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[Ratings] Arsenal 1-2 Olympiacos: Ozil & Luiz woeful as Gunners crash out

By on February 28, 2020

It was an embarrassing night at the Emirates as Arsenal crashed out of the Europa League at the last-32 stage after losing 2-1 to Olympiacos – who progressed on away goals after the tie ended 2-2 on aggregate.

Holding a 1-0 lead from the first leg, the Arsenal players clearly felt the tie was over as we started the game in first gear and it was no surprise when Olympiacos took the lead thanks to a Pape Abou Cisse free header just after half time.

Arsenal struggled to up the tempo to find an equaliser that would have put us through so the game went to extra time and we eventually found a goal when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang made it 1-1 with a superb effort in the 113th minute.

That strike put us back in control and all we had to do was see out the final few minutes, however, in true Arsenal style we shot ourselves in the foot. Bernd Leno messed up a pass out from the back which gifted the visitors a last minute corner and eventually led to Youssef El Arabi poking home after David Luiz had failed to cut out a routine cross.

Arsenal had a golden chance to make it 2-2 and progress 3-2 on aggregate but Aubameyang somehow slashed his shot wide from 6 yards with the final kick of the game. A HUGE miss that meant Arsenal crashed out on away goals.

Here are my ratings:

Leno  5/10 | Made a great save to tip a Tsimikas shot over the bar but it was his sloppy pass out from the back that gifted Olympiacos a late corner which led to the goal. Huge mistake. Why didn’t he just punt it up-field?!

Bellerin  5/10 | Was caught up-field too often and the visitors found plenty of space behind the Spaniard. Didn’t offer much going forward either.

Luiz  4/10 | Failed to mark Cisse for his free header goal and made no attempt to cut out the cross for their second. Costly errors from the Brazilian.

Mustafi  6/10 | Was also culpable for the opener as he left Cisse in acres of space but at least Mustafi made up for it with a number of important blocks.

Saka  6/10 | Thought he’d bagged another assist with a fine cross but was rightly ruled out for offside. He’s a real outlet going forward but still worry he’s a little lightweight in defence.

Xhaka  5/10 | No real influence on the game as he failed to dictate the match or set any kind of tempo. We needed Xhaka to get a grip of the midfield but he was nowhere to be seen.

Ceballos  6/10 | Impressive defensive work again as he tracked back to cover when needed. Could have done more when in possession at times but still surprised he was subbed off.

Pepe  6.5/10 | A real danger when on the ball and his skills had the Olympiacos players reeling at times. However, he also took too many touches and I’m sure his team mates don’t know what he’s doing half the time. Forced a good save from Sa late on. Pepe can be such a frustrating player.

Ozil  4/10 | Floated around the pitch trying to find space but had no real impact. Once again, when we needed Ozil to step up and create something of note, he failed miserably. Such a disappointment last night.

Aubameyang  6/10 | Superb acrobatic finish to level things up at 1-1 but he’ll be remembered for his horror miss with the last kick of the game. His tears on the final whistle show how much the miss hurt. Obviously he’s carried this Arsenal team this season but that miss was hugely costly.

Lacazette  4/10 | Blasted a good chance to win the tie high and wide. Summed up his night [and season]. Another disappointing performance from Laca. He just doesn’t do enough to warrant a regular starting spot.

Subs:

Torreira  5/10 | No idea why Arteta chose to replace Ceballos with Torreira when we needed a goal. No impact from Torreira.

Willock   5/10 | Another odd sub by Arteta as he opted for Willock over Martinelli. Again, Willock added nothing of note.

Sokratis   5/10 | On for the injured Mustafi. Stood and watched in horror as Olympaicos scored the late goal.

Martinelli   6/10 | Finally introduced in the 106th minute. Why on earth did Arteta wait so long to bring him on? Buzzing when he came on and made a couple of good runs. Should have been brought on MUCH earlier.

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