Player Ratings for Man City v Arsenal FA Cup defeat – Tierney, Tomi and Turner all impressive

Here’s the ratings for the Man City v Arsenal FA Cup game. by Peter
Another defeat in Manchester that leaves a very similar feeling of strange satisfaction despite the result. Similar to the Old Trafford game Arsenal showed tremendous courage and the ability to remain on the front foot. They didn’t adopt a more defensive mindset despite playing in the home of probably the best team in the world. They were considerably more threatening than their hosts in the first half, but couldn’t quite get at them in the second. But what was particularly pleasing about this game is that it was a match between equals which is the first time in a long time that we have felt that against Man City. It bodes well for the league games.
Here are my ratings
Turner (8)
The American has proven to be a surprisingly good acquisition. He performed the sweeper role to perfection, on one occasion digging Holding out of a very deep hole with great line speed. His distribution was also excellent with just one exception.
Tomiyasu (8)
It was so heartening to see Tomiyasu back in top form. He dominated Grealish and provided cover for Holding in the first half. Was positive with the ball when in possession always attempting to start attacks.
Holding (4)
Unfortunately all his limitations were starkly exposed by Haaland, which in fairness was not unexpected.  Haaland shaped him according to how he wanted him, eventually getting him an inevitable booking.
Gabriel (7)
Wasn’t particularly fazed by Haaland’s presence and dealt with him comfortably when he was the assigned marker, which is why Haaland targeted Holding. Has been very impressive since his World Cup snub.
Tierney (8)
Had an excellent game and it was disappointing to see him being subbed. He subdued Mahrez, one of the form players in the last month, and was also instrumental in lessening De Bruyne’s influence when he was doing an admirable impression of Zinchenko by moving into midfield. His understanding with Trossard seemed to come naturally as they offered a threat in the early part of the game.
Partey (7)
Arsenal fans off all faiths should be on their knees praying to their respective gods that his substitution was tactical or precautionary and not injury related. The fall off to Lokonga is massive and the feeling is that Alvarez or Ake wouldn’t have that space for the goal if our Ghanaian was still on the pitch.
Xhaka (7)
His endurance is phenomenal. He just continues to keep going and his form level hasn’t dropped all season. There hasn’t been a game that he has been given a rating below 7.
Vieira (5)
Proved unable to affect the game in any positive fashion. Unlike Odegaard he is not able to create space for himself and tends to opt for the safe backward pass. This means that the transition breaks down frequently at his feet as City get time to reset when the attack is channelled through him. Also fails to lead the press without the ball. At one time blootered the ball out of play when under no pressure.
Saka (5)
Fair play to Ake as he is the first defender this season who seemed to have the measure of Saka and not resort to simply kicking him. Still put in a defensive shift but was ineffectual going forward.
Nketiah (6)
Ran his socks off and continued to sprint down the goalkeeper up until the last minute. Had a couple of opportunities to have his name in lights but the ball just wouldn’t fall for him. However it demonstrates the danger he offers with his striking prowess.
Trossard (7)
Very influential first half as he and Tierney showed a good understanding of each other’s intentions. Showed great close control when he fashioned two chances for himself. Faded in the second half but looked promising.
Overall, with the notable exception of Holding, the team didn’t look remotely daunted at the task of tackling City at home. If we demonstrate the same courage in the league games you would expect some reward.
How do you Gooners rate it?
Peter Doherty
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25 Comments

  1. Why is there a post about players ratings today and non after our win against united?
    It feels like a players bashing opportunity to me.
    I’m very pissed and unhappy.
    Partey is injured, this is now confirmed.
    To all those who were on here blabbing about how Mikel should field a ‘strong’ side yesterday, well here you have it and I hope you are all happy.
    Just don’t call for Arteta sacking at seasons end cos I will call all of you out.

  2. And what was the booing of Lokonga for? Did those fans expect him to turn to prime partey all of a sudden ?
    The fan base is becoming something else – what s the meaning of this?
    Booing Sambi was uncalled for.

    1. Lokonga probably needs it

      He has this “I don’t care” attitude

      He’s not learning

      He thinks things should be handed to him

      How can u be a Midfielder and not understand spaces, sensing danger, man marking, shadow marking

      You might not be successful at them but at least u should know what your role demands, rather than ball-watching when opponents are rattling your defense

  3. Trossard- magnificent full debut, direct running, sublime footwook, Created are best chances.
    Tomiyasu- defended well for the most part.

