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[Player Ratings] Boro 1-2 Arsenal: The Ox shines, Monreal struggles

By mac14 on April 17, 2017

Arsenal finally got back to winning ways on the road as we edged to a 2-1 victory over Middlesbrough at the Riverside tonight.

Arsene Wenger shocked us all by not only making six changes to the side that lost at Palace but the boss also changed formation to a 3-4-2-1.

Alexis Sanchez broke the deadlock with a stunning free-kick just before half-time and while the hosts levelled up through Negredo, Mesut Ozil lashed home the winner in the 71st minute.

Here are my ratings:

Cech 7/10 | Decent save to deny Ayala at 1-1 and made a few other routine saves. Kicking was a little suspect.

Gabriel 6.5/10 | Lost his man a few times at set-pieces which allowed Boro some chances.

Koscielny 6.5/10 | Poor positioning to lose Negredo for the equaliser. Otherwise solid.

Holding 7/10 | Went about his job quietly and efficiently. Going to be a great defender if developed properly.

Oxlade-Chamberlain 8/10 | Booked early on but was our most dangerous player for much of the game. Great performance in the right wing-back role.

Ramsey 6.5/10 | Wasn’t having a great game before setting up Ozil with a superb chest pass. Worked hard in the middle.

Xhaka 7/10 | Kept things moving and controlled the game for long periods. Attempted some ‘Hollywood’ long balls.

Monreal 5.5/10 | Let Downing cut in on his preferred left foot to set-up the equaliser. Unforgivable. The weak link in the left wing-back role.

Ozil 7/10 | Nice right-footed finish to make it 2-1. Worked hard defensively and was more involved as the game went on.

Sanchez 7/10 | Broke the deadlock with a stunning free-kick but gave the ball away countless times in the second half. So wasteful but we needed his magic tonight.

Giroud 6/10 | Missed a couple of half chances but struggled to really influence the game.

Subs:

Coquelin, Bellerin [N/A]

WATCH THE GOALS FROM THE GAME HERE

We were miles from our best and it was a hard slog against a limited Middlesbrough side but we got the three points and that’s all that counts right now. The top four is still possible but we have to build on this victory, but next up we have an FA Cup semi against City to worry about….