Arsene Wenger’s men were defeated 0-2 by West Ham on the opening day of the season on a day where poor performances dominated the headlines. Petr Cech was the man to blame for most of Arsenal’s misery after he let in easy goals – failing to collect a cross which Kouyaté headed in at the end of the first half, and watching a Zárate long shot roll into the net which he should have easily saved.
Here are my player ratings:
Petr Cech – 2
One of the worst goalkeeping performances I’ve ever seen – and with the quality of some of our old keepers, that’s saying something. Only had two things to deal with all game: a whipped ball into the box and an average long shot. Cech failed to deal with either.
Mathieu Debuchy – 2 (Replaced by Sanchez in the 67th minute)
Looked out of place in Arsenal’s side. Hoofed the ball up the pitch throughout the game and refused to get involved in our passing build-up. Not Arsenal quality.
Per Mertesacker – 4.5
Done very little wrong all game. Neither of the goals were his fault.
Lauren Koscielny – 4
Could have helped Cech out for the first goal, but that is being a little harsh. Still, it wasn’t the Frenchman’s best day, though he did tidy up at the back at times.
Nacho Monreal – 3
Misplaced far too many passes in the first half. Lost his man for the first goal.
Francis Coquelin – 2 (Replaced by Walcott in the 58th minute)
And now Francis is starting to prove me right. His passing was crazy in the first half, with long balls being booted to no one and poor build-up play on show. His defensive positioning was uncharacteristically off today, too. Arsenal need better.
Santi Cazorla – 3
Didn’t have any effect on the game whatsoever. One of the Spaniard’s poorest games in a long time.
Mesut Özil – 4
Arsenal’s best midfielder, which isn’t saying much. Looked way off the pace in the first half, but tried his best to create chances in the second. Was the only player trying to drive Arsenal forward all game.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 5 – Man of the Match (by default)
Produced a few excellent runs and got the odd shot away, but his midfield gave him very little to work with all game.
Aaron Ramsey – 3.5
Showed great energy to chase down the ball for the 90 minutes. Showed nothing else.
Olivier Giroud – 3.5
His build-up play wasn’t too bad in the first half, but he was hopeless in front of goal. Should have scored on a few occasions.
Subs
Theo Walcott – 3
Helped to stretch the play and looked alive in the box, but failed to produce anything of merit.
Alexis Sanchez – 5
The fact that he was forced to play today is simply appalling. Was clearly lacking in fitness and didn’t have any hope of changing the game. Still, the Chilean managed to get a few shots away and keep the ball alive in West Ham’s box.