratings for the game
Raya (9):
He made a good save to deny Evanilson in the first half, made another to deny Francisco Conceição in the second half, and would go on to save two penalties during the shootouts
Undoubtedly, man-of-the-match.
White(7):
He did well to cope with the threat of Galeno, making sure the Brazilian was anonymous all game.
Saliba (6):
Got his feathers ruffled by Evanilson and deservedly got booked for a cynical foul. He eventually grew into the game in the second half.
Gabriel(6.5):
The Brazilian did fairly better than his defensive teammate, Saliba, though he didn’t face as much threat as the French man.
Kiwior(5):
The Polish left so much space behind whenever he bumped forward but Porto couldn’t take advantage, an average performance from the versatile defender if we are being honest.
Jorginho (5):
The Italian was far from his usual best. On a night that we needed his experience, he was disappointing. He was deservedly hooked off, seven minutes before the end of the regulation time.
Rice(6.5):
This was far from his majestic best as he failed to impose himself on the game. He got involved more when he was withdrawn to the number 6 role.
His penalty was cool, that must be said.
Ødegaard(8):
The skipper created the first goal with sheer brilliance, particularly at a time when we weren’t playing well.
He stepped up to score the first penalty, demonstrating his unquestionable leadership.
Saka (6):
Besides his shot on target early on in the game, he was largely ineffective as he was tamed by Wendell. He did well to dispatch his penalty though.
Trossard (7):
Drifted well to create space himself for the first goal and showed great composure for the finish. He struggled to impact the game afterward.
Havertz(6):
He got subdued by the aging Pepe and his defensive partner Otávio da Silva, thereby explaining his anonymity in the contest. The German didn’t get any better when he went into the midfield, but also did well to convert his penalty
Substitutes
Jesus(5): Started the game lively but didn’t take long before he got subdued.
Zinchenko(5): He couldn’t influence the contest when he came on too.
Nketiah(5): Brought on to create more threat but failed to deliver though he only spent a little time on the pitch.
Abdulkareem Abdulhamid
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5 for Saka and 6,5 for Georginho as he did keep somethings ticking in the middle and got fouled many times
Jorginho should score higher than Saka, he had more influence in the game than the later truth be told
Think the team did well under the circumstances, the Portuguese outfit is a season campaigner, it is obvious they came with a game plan to stop us from playing.
Think Kiwoir could get a higher rating he rarely left Magahlase alone to face the music.
The Big German too has to get a higher rating, feeding off scraps up top winning every aerial duels, maybe was the most difficult player the visitor found playing against in the middle of the park.
Raya has to be man of the match, and may have firmly settled the goal keeping saga once and for all
Without doubt Raya is the hero. His calmness in the penalty saves was crucial to our win and also he made 2 great saves in the second half of normal time. Odegaard was excellent also and had it not been for Raya he would be the MOTM. Jorginho provided much needed stability in the midfield and Kiwier too had a great game.
PASSENGER NO 29. 4 OUT OF 10. Iam grateful for the penalty he took so well. Well done MR Tap in .
My word 😟
Yeah!😜
Stupid comment.
5 for Kiwior??
LMAO
Hi Eddie
Its been a long time!
Kiwior definitely deserved more than 5
Hi SueP, yeah it is.
I do read most articles and read people’s comment.
Kiwior alongside White, I’d say were our best defenders yesterday. He was super composed all through also
Eddie
I’m just so relieved that after all we went through, that Arteta is beginning to show what we hoped he would
How many times have I read that Rome wasn’t built in a day? Too many but the reality is the club are building now from a solid foundation
Kind regards
Kiwior 6.5
Jorginho 6
Rice 7
Odegaard 8.5
I agree with the rest. Kiwior is surprisingly underrated here, he was solid all game, needs to work on his quick long balls but handled everything else well, including a potentially game saving block. Odegaard was class all game, never stopped chasing down and creating. Rice though unspectacular was still vital, especially his corners which were a threat almost every time, kept his cool well too – another yellow and he’d have picked up a suspension, so that was well managed despite Porto’s attempts to rile him.
👍Ricemachine, one wonders what game others were watching?
Odergaard was very, very good. Saka and Jorghino were way below par. Saliba, not for the first time, looked nervous and clumbsy. Kiwior, is an accident waiting to happen, but he did ok last night, except for a couple of mistakes. But to be fair, he isn’t an LB. Raya had very little to do but did make two great stops in the shoot-out. A big plus for Arteta but i do think, he should have made more subs, we had Tomi and ESR on the bench. Partey can not be fit and Zinchenko and Jesus were bought on a bit late for me. But that doesn’t matter, now we are through.
How you guys know an accident that is waiting to happen is just beyond me. Kiwior has always been solid, so I don’t understand your comment.
Dissagree. Lately he has played and we haven’t had to defend because of the opposition and they way we have been playing. Even then, he gives the ball away far too easily. When he is called on too defend, he isn’t the best at LB. He played ok last night and very few dramas but he isn’t, for one a LB and for two, reliable. Look, he has been shoved in due to injury and he has been ok but he isn’t top class. At least yet.
Angelo, Kiwior improves every game he plays.
The writer ‘AA’ seems to have got his ‘facts’ wrong as I’m fairly sure we were last in the quarter finals in 2010, 14 years ago and not 19 years ago. As for scoring Jorginho and Kiwior with a 5, seriously? I thought they both played well and we beat a team who were very good at the dark arts. I’m eagerly awaiting Friday’s draw for the quarter finals.
I think Kiwior put in a good contribution both going forward as well as defending. Clearly he deserves more than a 5… Jus sayin
Shout out to all the 19 year old gooners!
You are the future, kid
I would have given SAKA a three and consider himself lucky to get even that. And a seven not a silly “five”, for efficient Kiwior!
Saka should have been replaced much earlier.
On the playing side – how could you argue differently? As he admitted, it wasn’t his best game
Hindsight being a wonderful thing, his penalty was part of the history of a compelling match
Though he didn’t have an excellent game, his reputation and sheer presence was enough to keep the opposition in check, but as armchair managers sometimes we don’t understand the little nuts and bolts of these things.
Saka looked well out of sorts last night 4 at best along with Havertz the two worst performers on the pitch. Kiwior 6.5 at least along with Jorginio. Arteta 5 for not taking off Saka and Havertz. If we had lost on penalties Arteta would have a lot of questions to answer.