Arsenal played out a 1-1 draw with Paris Saint Germain last night in what was a terrible performance for the Gunners. Arsenal were lucky to come away with a point at the Parc de Princes and but for an Alexis Sanchez strike towards the end of the second half, a loss would have been nothing more than Arsenal had deserved.
After the game the usual match ratings came out in the media as a reflection of how each player had performed on the night. Nobody was expecting the Arsenal players to have picked up fantastic ratings but the decision to label new signing Shkodran Mustafi with a ‘two out of ten rating’ has shocked a few of the Gunners faithful.
Although the defence didn’t have the greatest game, with Ospina having to save the back line on more than one occasion, to rate Mustafi with a two does seem to be a tad harsh. The German international seemed to strike up a promising partnership with Koscielny at the weekending the Premier League, although there were clear signs of what needed to be improved on. However in this match, the two often seemed unco-ordinated on the pitch, especially as we saw the likes of Cavani easily beat the back line of defence on more than one occasion.
Despite all of this, Mustafi’s rating of two does seem harsh, although in reality, considering L’Equipe also gave the likes of Bellerin and Monreal respective marks of three out of ten, perhaps the French outlet were just unimpressed with Arsenal altogether.
We could have hoped for a better opener to our champions league campaign, but ultimately we shouldn’t be too disappointed with picking up a point away to PSG. What we should be disappointed with is our level of performance, but when it comes to the likes of Mustafi pairing up with Koscielny, it is a matter of time before I think the two will settle down nicely to offer a stronger back line of defence.
By AH