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[Player Ratings] Sporting Lisbon 0-1 Arsenal: Guendouzi excellent but Elneny woeful

By mac14 on October 25, 2018

Danny Welbeck scored the winner in the second half as Arsenal extended their winning run to 11 games with a 1-0 win over Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League tonight.

The first half was forgettable but we dominate after the break and after seeing a perfectly good header ruled out for a minor push, Welbeck eventually found the winner in the 77th minute with a fine finish.

Here are my ratings:

Leno 7/10 | Didn’t put a foot wrong. Dominated his area, collected a few crosses and distribution was solid. Deserves to keep the No.1 jersey.

Lichtsteiner 6/10 | Restored to his usual right-back position but doesn’t pose anywhere near the threat Bellerin does. Involved in a few scuffles with Sporting players – which is a positive aspect of his game!

Sokratis 6.5/10 | Got away with a shirt pull in the first half but used his pace to good effect on several occasions.

Holding 6.5/10 | A couple of stray passes while trying to play out from the back but was otherwise solid enough.

Xhaka 6.5/10 | Kept things simple in the unfamiliar left-back spot. Didn’t venture too far forward as this would have left us exposed due to his lack of recovery pace. Decent shift.

Guendouzi 8/10 | Excellent performance from the youngster. Played some wonderful forward passes and dictated play in the second half. Literally played as two men as his partner was anonymous….

Elneny 4/10 | Forgot he was playing most of the time. A typical display as he did very little other than a few simple passes. Just doesn’t do enough and not sure what he brings to the team.

Ramsey 6/10 | A frustrating game. Ramsey was keen to impress but he seemed to get in the way at times. Slowed moves down and was sloppy in possession.

Mkhitaryan 6/10 | Another player who failed to really influence things. On the edges of the game and only found some decent positions in the second half but did little with the ball.

Aubameyang 6.5/10 | Used his pace to good effect at times and saw two decent efforts well saved early in the second half. Clever flick set-up Welbeck for the winner.

Welbeck 7/10 | Extremely unfortunate to see an excellent headed goal ruled out midway through the first half for a push despite there being minimal contact but got his goal with a well taken finish.

Subs:

WATCH WELBECK’S WINNER & HIGHLIGHTS HERE

Torreira 6.5/10 | Big upgrade on Elneny after replacing him midway through the second half. Went close with a free-kick.

Lacazette/Iwobi N/A | On too late.