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[Ratings] Everton 0-0 Arsenal: Saka impresses, Aubameyang poor in bore draw

By mac14 on December 21, 2019

Freddie Ljungberg signed-off as interim Arsenal manager with a dour 0-0 draw with Everton at Goodison Park this afternoon.

It was a poor game with very little quality in the final third from either side. Gabriel Martinelli and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missed Arsenal’s best chances to nick a much-needed win, but at least we kept our first clean sheet in 15 games.

Here are my ratings:

Leno 5/10 | A rare clean sheet for the German but for the first time this season he had very little to do during the bore draw. Defence protected him well for a change.

Maitland-Niles 6/10 | Solid and unspectacular performance from right-back. Sloppy in possession at times and did little going forward but worked hard.

Chambers 7.5/10 | A big improvement from his display against City. Didn’t put a foot wrong and kept Everton at bay. Great performance overall.

Luiz 5/10 | Gave away countless stupid free-kicks and got away with some poor passing out from the back in the first half. He’s been a terrible signing.

Saka 7.5/10 | Asked to fill-in at left-back and did himself proud. Made a couple of excellent blocks/tackles and gave little away in defence. Was even a threat going forward, although his deliveries could have been better.

Torreira 6.5/10 | A hard working display from the South American. His passing was poor in the first half but he did set-up Aubameyang with a good chance.

Xhaka 7/10 | A couple of sloppy moments but good performance overall. He was surprisingly good positionally today and kept things ticking over when in possession.

Nelson 7/10 | Back in the team and took his chance with a solid outing. Worked hard tracking back and was a danger on the ball. Always looking to make things happen. It didn’t always come off but at least he was trying!

Smith Rowe 5/10 | Handed his full Premier League debut but still working his way back to his best following injury. Touch was rusty at times and couldn’t really influence the game in the No.10 role.

Martinelli 6.5/10 | Never stopped running but I felt he was hindered by an ankle knock he picked up in the first half. Missed a great chance just before half-time to open the scoring.

Aubameyang 5/10 | Missed a glorious close-range chance at the far post to win it for Arsenal and took another ball off the toes of Smith Rowe – who was better positioned. Auba’s work rate was pretty poor and he made very little movement. The service was limited but he didn’t even try to find space. Subbed.

Subs:

Willock 5/10 , Lacazette N/A

A clean sheet is a step in the right direction and it must be remembered that this was an extremely youthful Arsenal side as several key players were missing. However, it’s clear Mikel Arteta has plenty of work to do to rebuild this Arsenal side.