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[Ratings] Liverpool 5-5 Arsenal: Ozil & Martinelli star but Mustafi has shocker

By on October 31, 2019

Arsenal’s woes continued last night as we blew a two-goal lead twice, conceded a 94th minute equaliser to draw 5-5 with Liverpool before losing 5-4 in the penalty shoot-out to crash out of the Carabao Cup.

It was a horror start from Arsenal as Shkodran Mustafi put through his own net in the 6th minute with a horrendous attempted interception at the near post.

Arsenal levelled things up in the 20th minute when Lucas Torreira was on hand to tap home from close range after Kelleher had saved Bukayo Saka’s shot. Replays showed Torreira was just offside but with no VAR in action the goal stood.

We then took the lead 15 minute later when Gabriel Martinelli slammed home at the near post following some good work by Ainsley Maitland-Niles down the right and the Brazilian made it 3-1 with another clinical finish in the 36th minute.

However, Liverpool were gifted the chance to get back in the game when Martinelli was pulled up for an apparent foul on Harvey Elliott in the box but replays showed it was a blatant dive from the Liverpool youngster. James Milner made it 2-3 from the spot.

Ozil then produced a moment of magic to tee-up Ainsley Maitland-Niles with a back heel to make it 4-2 but Liverpool reduced the deficit thanks to a stunner from former Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

The hosts then levelled things up at 4-4 in the 62nd minute when Divock Origi fired home from the edge of the area but Arsenal restored their lead with a stunning long-range effort from Joe Willock.

However, in true Arsenal style we once again blew our lead as Liverpool scored in the 94th minute through Origi to make it 5-5 and force penalties. Dani Ceballos was the only player to miss so Liverpool progressed to the quarters with a 5-4 shoot-out victory.

Here are my ratings:

Martinez   4/10 | Conceded 5 goals so hard to give him a decent score. He should have done more for both of the Origi goals and he didn’t get near any of the penalties.

mesut ozil arsenal 2018

Bellerin  7/10 | Captained the side and should be made the clubs permanent skipper IMO. Solid game overall so hopefully he’ll keep his place against Wolves on Saturday.

Holding  5/10 | Should have done better on a couple of the goals and wasn’t his usual dominant self.

Mustafi  4/10 | Horror own goal set the tone as Mustafi was back to his old self. Looked shaky all night and was all over the place at times as Arsenal’s back-line conceded five goals at Anfield.

Kolasinac  4/10 | Very poor performance against the Liverpool kids. Given a tough time by Elliott and offered nothing going forward. Looked like a man who knows he’s lost his place.

Torreira  7.5/10 | On hand to make it 1-1 and put-in an all-action display. Was out numbered against Liverpool’s three-man midfield but battled well. Poor decision by Emery to take him off and it turned the game.

Willock  6/10 | Was having a poor game before making it 5-4 with a stunning long range strike. Needs to add consistency to his game but he has all the ability to be a star.

Maitland-Niles  7/10 | Much better display on the right flank. Good work in the build-up to our second goal and made it 4-2 after chasing down a loose ball.

Ozil  8/10 | Great to see him back and he didn’t disappoint as Ozil was in terrific form. Involved in the first and third Arsenal goals before pulling off a superb back heel assist to set-up AMN for our fourth. Say what you want about him but when Ozil plays, Arsenal are a different side going forward. He even put in a shift, which may explain why he was subbed in the second half. Either that or it was another tactical mistake from Emery as Ozil’s exit led to Liverpool getting back in the game. Hopefully he’s done enough to be in the squad on Saturday.

Saka  7.5/10 | Lively performance. Assisted Martinelli for the third goal with a pin-point cross and was always a danger. Didn’t have his shooting boots on though.

Martinelli  8.5/10 | Another brace for the young Brazilian with two clinical finishes and he instinctively knows where to be in the box. Missed a couple of other great chances to seal hiss hat-trick but he has everything to be a real player. Worked his socks off too.

Subs:

Guendouzi   5/10 | On to add more security to the midfield but we still conceded a late equaliser.

Ceballos   5/10 | Wasted a great chance to put Willock clean through to seal the game and missed the decisive spot kick.

Tierney   N/A | On too late.

As usual against Liverpool this was a crazy game but it’s one Arsenal should certainly have won. We blew a two-goal lead twice and failed to see out stoppage time so much of the blame has to lay at Emery’s door as he once again got his tactics wrong. You can’t score FIVE goals at Anfield and not win, that’s just ludicrous. But sadly it’s not a surprise that Arsenal didn’t win last night.

Bellerin and Torreira did enough to warrant starting spots against Wolves on Saturday while Ozil should definitely be in the squad. His creativity makes us a different proposition going forward and it’s a crime he hasn’t been used more often this season.

Here are all the goals: