[ad_1]
There were plenty of weak points and few highlights in Arsenal’s 2-0 loss to Chelsea on Sunday. The Gunners have been ravaged by injuries and COVID absences, and it shows in their game. Chelsea didn’t really need to play like the European champions to win in the Emirates – they didn’t play badly in self, but they also didn’t face the Gunners off the pitch. But who stood out positively and negatively on Mikel Arteta’s side?
Bernd Leno – 8
It was nice to see Bernd make two incredible saves. The one on Lukaku’s head was a pure reaction stop to tip him over the bar. I plan to close his legs enough to cushion the shot and avoid a good save – forwards know moving sideways opens up gaps in keepers, and I’d bet Havertz was aiming between his legs. Leno also had two solid punches to the corners, which has been a weakness in the past. He couldn’t have done much on either goal.
Kieran tierney – 5
That’s a lower number than I usually give Tierney, but he just wasn’t at his best today. His crossing was a bit staggered – he had blocked a few and didn’t pick teammates over most of the others. He was left on an island defensively, with Reece James in control of his side of the pitch. Maybe he needs to trust Pablo Mari a little more to do his job on Lukaku instead of shading himself in the middle to help him. Maybe if Arteta wasn’t enough, someone in the bottom four would have to take charge and make an adjustment himself, or at least communicate with each other to straighten it out. Something was wrong defensively, and as a defender Tierney bears some of the blame. Concerned that he was limping late in the game.
Pablo Mari – 1
I thought last week was the worst game he had ever played for Arsenal. And then he played today. He was completely outmatched physically and in terms of skills by Romelu Lukaku, although to be fair Big Rom is going to give a lot of CBs a pedestrian appearance this season. Husband also charged out of position several times for no apparent reason and was toasted on the dribble several times. As one of the CBs, the disorganization at the rear falls even more on his shoulders than on Tierney’s. A match for him to forget. And I guess the silver lining is that he really can’t play much worse than he has today.
Rob Holding – 4
I have a little more sympathy for Holding simply because he probably spent the whole week until Ben White tested positive for COVID thinking he wouldn’t start. He and Pablo Mari looked like they had never played together, which is pretty bad because they played a lot together last season. He missed a golden opportunity on a corner to score a goal – he must at least have it on frame. He hit a few balls generally in the right direction they should have gone, but they weren’t precise enough. Instead, they were a stark reminder of why Mikel Arteta wanted Ben White. I don’t remember his particularly poor defensive efforts, but I don’t remember any very good ones either.
Cedric Soares – 2
He kept everyone in agreement on Chelsea’s opening goal. He chased the ball without thinking at the start of the second shot, which derailed everything. He’s just not good enough for where Arsenal want to be as a club. But it’s not their fault that Arsenal didn’t buy a good right-back / can’t convince Ainsley Maitland-Niles or Hector Bellerin to play the position / stay at the club.
Granite Xhaka – 3
Its limited range / ability to cover the ground was really exposed. Someone who can cover more ground might be able to come out wide to help Kieran Tierney, but Xhaka can’t. He also strangely ran around the field to entice the press a few times, why was he doing that? It’s almost like he’s trying to cover Thomas Partey’s high ball retrieval responsibilities without Partey’s ability to retrieve. The only way I can see that makes sense is if the instruction was for Xhaka to take on this role to reduce Sambi’s responsibility.
Sambi Lokonga – 6
He’s really good with the ball. He always seeks to pass gradually, usually picks the right pass, and generally hits them well. His 40-yard pass to fleeing Kieran Tierney was magnificent. He almost released Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang but was foiled by a beautiful defense from Mendy. But Sambi seems lost defensively. I don’t think he knows where he’s supposed to be without the ball at this point, which is understandable given his youth, being forced into action due to Thomas’ injury and the fact that he doesn’t he doesn’t really have a lot of defensive responsibilities at Anderlecht. He’ll be quite a gamer as he develops a more complete game, and the experience he’s gaining right now will help him.
Bukayo Saka – 5
It should have earned a penalty for Arsenal, but it inexplicably went unrecognized. A good offensive shot where he had an unusually loose 1-v-1 touch against Azpilicueta comes to mind. My general feeling is that he wasn’t as sharp or dangerous as he usually is, which is understandable given the amount of football he played with very little rest. I don’t think he would have started today if everyone were available for Arsenal. And he’s not helped by the fact that the attack as a whole always seems to lack cohesion or plan. Until (what I’m guessing) half-time adjustments, he didn’t provide any defensive help to Kieran Tierney behind him, which isn’t great.
Nicolas Pepe – 4
He had some great runs, including one where he separated Marcos Alonso and Rudiger very well, but not much came out of it. He looked more inconsistent, drifting in and out of the matchmaker he was earlier in his Arsenal career than the consistent attacking force he was during the final three months of last season. To his credit, he has significantly improved his defensive involvement, which is a plus. Cedric Soares felt much less exposed than Kieran Tierney.
Emile Smith Rowe – 8
Once again, he was Arsenal’s best player. It looks well suited to the # 10 shirt and was the only spotless light spot of the day. He almost scored a few times, like he did in the Brentford game – the goals are going to come soon, I think. He looks better when he has the freedom to move and create, I hope he has the same freedom with Martin Ødegaard in training.
Gabriel Martinelli – 4
Couldn’t really get too involved in the game which is as much his teammates’ fault as his – the serve wasn’t really there. The few times the ball got inside him, his touch wasn’t stellar. It seems to me that he did some good runs. And you can never question his level of effort – he tears himself apart chasing the ball and putting pressure on defenders. Concerned that he was limping late in the game too.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 4 (but also 10)
Mikel Arteta said after the game that Aubameyang was quite sick and in bed as he recovered from COVID, so for him to bench and play on a training day is impressive in itself. He didn’t have much of an impact (I honestly forgot he was on the pitch for a while), but he did have a half shot instant shot chance. After trying to play malaria and then rushing back from COVID, I would appreciate it if no one would ever question their efforts or commitment to the club again, thank you.
Folarin Balogun – N / A
Honestly, I’m not sure he touched the ball during the 11 minutes he was on the pitch.
Nuno tavares – N / A
I haven’t had a chance to do much, but I love how far he goes to be involved in the attack.
[ad_2]
Source link