Friday, March 29, 2024

Player Ratings: Arsenal 2-0 Bayern Munich

These are the Arsenal player ratings for the Champions League game against Bayern Munich, as voted for by you, the fans using our Player Rater.

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Petr Cech – 9.1 (Star Man) 

The best and quite possibly the most important performance from Cech in an Arsenal jersey. Alert at all times and had to do his bit to keep the Gunners in the game. Forced two very good saves in the first half from Thiago and Douglas Costa, before keeping Robert Lewandoski out whilst we were leading.

Hector Bellerin – 7.9

Struggled to get into the game during the early stages as he met his match against an in-form Douglas Costa. However, the young Spaniard found his feet and provided an excellent burst of energy to seal the win as he slotted home an assist for Ozil to tuck into the back of the net.

Per Mertesacker – 8.0

Showed us all why he’s not ready to back down to Gabriel just yet, and had complete control of Arsenal’s backline as Robert Lewandoski became frustrated in the aerial battles. Towered over the threat from Costa and Muller, and did exactly what he needed to do. He is back to his best and with Koscielny back fit we’ve got options in the centre back picture.

Laurent Koscielny – 8.2 

This guy seems to get better with every game, and it was made clear after Twitter erupted with mentions for the Frenchman, who had Lewandoski in his back pocket for 90 minutes. Sat back and wasn’t tempted to push forward, and proved to us all that Arsenal can change their game plan according to the situation of the game.

Nacho Monreal – 8.5

Up there as a contender for man of the match, the left-back worked tirelessly going forward and backwards down the line. A lot of the pressure was deployed by Bayern down this side of the pitch, and Monreal dealt well to play out of dangerous positions.

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Francis Coquelin – 7.5

His passing is improving and although he spent the majority of the game trying to chase down Bayern’s attacking outlet, he showed how dynamic he can be when pushing forward. A performance you’d expect from the 23-year-old who showed a huge amount of passion following the Gunners’ two goals.

Santi Cazorla – 6.9

Not the best game we’ve seen from Cazorla but then again he was required to do a different sort of job against Bayern. Constantly looking to push his side in the opposite direction, Cazorla was the pivot point in creating counter attacking play.

Aaron Ramsey – 6.1

His confidence was given a major boost following his goal against Watford at the weekend, but he strayed into his old habits in front of goal and began to lose his focus. Still worked his socks off down the right hand side but the majority of play went through the middle or on the left due to the threat of Douglas Costa. Was taken off injured with a hamstring injury, should be three weeks out.

Mesut Ozil – 7.8

Often criticised for not turning up on the big occasions, Ozil proved a lot of his doubters wrong last night with a much-needed performance. As well as hitting home the second goal, he did his part in the defensive areas too so he really does deserve the praise he’s long been waiting for.

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Alexis Sanchez – 6.5

Having played under the wings of Pep Guardiola at Barcelona, Alexis was keen to show his former manager exactly why he was wrong to get rid of him. Arsenal’s top goalscorer showed determination to get at the Bayern defence, and the reason he was cut out so often is probably why he’s picked up a lower than usual player rating.

Theo Walcott – 7.0

Was handed a major chance to open the Gunners account but if it wasn’t for the heroics of Manuel Neuer, Theo would have got a huge Champions League goal under his belt. Was persistent in making runs through the gaps of Bayern’s defence but struggled with his finishing in the area.

Substitutes 

Olivier Giroud – 8.1

Got his goal after just five minutes from coming off of the bench, and that will really lift his confidence after failing to start a game in the last few weeks. Showed us what he can offer in aerial situations and his desire to compete with Walcott is clearer than it’s ever been.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 5.9

Came on for the injured Ramsey and struggled to get into the game, but he’ll probably take the place of the Welshman this weekend so he’ll need to raise his level.

Kieran Gibbs – 6.4

Came on in the 81st minute to provide cover in the defence, and worked his socks off to make sure we took all of the points. Wenger deployed him to run at Bayern’s half as they began to tire whilst looking for an equaliser.

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