ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Arsenal Player Ratings vs Liverpool

Luis Diaz
All photos via Creative Commons Licenses from Flickr.com
- Attribution 2.0 Generic
- Charanjit Chana

Arsenal suffered a 2-0 loss at the hands of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool. Let us look at the Arsenal player ratings and how they performed.

Mikel Arteta’s men came into this game on the back of five consecutive wins. But Liverpool proved too hot to handle for the Gunners. They started the first half promisingly and were even arguably the better side at halftime. However, things crumbled for them in the second half at Emirates.

Both teams went into halftime with a 0-0 score. But Liverpool took the game by the scruff of its neck in the second half. Diogo Jota opened the scoring for the Reds in the 54th minute followed by a Roberto Firmino goal just 8 minutes later. They finished the game without conceding, as Arsenal lost their first Premier League game in their last six games.

ARSENAL PLAYER RATINGS

GOALKEEPER AND DEFENDERS

Aaron Ramsdale (GK) – 6/10 – Not a great game for the normally reliable custodian. Made a mistake that cost his side and apart from that he looked decent.

Cedric Soares (RB) – 6/10 – Some of his footwork in tight spaces to wriggle out of challenges was a welcome pressure valve as the Reds’ wingers closed in. A clean game technically for Cedric who defended his side well barring switching off for the first and second goals.

Benjamin White (CB) – 6/10 – What was crucial for the central defenders in this game was to be aggressive, but smart, in their duels. Getting afoot as soon as the ball was played into the forwards was key and White did that for large spells, with his positioning and decision making for the second goal putting a dampener on this display.

Gabriel (CB) – 7/10 – The bulk of the build-up went through White, as usual, with Gabriel needing to keep things ticking over in the left to Tierney, Xhaka and Partey.When the team had to sit deep he defended his zones very well. Well-timed standing tackles and proactivity for most of the game.

Kieran Tierney (LB) – 7/10 – Tierney covered so much ground in defensive transitions and went toe-to-toe with Liverpool’s pacy front line. Hardly let them threaten his side.

MIDFIELDERS

Thomas Partey (DM) – 8/10 – Partey took on all the responsibility asked of him and had an excellent game. On the ball, he was slick but crucially smart. The passes he threaded were incisive but most importantly was how composed he was under the central press.

Granit Xhaka (DM) – 7/10 – Did so many elements confidently but when it came to the final ball he didn’t have the crispness of delivery that key moments required. Positionally it was a really strong game from Xhaka again, who was disciplined off the ball.

Martin Odegaard (AM) – 6/10 – Odegaard didn’t get the time on the ball his side needs. Missed a chance that he would have scored some other day. However, it was his outrageous work rate that stood out most in this game given the possession he picked up was mostly in areas where Liverpool wanted it. While he ran like there was no tomorrow, he was marked out of the game.

FORWARDS

Bukayo Saka (RW) – 6/10 – The role for Saka on Wednesday was such a physically demanding one. Even if he didn’t win many of his duels with Robertson he kept challenging for every single ball and those duels allowed Arsenal to move up the pitch. A proper shift from the star boy who was kept quiet for large spells.

Alexandre Lacazette (ST) – 6/10 – As was expected in this game it would all be about Lacazette’s work rate and how he’d hold the ball up if found centrally. The usual captain’s performance was full of bite and brawn, but without seeing much of the ball.

Gabriel Martinelli (LW) – 8/10 – Ran riot on the left and troubled Trent Alexander-Arnold throughout the match. Picking up raking diagonals with divine first touches helped Arsenal get bodies up the pitch and his endeavour off the ball didn’t give Liverpool’s defenders any time.

ARSENAL SUBSTITUTE PLAYER RATINGS

Emile Smith Rowe – 6/10 – A really tough game for anyone to come into. It was clear that Arteta made the change with an eye on the Aston Villa match. Showed plenty of effort but was feeding off scraps.

Nicolas Pepe – 6/10 – Similarly for Pepe, there wasn’t much for him to go on, with Liverpool cruising through the final stages. The Ivorian was left to chase down the ball and hope for play to break open.

Eddie Nketiah – N/A – Had little to no action after coming on.

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