A quite incredible night in Belgium saw Arsenal trailing 1-0 until the 89th minute, before Kieran Gibbs and Lukas Podolski scored a goal each in the space of a couple of minutes to turn the game on it’s head. It was another poor performance from the Gunners and they will go home knowing they were lucky to grab the 3 points. Here are the player ratings.
Emiliano Martinez- 7
It was the young Argentinians debut in the Champions League tonight and although he conceded a goal, there was nothing he could do about it. He didn’t have a great deal to do throughout the game, but he kept Arsenal in it when they came under pressure from Anderlecht late in the game.
Kieran Gibbs- 6
Kieran scored a great goal to set Arsenal on their way to completing a desperate comeback. His side-footed volley levelled the game in the 89th minute. He had an average game in defence and didn’t do well defending the cross that lead to Najar’s goal.
Per Mertesacker- 4
Looked slow and laboured. Often found himself out of position and was no where near Najar when he headed in Anderlecht’s goal.
Nacho Monreal- 4
A poor performance from another centre-back. Of course, he is a left back and it isn’t his fault that he has found himself covering a position he is not comfortable with. However, the basics still need to be applied, and he didn’t apply them.
Calum Chambers- 6
Of the back four, Chambers looked the most positive. He battled, he tried to get forward and he looked to get balls in to the box. He finally managed to deliver the ball he had been hoping for and assisted Kieran Gibbs’ goal.
Aaron Ramsey- 4
Was he playing? The Welshman has struggled to find the form he showed last season and that continued again tonight. He didn’t link up well in the midfield and had little to no influence on the game.
Mathieu Flamini- 5
Again, I didn’t really notice that he was playing and he didn’t really have an influence on the game. He did put himself about a bit and broke up the play now and again, but not a memorable night.
Jack Wilshere- 6
Jack did what he could to try and play through the paces in the middle of the park and penetrate the Anderlecht defence. The entire team failed to link up well tonight, but Jack was at least trying his best to make it happen.
Alexis Sanchez- 9
A nine may seem a little high for a player who wasn’t directly involved in a goal, but once again he was the driving force behind the team. He was noticeably agitated at Arsenal’s lack of fluidity and creativity, but he didn’t hive up. He provided pace and power, and he crossed in the ball that deflected in to Podolski’s feet for the second goal.
Danny Welbeck- 5
Welbeck did what he could with poor service and a defence that wouldn’t give him a foot of breathing space. He had to drop back to get on the ball and as a result, had no impact on the game.
Santi Cazorla- 5
It’s the same story as the other midfielders. No link up play, no fluidity, no influence. He had one chance that almost squirmed under the goalkeeper, but other than that it was a quiet night for the Spaniard.
Substitutions
Joel Campbell- 6
Joel came on and, much like in the game against Hull at the weekend, he immediately injected the pace that we had been lacking. He didn’t manage to make a big impact on the game, but he at least looked positive.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain- 6
Similar to Joel Campbell, he injected some pace in to the game and looked to be more positive going forward. It’s hard to see why he isn’t starting more games.
Lukas Podolski- 8
Brought on as nothing more than an after thought by Arsène Wenger once again, Lukas came on in the 84th minute and 7 minutes later won the game for the Gunners. What more can you say?