Arsenal failed to start the season on the winning note against City. TheSportsRush brings you Arsenal’s player ratings from the match.
The Gunners couldn’t get the desired start under their new manager Unai Emery as Manchester City eased past Arsenal 2-0. It was almost as if both the teams took off from the last season’s form, as Arsenal’s defence was constantly overrun by Man City’s attackers.
Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva were among the goal-scorers, as Arsenal’s big names failed to step up in the season opener. Here are theSportsRush’s player ratings for Arsenal.
Starting XI –
Petr Cech – He made a few smart saves, however he reacted very slowly to Man City’s first goal. Even when Sterling scored from outside the box, Cech failed to even stretch his hand despite the English forward making an attempt to cut in to take the shot. Besides, the Czech was also sloppy at times and almost scored a comical own-goal. 6/10
Hector Bellerin – The Spaniard made some problems for the City attackers, but like Cech, he was equally at fault. Bellerin let Sterling cut easily past him. He was also shaky on the ball, and failed to contribute to the attack. 5/10
Shkodran Mustafi – He looked all over the place with City’s attack and couldn’t cope with the pace. Like Bellerin, also shaky on the ball. 5/10
Sokratis Papastathopoulos – The only shining light in the Arsenal defence. Looked solid and won a fair amount of challenges. A good start against possibly the most difficult side in the league. 7/10
Maitland-Niles – He was good until he unluckily faced the injury. Sadly we couldn’t see much of him. 5/10
Mateo Guendouzi – At fault for the first goal. Allowed Sterling to cut in too easily. Didn’t let the goal bear him down, though. Good game given he is 19 and making his Premier League debut. 6/10
Granit Xhaka – He started from where he left last season. Struggled against a high quality Man City side. Lost possession many a times. 3/10
Aaron Ramsey – Was supposedly the focal point of Arsenal’s attack but couldn’t do much. Played too high and was subbed. 3/10
Mesut Ozil – Contrary to Ramsey, Ozil played a deeper role and wasn’t fully utilised. Passes weren’t accurate. Couldn’t contribute much to attack. 2/10
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – Like the other Arsenal attackers, Aubameyang couldn’t make any difference to the game as well. Hit a decent shot before being ruled out for offside. 3/10
Henrikh Mkhitaryan – Best of the attackers, but hardly good enough. Missed a good chance in the first half, but wasn’t on the ball enough. 4/10
Substitutes
Stephan Lichtsteiner – Came on for Maitland-Niles and performed decent, given he played out of position. Could have done better on Bernardo’s goal. 6/10
Alexandre Lacazette – Almost made an instant impact after subbing-on. Provided some flair to the attack. 6/10
Lucas Torreira – Good signs. Subbed-on a bit too late, though. 5/10
