Arsenal were appalling in Wednesday night’s 1-3 defeat to Monaco. The Gunners’ shape was laughable, and their shocking performance might have just cost us a place in the quarter finals of the Champions League. Here are my player ratings:
David Opsina – 5
Could have done more for the first two goals. Made one good save all game, and looked shaky for the rest of the 90 minutes.
Hector Bellerin – 5
Looked nervous in the first half and struggled to control and pass the ball. Caught out of position a few time in the second half, but provided a lot of drive going forward.
Per Mertesacker – 3
Man of the match at the weekend – flop of the match today. The big German made some shocking decisions and allowed Monaco to score their second goal when he rushed in and left his man for no reason.
Lauren Koscielny – 5
Average at best. Made some decent challenges but added to the panic and distress in Arsenal’s defence in the second half.
Kieran Gibbs – 6
Arsenal’s best defender on the night. Decent going forward and tracked back all game.
Francis Coquelin – 5 (Replaced by Chamberlain in the 68th minute)
Francis has finally been found out. Defensively solid but was unable to control the game at all. Slowed and disrupted our passing rhythm.
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Santi Cazorla – 5 (Replaced by Rosicky in the 81st minute)
His passing was fairly good in the first half, but the little Spaniard seemed to suffer a complete meltdown in the second. Had a poor game, overall.
Mesut Özil – 4
His worst game this season. Uncharacteristically gave away the ball throughout the 90 minutes, and looked disheartened whenever things didn’t go his way. Made a few magical passes in the first half, which salvaged his rating.
Danny Welbeck – 4.5
His positioning was absolutely atrocious. His idiotic and amateurish movement cost us in the first half, as he frequently abandoned his flank and nestled himself in the centre of the pitch – just in the right place to put all of our midfielders off their game. Made a few decent runs, though, which helped us at times.
Alexis Sanchez – 7 – Man of the Match
The only Arsenal player worthy of praise. Worked his socks off and tried incredibly hard to get Arsenal back in the game.
Olivier Giroud – 3 (Replaced by Walcott in the 60th minute)
His link-up play and passion were terrific, but his finishing was embarrassingly poor. Missed numerous chances which arguably might have cost us this tie.
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Subs
Theo Walcott – 6.5
Added width to our attack and made some deadly runs that caused Monaco problems. Couldn’t finish any of his chances, though.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 5
Scored a fantastic goal in the 91st minute, but gave away the ball in the build-up to Monaco’s third. Caused more harm than good.
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Tomas Rosicky – 5
Tried to compose our midfield, but had nothing to work with.