    Turner- pair of safe hands, was always alert to sweep of his line when balls over the top wasn’t dealt with by the backline.

    Tomiyasu- defended well for the most part. Decent going forward.

    Saliba- helped steady the backline after Holding’s poor first half.

    Gabriel- colossal at the back once again cleaning up when Holding made errors.

    Holding- he must of thought we were playing rugby, struggled up against Halaand constantly grappling with him eventually got a yellow card for his troubles but to be fair to him he settled down after that.

    Tierney- did his job very well defensively and kept Mahrez in check, however was very poor going forward, aimless crosses and passing the ball out of play.

    Zinchenko- helped us to have more control of the ball when he came on, beautiful nutmeg on Halaand.

    Partey- a bit sloppy with some passes but even still take him out of our Midfield and you eenthe difference instantly.

    Sambi- started off very shaky but slowly improved as the game went on.

    Viera- a few good passes but very light weight and needs to work on protecting the ball better.

    Odegaard- lead the press well but didn’t have much time to make a real impact.

    Saka- uncharacteristically poor, touch was off and Ake had him pocketed.

    Trossard(MOTM)- Outstanding full debut, direct running, sublime footwook, Created our best chances and pressed with real intensity.

    Martinelli- injected a bit of urgency into our play.

    Eddie- thought he had a mixed game tbh, held the ball up well sometimes but his touch let him down on other occasions, couple of half chances, worked hard as usual.

    1. I’m surprised at just how good trossard’s close control is – I thought he was good, but he’s actually exceptional in that department. Similar to the types of attacking midfielders we signed under wenger (Nasri, Rosicky, Hleb, Santi etc).

    2. I don’t at all wonder why we never see Sokrates, aka the Greek Wrestler and aptly named Holding in the same room together. They are the same person!
      Holding is a fine man but a damned rotten defender and ought to be sold this summer. I am convinced he will be and I hope Lokonga leaves us too.

  4. Considering Haaland is a monster machine I thought Holding did ok against him. As for comments like “Holding should just be sold” sheesh, he’s a back up, a squad player and a decent one at that!

    1. You are right about Holding. He’s a backup, not a starter. We can’t get rid of all of our backups at once. The squad is not like Man city’s . Fans should leave our backups along. We don’t have oil owners to have 2 very good 11s.

    2. Haaland looked easy to mark when Saliba & Gabriel handled him, they practically pocketed

      Holding’s mess almost led to a goal just under 2 minutes of play against Haaland

      Holding would have gotten a red card before 60 minutes if allowed to continue that second half

      Haaland is a beast of a scorer
      Needs only a little space or 1 chance to score – but that’s it

      He’s not a beast in any other thing, his holdup is not good, his flicks/pass not good

      But Holding just struggled against him throughout

  5. Thanks Arsenal containing and making haaland and not be dangerous keep it up on 15th February.

  6. Saka and Partey should never have started that game, IMO it was a huge risk it could hurt our title shot I felt. Saka was marked well and luckily Ake is not a dirty player, city knows how important both players are to our title shot, there are some players in the league that would target them for rough treatment and would love nothing more than stunting AFC’s challenge while helping their own out. Just as well Pep plays fair, it was a risk not worth taking

  7. At this rate

    Lokonga, Viera, Marquinos & even Holding don’t look like they can meet-up to the bars/levels the team has gotten to now: …Loans or Sale

    Nketiah has stepped up
    Nelson’s pushing
    Turner is Ok

    1. I disagree when it comes to Vieira.Pep said that it takes between 16/24 months before seeing the best of most of his signings (except Haaland..)there is so much they have to take in/learn on the tactical side,plus if players are new to the country..and I suspect it might be similar with MA, having said that not all signings will work out and Sambi might be one of them.we should take AS Monaco offer to buy him or even loan him.we might be light on numbers but he’s not bringing anything to the party.i also think the negative atmosphere he is being exposed to is neither good/fair to him and could end up damaging him,if it hasn’t already.

  8. I wouldn’t boo Sambi despite his glaring shortcomings .Explains why he went straight to the changing room at the final whistle. Teammates and matchday fans should go slow on him, he’s clearly trying his best. We should loan him to Brighton or Burnley where pure football is played.

      1. MA must believe in him since he turned down AS Monaco bid for him.i hope that I’m wrong but Sambi time at Arsenal is looking more like Tavares with every passing day.😡

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