Don't Miss

[Player Ratings] Arsenal 0-2 Man City: Ozil woeful, Guendouzi shows promise on debut

By mac14 on August 12, 2018

Unai Emery’s era at Arsenal got off to a disappointing start after we slumped to a 2-0 defeat to Manchester City at the Emirates this afternoon.

Sterling fired home the opener in the 14th minute following some poor Arsenal defending and Bernado wrapped thing up midway through the second half with a powerful strike.

Here are my ratings:

Cech 7/10 | Nowhere near the Sterling goal and almost scored a comedy own-goal with a sloppy kick but made a few great saves, including a one-v-one with Aguero.

Bellerin 6.5/10 | At fault for Sterling’s goal but had our best chance of the first half when he fired at Ederson. Worked hard down the flank.

Sokratis 6.5/10 | Unconvincing debut from the Greek international. Was a bit rash at times which saw him give away a dangerous free-kick and receive a booking.

Mustafi 6.5/10 | Not his worst performance in an Arsenal shirt by any means but given a tough time by the City attack.

Maitland-Niles 5/10 | Struggled big-time against Walker before limping off midway through the first half.

Guendouzi 6/10 | Got nowhere near Sterling for the opening goal and a basic mistake in the second should have cost another goal but Cech saved his ass. However, there were also encouraging signs from the youngster as he played some lovely passes and worked hard.

Xhaka 6/10 | Not a great start to the season. Sloppy in possession and got caught out way too often.

Mkhitaryan 5.5/10 | Didn’t give Maitland-Niles much protection in the first half and was poor in possession. Disappointing display.

Ramsey 6/10 | Worked hard pressing in a more advanced position than we’re used to but couldn’t really influence things when we had the ball. Subbed early in the second half.

Ozil 5.5/10 | Actually worked harder than some people think to cover Bellerin as he made 7 ball recoveries. The problem was, he kept giving it away in the first place having lost possession 19 times. Sloppy performance.

Aubameyang 6/10 | Frustrating afternoon. Didn’t see much of the ball when he was up front due to City’s dominance. More of a threat when Lacazette came on to help him out. Great goal ruled out for offside.

Subs:

Lichtsteiner 6/10 | Didn’t track Bernado for his goal but did OK otherwise in am unfamiliar left-back position.

Lacazette 6.5/10 | Made an immediate impact as we looked far more threatening with him up front in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Torreira 6.5/10 | Not long on the pitch but played a superb pass to Aubameyang during his 20 minute cameo.

WATCH THE GOALS FROM THE GAME HERE

Overall, we made familiar mistakes at the back, looked weak in midfield and were rusty in attack. Up against a well oiled City machine, it’s no wonder we lost. However, there were some positive signs in Emery’s first game as the player’s worked much harder without possession and we looked better when we played 4-2-3-1 with Auba and Laca in attack. Next up, Chelsea away next weekend….